Poems by Don Hamaliuk

A LITTLE BIT OF SHAME
 
Hey you; stuck on the street, with not a care in the world
Your hair all in knots and your nails long and curled
I have pity for you and a little bit of shame
So busy with my life, I don’t even know your name
 
If you ask me for change, I might pull out my money
I’ll hand over so little, it’s not even funny
I am so healthy and strong and successful today
I wonder what it’d take, for me to be your way
 
If you were my child, so lonely and hopeless
I would do all I could, to get you out from that mess
But my children are successful and I’m doing just fine
I guess I don’t have to worry, if the worry’s not mine…

MUCH TOO BUSY EATING
 
I’m enjoying a second helping and yet another drink
My plate needs my attention, little time to stop and think
We’ll be throwing out the leftovers; our fridge is overflowing
So I’ll just keep on eating, even though my stomach’s showing
 
Someone needs to finish it, it seems like such a waste
So many different flavors, I’ve lost my sense of taste
Here comes another spoonful, I just need to open wide
The last one was kind of mushy; this one’s crunchy fried
 
I should start a diet, when I empty out my pantry
But there’s a stock of 40 days, I need to keep it handy
I’m addicted to going shopping; I get there every day
And the restaurant around the corner, has an excellent buffet
 
It breaks my heart to think, that someone’s going hungry
Living on the street, or from a weather ravaged country
The food that I am wasting, could feed a family or two
But I’m much too busy eating, so what am I to do

Click on the file below to watch Don read one of his poems:

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THE PAIN OF FOODLESS HUNGER
 
My hunger is quite different; my stomach feels no pain
My longing is for finer things, possessed in capital gain
My next meal is not concerning; it’s at my beckoned call
My options almost endless, at the food court in the mall
 
A search for life giving sustenance, is never on my mind
I’m addicted to salt and sugar and all those things refined
I almost never check the weather; it’s of no concern to me
The conditions are mostly perfect; anywhere I choose to be
 
I can travel almost anywhere; my passport’s up to date
I always book a five star lodge; the service is just great
Free to talk about anything, to all people that I know
I’m connected through my cell phone, everywhere I go
 
I’m not saying my life is perfect, but it is pretty good
I’m free to think and do, anything I think I should
At times I feel so selfish and a little embarrassed too
But to feel the pain of foodless hunger, I haven’t got a clue

Don Hamaliuk writes, entertains and although can be serious, has an over indulging appetite for humour and is continually searching for the lyrical magic of fun, frolic and imagination.…. Knowing everyone is vulnerable to our daily pressures, he feels a kinship to lost souls, volunteering and donating at our local Hope Mission.

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