The Muse Series – Page 3 – ~Keith Alan Hamilton~ (~KAH~)

8 Peace Out Poems about I and me

Hopefully ~ later
Me being me
My unique blend
Added flavor
To the mix ~
My character
As a self
The I
In ~ Individual
Was deemed
Discernible
From the rest ~
Even if,
Remembered
As some odd
Aftertaste

ain’t gotta
do it your way
nor am I gonna
do it your way
~ ~
do you hear ME
~ ~
I got my style
I got my rhythm
I got my ME on
~ ~
do you see ME
~ ~
try to know ME
whether you
get ME or not
~ ~
here I am
right before you
I, ME, that thistle
among them marigolds

I stand tall as a thorn
among them roses
like the flaw in a gem
~ ~
maybe not perfect
and yet something
valuable to someone
who sees my worth
worthy of notice
as if important
during the scheme
of everything else
~ ~
so I dream
so I hope
~ ~
within my oddity

I walk
and then
I feel
the motion
of life
within me ~

I sit
and then
I feel
the stillness
of life
within me ~

I think
and then
I feel
the being
of life
within me ~

my fire
within
its inner
glow
is warm
tender
and
soothing
as well as,
willful
enduring
and
inspiring
~ continually
burning
regardless ~
despite all
obstacles
or malice
~ wanting
only
to live
not die
~ fighting,
struggling,
going
on and on

I am
~ me
what I
think
within
thought
I
will be

me ~
I am
what I
think
within
thought
I
was
me ~
I am
what I
within
thought
think
I am
~ me

I see
me
by those
I see ~
I see you
and also
how you
see me ~

I see
then ~

me
seeing
how
I see

deep within me
seeded
is a spirit
with a wanting
to be
way more
than to live,
but to go on
~ even if,
my reality
places burden
upon dreams
hope sustains
my vigor
and vim
to overcome ~
forge a path,
being
an example
so others may
carry on
through will
alone ~
if nothing else
~ forever more

I am nothing but
a little portion
woven into
the magical
tapestry ~
together
to comprise
all else ~
I am nothing but
one of many ~
many individuals
trying to know
themselves
while learning
to live
cooperatively
with other aspects
within the physical
whole system
of all else
called Nature ~
I am nothing but
myself
at least
just enough
through my way
from all else
~ you’ll
discern
and appreciate
who I am ~ me

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

Dedicated to my muse – KAP

I, I’M

I have a perfectionist,
type ‘A’ personality
I lead more than I follow
I think and think all the time
I write any chance I get, my way
I work only to distract
me from my thoughts
I was born
with an empathic sensitivity,
psychically very emotively intuitive,
but I don’t claim to be an empath
I feel a purpose to give more to life
than I take from living life
I have a need to be
intelligently progressive,
rather than having a high IQ
I walk outside in Nature
to invigorate my soul
~ ~
I’m a mystic that’s spiritual
but not religious
I’m not the needy type
and am happy to entertain myself
I’m not the sort to be caged in
or coddled like a baby
I’m in spirit an individualist,
a wanderer
and like my Scottish heritage,
a Mark Twain type
I’m in heart very loyal
and lovingly caring
like my German/Polish mother
I’m more as a communicator
a Ben Franklin,
but can give an opinion
like John Adams
and Alexander Hamilton
I’m politically
a progressively
transitional centrist
with an inherent
Scottish libertarian tendency
I’m not a hovering parent,
having me genetically as a father
is lesson enough
I’m harder on myself than others,
even though I don’t forgive,
I accept through understanding
I’m spiritually a Nature-itarian
more than a humanitarian
I’m just me being me
and I don’t expect others
to get used to me either

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

I tend to be like

I’m not a sage
or even a teacher
I’m a mystic
and a Nature-itarian
And also,
I tend to be
an individualist
~ ~
I’m not famous
or a seeker of fortune
I’m a common
everyday kind of person
And yet,
I tend to be
proactive in my life
~ ~
I’m not an intellectual
or well-educated
I’m a thinker
who ponders
to know Nature
And too,
I tend to tell
my thoughts in words
~ ~
I’m not trying to be
like everyone else
I’m a learner about
living life with all else
And yes,
I tend to be like
~Keith Alan Hamilton~

