~ mind games

fuckin’   ~   mind games
and I do hate them
~    and yet
people being people
gotta play them
why   ~
don’t
know for sure
some people
really do like getting
other people
all fucked up
just for kicks
I guess   ~
WTF   ~
whatever   ~
fuckin’
floats your boat
~    however,
me   ~
I ain’t gonna
play that game
~    MIND FUCKING
‘cause
I choose
not to allow another
to fuck
around
with
my mind
as if   ~
at the national
yo-yo games
being
pulled about
on the string
~    only for
the amusement
of a MIND FUCKER
willingly terrorizing
the minds of
~    unfortunate souls
more susceptible
to the ways of   ~
fuckin’   ~   mind games

peace out

Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

lips of deceit

there are those
who outwardly act
like some actor
upon the stage
speaking as if
they are kind
and caring   ~   and yet
disguised as sheep
they are actually
fuckin’ wolves
lurking about
in unseen
places   ~   where
it’s freely
revealed
without trickery
the unsavory nature
condemning them
hopelessly
to a life untrue
for the lies they keep
enslaving them
outwardly to pretend
like some actor
upon the stage
acting as if
they are kind
and caring   ~   and yet
they really are not
having only   ~
lips of deceit

peace out

Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

I’ve got this dream …. you’ll see

I’ve got this dream
you’ll see
a wanting
deep within me
always there
like a past life thingy
and yet put on hold
until the time
where it will
find fulfillment
but I do have
a great imagination

I want to sail
yep, at least
a 40’ Catamaran
all the way
from Boston, MA
to Leland, MI

this dream to me
seems possible
although
some think different
and I must admit
it is a little insane
to say the least
especially if
the waters rise
the weather
worsens
due to
climate change
as predicted
by science

I’d have to leave
Boston harbor
passing the ship
U.S. Constitution
sail around Nova Scotia
Cape Breton
once home to the
inventor named Bell
and if I had my wish
could pick
the day and time
the place
I would die
it would be
right off
the best kept secret
on the Cabot Trail
Meat Cove

then I’d go down
the well traveled
St. Lawrence Seaway
toward Quebec
and Montreal
and then it’s said
the best of sailors
have been tested
by the locks
full of tankers
and the canals
as well as,
the changing
weather of
lake Ontario
if you get past
Niagara Falls
near Buffalo, NY

let’s not forget
sailing across
lake Erie,
then north up
the Detroit river
past the
Rouge river
where my
schoolmate Jimmy
and I worked at
Ford Motor Company
a year and half ago
he passed away
oh how I miss him dearly
and I think of when
he lived in
Allen Park
the city
with one of my most
influential muses
as a poet
RLF
she now fights
the battle
against MS

as I sailed by
gently I’d wave
off in a distance
at the two houses
I owned
in Farmington
and Farmington Hills
homes where I lived
for about 15 years
with my ex-wife
and three children

after which
I’d sail on
into lake Huron
towards the thumb
past the land areas
in Michigan
and Canada
the country
my children’s ancestors
are from
on their mother’s side
of the family
how I miss
my in-laws
Papa G
and Mickey …..
my family has lived
in counties named
Saginaw
and
Midland
where my ex-wife
gave birth to our son
and Bay City
the town,
my best friend
in high school now lives
with his wife
the singer Madonna
was born there
who my girlfriend
went to high school with
back towards Pontiac
in Rochester

as I sailed on
turning to the west
I’d blow a gentle kiss
to my hometown
Freeland
still to this day
my mom and siblings
live nearby
my dad has passed away
I am so glad
him and I
worked things out
as father and son
in my forties
this is also a place
filled with memories
about classmates
old friends
with names like Alan
Larry
Donny
Bruce
Mike
my baseball team
Band of Brothers
and a Sister
I call Bertie
all I’ve stayed
in touch with
through the years
along with my 2nd family
the Pingel’s
love you tons
Mert and Fran
Linda and Dolly
including your
pain in the ass brother
I previously mentioned
and the daughter
of my dad’s best friend Ray
Susie …. my eternal sister
I love her dearly ~
boy do I remember
my childhood
sweetheart
CAM
the girl
that turned into
a beautiful woman
and mother
I will always love

eventually I’d reach
the windy
Straits of Mackinac
where thousands
of shipwrecks
boats both
big and small
have sunken to
a watery fate
deep down
at the water’s bottom
I’d sail under
Mighty Mac
that bridge my
iron-worker relatives
helped to construct
and where my cuz David
attends regularly
the iron-worker games

if that weren’t enough
the fun I’ve dream of
ahead
in lake Michigan
is about to being
along my way
to the east
I’d think inland
to Alanson
and the Crooked River
the place where
my father’s parents
owned a cottage
during my
childhood days
and what child
could ever forget
the drive-in there
with the polar bear
in the glass case
an the racing boats
flying down the river
the noise hurting my ears

suddenly
as I slip on by
the mouth of
Grand Traverse Bay
I’d see before me
the Leelanau Peninsula
and soon thereafter
the Leland Marina
my destination
ever since
I left Boston
awhile ago

instantly
my mouth waters
for white fish
15 year old scotch
down at
that place
my love and I
once ate
if still there
called the Cove
but first I’ll call
my loved ones
back in Mass
and tell them
I’ve finally made it
and I’ll fly home soon
’cause my muses in NYC
Regina
and KAP
flood back into my mind
as well as my publisher
and fellow artist
“just Bill” in Jersey
my activist friend Eberhardt
and the spirit
of my comrade Dino
my artist friend Andrew
in and around Baltimore
all calling me
back to action

but before then
I’ll call an old friend
in Traverse City
to help me celebrate
because, after all
I’ve got this dream
you’ll see

peace out

Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

the struggle

Tired I am
trying to be all I can be
Struggle and fight the odds
I’ll show them
Yeah right
sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it all
Beyond my delusions
who really cares what I do
All seem busy just living their lives each day
Never noticing my efforts
my cause, my vision

Damn it all
I say to my pathetic self
Think about it
who really listens to your bitching ways
up to me to live proactively and to bring change
I must cherish the moment and live fully
Appreciate life’s struggle
therein lies the key
Not the end that really matters
but it’s all in the journey

When it comes to that journey called life, fully enjoy the dance before the music comes to an end.

peace out

Words by    ~Keith Alan Hamilton~

Dedicated to my muse  –  KAP

8 Peace Out Poems about I and me

1

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

2

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

3

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   ~

I

5

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

6

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

7

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

8

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

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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~