(3 comments)        Saturday, November 12, 2016
A Kriegie's Prayer--a poem for Armistice Day
SHARE "It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the Voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.

(6 comments)        Thursday, October 13, 2016
The Sage--a poem by Maj. Ralph Hamilton
SHARE Ralph awakened from a dream one night, around 1972, and jotted down the words to this spontaneous, yet surprisingly integrated, poem. It really seemed to have emerged from his subconscious as a whole. He didn't "work" it too much; he just wrote it down when he woke up.

(6 comments)        Saturday, September 17, 2016
Rusty Bicycle
SHARE Poem written in Taiwan about an old man on his old bike.
Series: Poetry (3 Diaries, 6078 views)

(12 comments)        Monday, September 5, 2016
Tibetan Book of the Dead
SHARE I wrote "Tibetan Book of the Dead" in Taiwan while reading the classic Buddhist text by that title (the Evan-Wentz edition with introduction by Carl Jung). Writing the poem helped me try to understand the book--to the degree my humble capacity allows. It's arcane material, but Jung and Evan-Wentz make it fairly accessible to "Westerners". Shawn Hamilton
Series: Poetry (3 Diaries, 6078 views)

(12 comments)        Saturday, June 4, 2016
McDonalds and Disneyland in Baghdad
SHARE I wrote this poem after the US invaded Iraq in 2003. The social atmosphere at home was frightening. People were chanting, "USA!" "USA!", beating up foreigners, and putting flags and yellow ribbons on everything. Bloodlust was in the air, and I felt as if my countrymen were alien to me; I couldn't relate to them at all. Also, I grew up next to Disneyland in Anaheim (a short walk) and had a lot of opportunity to consider the sociological implications of "The Magic Kingdom", including its role in propaganda. Interestingly, Walt Disney was a mentor to McDonald's founder Ray Kroc. It's a Small World, huh? It was in this context and atmosphere that I wrote "McDonalds and Disneyland in Baghdad".
Series: Poetry (3 Diaries, 6078 views)