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

Michigan lives within my soul

I was born a “Michigander”
or if you prefer the demonym,
“Michiganian,” and yet
I’m not them “Yoopers”
‘cause I was raised
in that Lower Peninsula
this place called Freeland
a “census-designated place”
so few in number, it’s an
“unincorporated community”
within Saginaw County
you’ve heard of Saginaw
named like a bay in Lake Huron
inside the area of “The Thumb”
the same place Lefty Frizzell
of Country music fame
sang about in 1964
that song,
you know reaching #1
4 weeks at the top of the charts,
“Saginaw, Michigan”
Saginaw too, once was
the land territory
“where the Sauk were,” until
the Ojibwe, whose blood
as they say, flows in my veins,
drove them away
~ ~
now I grew up in a township
near a river of the same name
with a bridge once made of steel
well, this river
is called to this day
the “Tittabawassee”
or as the Native Americans
~ First Nations
said it in a treaty,
“Tetabawasink”
another tidbit
connected to the river,
where the name
of the place
Freeland,
was said to have come to be
back in the late 1800’s
the lumber and river men
would frequent a tavern
along this river
owned and operated
by a women,
who was known to all then
as “Mammy Freeland”
~ ~
as far as me
my connection to Freeland
is that my family
around the early 1960’s
moved there on Webster Rd
later living
on a road named Carter
after my ironworker father
purchased the acre parcel
a portion surrounded
or squared in
by flat farmland ~
as a child and even more so
in teenage years
throughout this
often tilled land
with fields of corn
or navy beans
I was often accompanied
by my best friend
a beagle,
my dog Dino
we together
both enjoyed many hours
walking these country fields
and exploring, learning
about Nature
for it was during
these expeditions
lost to my younger years
that my spirituality
my inner emergent spirit
moved and prodded me
along the journey,
a path to write and relate
to share with others
my lived experience
doing so, through
a process of self discovery
wondering and wandering
emotively, intuitively
as well as psychically
within My Empathic Mysticism
~ ~
upon becoming a man
a young adult
my wandering Scot spirit
overcame the stay put
German/Polish spirit
I did yearn for
way something more
eerily inside,
mentally and physically
I needed to explore things
elsewhere,
in different places
traveling to live in the city
as well as,
flying the states
on an adventure,
going here and there
then eventually,
after awhile
I settled down
out east,
next to the Atlantic Ocean
coming to reside in the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
~ ~
even though, I do
really enjoy New England
my children
and grandchildren
live here with me
and too,
I really have no need
to live any place else
‘cause this is my home now
the spirit of Michigan
the land, the waters
and the peoples
the cultures from the past
till present, still
will always,
live
within my soul

“I was born a ‘Michigander’ or if you prefer the demonym, ‘Michiganian’ and yet, I’m not them ‘Yoopers,’ ‘cause I was raised in that Lower Peninsula in a place called Freeland; I’m mainly Scottish, German/Polish and as my family claims, I’ve got some Ojibwe, also said Ojibwa, Ojibway or referred to as Chippewa or Chippeway flowing in my veins; therefore to this very day, the spirit of Michigan lives within my soul.”

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

the humanness

greatness,
now that’s a tad
unfamiliar
to us the common
the everyday kind
you know
walking down the street
no different than
anyone else
blending into the crowd
being like the rest
doing the best you can
nothing special
nothing defined
out of the ordinary
to set oneself
from the lackluster norm
just living as you can
or how you may ~
unless you choose
otherwise
like a beacon in a storm
giving yourself
over to a purpose
some cause
living it passionately
not for the recognition
or personal gain
but for the nobility
of it all
motivated by
the humanness
rather than
the greatness

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

indifference that scourge

the people want peace
hope and pray for it
and yet it does not come to pass ~
tension always there
among the people
conflict kept under oath
waiting for a reason to escalate ~
negotiation and compromise
only the bandage
for those deep wounds
bloodied by hatred
never quite stopping to seep ~
wherefore peace
as the outcome of resolution
becomes only some illusion
like the mask to cover
the underlying indifference ~
indifference that scourge
culturally embedded and fed
spreading its affliction
throughout
and about
those concerned
as if to become inherent ~
the byproduct
emergent to conflict’s sway

“It’s hard to negotiate a lasting peace between individuals or groups in conflict, if indifference not peace is the underlying objective among all those concerned.”

