
Carl Martin Johnson
Poet, Author, Slayer of Dragons
© Carl Martin Johnson, All rights reserved
LOVE SONG TO MY FLAG
By Carl Martin Johnson
Like the skirts of a lovely dancing girl
My country’s banner flies.
My heart beats fast to see her whirl,
Stars and Stripes ‘gainst azure skies.
Beneath her men have fought and died.
Valiant souls who held her dear.
Patriot hearts she still fills with pride.
In our enemies she strikes fear.
Mothers yet give up their young
To keep her flying proud.
So when I hear her anthem sung,
I’ll stand and sing it loud.
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BROTHER, TAKE MY HAND
By Carl Martin Johnson
Brother, take my hand.
Let me help you to your feet.
Together we will stand.
We will never accept defeat.
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THE WOODLAND PATH
By Carl Martin Johnson
I took a woodland path today,
One I’d not walked before.
It was a bit out of my way,
But I needed to explore.
I had a very important date,
At least it was to me.
I was risking being late,
Yet I felt no urgency.
Autumn colors surrounded, bursting,
Yellow, gold and red.
Nature’s grandeur slaked my soul’s thirsting,
And kept my spirit fed.
The sunlight leaking through was warm,
Flavored with buttery beams.
This new path lured me with its charm,
Lulling me into dreams.
At long last I became aware
That I had missed my meeting.
But I found I did not care.
True joys of life are fleeting.
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A SOUL RELEASED
By Carl Martin Johnson
His only sense was ecstasy.
He was a soul released.
Had he known how joyous death would be,
He’d have envied the deceased.
He would miss those left behind,
But they’d be with him soon.
Uniting all within God’s Mind.
No mortal is immune.
They too would have the Knowing,
As they passed through Eternity’s door,
With the stream of True Life flowing,
Toward becoming More.
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OLD SCARS
By Carl Martin Johnson
Old scars tell my story,
Smoky barrooms, foreign wars.
All my shame and glory,
In the mural of my scars.
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INSIDE THE MIND OF GOD
By Carl Martin Johnson
I put myself inside God’s mind
In hope of acquiring vision.
My mortal brain was too confined.
I held it in derision.
At first I did not have the skill
Such power to control.
In spite of my determined will,
I’d only a human soul.
Then I filled with Holy Ghost,
Or other gift Divine,
So the ideas I was seeking most,
Once God’s now also mine.
I knew the secret of Being.
I felt eternity.
I was all that I was seeing,
And it was all of me.
Only a single mystic word
Could describe the things I knew.
But spoken it could not be heard,
Though it said all that’s true.
At last I found to my surprise,
My intellect had grown.
I was amazed to realize
The mind searched was my own.
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ALL MY PAIN
By Carl Martin Johnson
All my pain and all my sorrow
Are the price I pay for living.
If I wish to see tomorrow,
These fees I must keep giving.
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SENTRIES
By Carl Martin Johnson
The night birds sang a song to me.
They told me not to fear.
They would alert with cacophony
Should the enemy come near.
Their chorus lulled me soft to sleep
Under the blanket of jungle night.
Dreams I had promised my soul to keep
To be ready for the coming fight.
But first I prayed that I would wake.
If not, that angels take me.
It was a treaty I could make.
My birds would not forsake me.
They did not betray my trust.
They raised the warning cry.
Now I fight, as fight I must.
Not their fault if I die.
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DAYS LONG PAST
By Carl Martin Johnson
Sometimes I yearn for days long past,
For memories held dear.
Though such times, I know, can never last,
My heart still keeps them near.
I close my eyes and play the scenes
To my best recollection,
Knowing well as each one screens
That my recall is not perfection.
I must beware nostalgia’s bog,
Lest I neglect the present,
Wandering in romanticized fog,
That my mind has made over-pleasant.
I will stay aware of now.
That’s where my future’s sown.
It is there by what I do and how
That my life is truly shown.
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THE CONSCIOUS MIND OF MAN
By Carl Martin Johnson
Man is blessed with conscious mind.
Or perhaps it is a curse.
We are the sole life so designed,
But is our knowledge worse?
This precious gift is wrapped in fear,
For we see that we will die,
Unless we hold it as truth dear,
That our souls will death deny.
Is such wondering an affliction,
Or does it fertilize our growing?
Are our thoughts no more than fiction,
Or steps toward the Knowing?
These words from my pen,
Are prayers that Life has worth,
That awareness is no sin,
And we are eternal from our birth.
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WANDER WITH ME
By Carl Martin Johnson
Come join me as I wander,
We will search for what is true.
While we trek we’ll ponder
This world we’re moving through.
Great mysteries we’ll solve.
Many questions answer well.
When our minds enough evolve,
Discovered secrets we will tell.
As we journey we’ll devour
The marvels we are seeing.
And perhaps one inspired hour
We’ll find the truth of Being.
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WISH I WAS AN ANGEL
By Carl Martin Johnson
I wish I was an angel holy,
And I had wings,
And I could fly.
I’d circle ‘round the whole earth slowly,
In rings and rings,
And never die.
Like the light of a silver morning,
I’d spread cheer
To all mankind.
My blessings the world adorning
Far and near
To all I’d find.
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WARRIOR DUTY
By Carl Martin Johnson
Sing to me of the beauty
In the soul of every man
Who when called for warrior duty
Does the best he can.
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