Justin Hamilton Poems

I wrote these poems on Friday, August 28, 2009; the day 35-year-old Justin Hamilton jumped off Northampton's E. John Gare III Parking Garage around 12.30 pm. The man, who had battled Schizophrenia, died at the scene. Click here for the story. Also, read the comments of the story. There is a letter addressed to Mr. Contrada towards the end of the page, which is from the man's father.

Perspective

ripples gently lap the shore
the happy picnickers look up
see the beautiful day
the sparkling water
the majestic bridge
the lights of the police cars
and the crowd of people
staring into the water below

ltv


Jumping to Conclusions

is depression cliché
the idea of tortured voices
troubled minds silenced
by the violent calm of suicide
transformed into a surreal
picture so unlike ourselves
we cannot imagine ever
feeling anything similar
to the man crumpled
on the pavement

ltv



I hope he is free of his demons and that his family can understand that the best of him lives on in their memory more peacefully than the whole of him did on Earth.