“Seemingly due to feelings of intolerance, indifference tends to set into the psyche, if a person’s expectation for positive change does not occur within the time period they’ve allotted.”

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

darkness descends

darkness descends
as a fog upon mind
pervasive and murky
forlornly stirring
emotive tidal waters
beyond a breaker’s
dissipative efficacy
ensued by time
transformed either
as the void enabling
listless apathy
or a recuperative
reservoir for healing
bestowing hiatus
until mental integrity
transcends into
a brighter resilience
fading awareness
as to the dark’s
depressive activity

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

cringe ~ cliché

I’ve heard it said,
“poetry on why you write poetry”
can make a person
want to cringe
as well as using clichés
unless determined
by the THEM ~
to be used in some unique way
guess
when I use a ~ ‘squiggly‘
being me,
a poet of individuality
distinctively augmenting
the flow spewing my inter-voice
is like that overused saying,
“fingernails on a chalkboard”
to THEM ~ poetry critics ~
if you say so,
whatever ~
if poetic word is not ~
exploited to self-portray the act
the doing of the poetic experience
what a disfavor to the flavor
the embodied essence
entwined within the poetic form ~
creativity’s originality
expressed individuality
brought forth from within
words of thought
enmeshed
brewed
with the tang
the twang
of linguistic mannerisms
tempered with the humdrum of cliché ~
only to be exposed by some
as if a deficient use of poetry
tainted during dearth rubbed off
while living among ~
them people
the everyday
kind of folk ~ cringe

“My poetic words of thought embody creativity’s originality brought forth through a process of expressed individuality; appreciatively though, my poetry is also socially embedded with the linguistic mannerisms that are representative of the everyday kind of folk of which I’ve experienced life.”

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

if We the people had

how so much more
so much fuller
so much better
could and would life be

if only, yes if only
if We the people
had
information
right there
before us
to learn
to readily become
better educated
experiencing more fully
the individuality of
an enriched curiosity
and the treasures
that creativity bestows ~
if We the people
had
transportation
to go here and there
wherever needed
or especially wanted
increasing productivity
and promptness
not only in work
but in play as well ~
if We the people
had
health care
to assist and to mend
bringing healing
and hope to all those
from the young to the old
brightening spirits
through the
lessoning of worry
as to ache and pain ~
if We the people
had
housing
a place to live
get a way from it all
a safe haven
where everyone
can find rest
and be rejuvenated
children can be encouraged
and nurtured
by experiencing
the family bond
if We the people
had
energy
at everyone’s
beck and call
at one’s disposal
adding to the ease
the convenience
allowing for the time
for those things deemed
more important
more special
worthy or valuable to
the living of everyday life

how so much more
so much fuller
so much better
could and would life be

if only, yes if only
if We the people
had
if all these things
information,
transportation,
health care,
housing
and energy ~
were to the people
more freely assessable
and affordable
wherefore overtime
if We the people
given the chance
the opportunity
for the people
to become less needy
to become
not so much the taker
however more
the contributor
whose acts
whose deeds
whose novelty
sweat,
blood and tears
became known
as what was those things
brought forth
as beneficial for
the people by the people
thereafter helping
to sustain and preserve
the survival of the people ~
rather than
instead of all these things
information,
transportation.
health care,
housing
and energy
remaining
going on being
centered around
squandered away
during the pursuit
that quest
called self-interest
for only the personal gain
only the prize
acquired by the select
the fortunate
given as a birthright
to the privileged few

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

as if I’m someone in death

I’m not real needy anymore
don’t really need to be cuddled
better not to hold me to tight
making me feel caged in ~
I’ve got things to do
places to see,
learn and know what I can
maybe give more than I took
before the darkness sets in ~
I have changed with age
judging and forgiving others
not high on my list
listening and understanding
brings way more release
more relief I’ve found within
the process of acceptance ~
I’ve grown tired of the IQ kick
whether da Vinci, Einstein
or Shakespeare
were more intelligent
who freakin’ cares
one thing is for sure
they all had the gift of curiosity
to know living and then create
what’s novel through individuality ~
I’m in older years being me
not someone lost in the crowd
daily putting in my time
captivated by the wave of norm
like that complacent drone
begging a fraction of self-worth
some mention of once was
briefly remembered
as if I’m someone in death

peace out

Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~