Carl Martin Johnson
Poet, Author, Slayer of Dragons
© Carl Martin Johnson, All rights reserved
PALADIN
By Carl Martin Johnson
I found the Kingdom wanting,
In need of men like me.
There were dangers, many daunting.
An entire people to set free.
So I searched for a liege,
Someone to lend my sword,
To help break Evil’s siege.
A fine and worthy lord.
But the royalty was weak,
Not deserving of my blade.
Not the patron I would seek,
Nor would I follow if he bade.
Yet the people were deserving,
Their hearts strong, and characters pure.
My desire to help remained unswerving.
I saw transgressions I could cure.
To fight they were full willing
If only a man would lead them.
They feared neither death nor killing.
For their own redemption I would need them.
Many of them came
To fight the tyrant and the beast.
They kindled freedom’s flame
From the strongest to the least.
We swept over the land,
Driving all who harm before us.
There were hordes in my command.
Even Satan could not ignore us.
We threw the oppressors out,
Quenched the Dragon’s fire,
Put all enemies to rout,
Taught them to fear our ire.
Now no king sits on the throne.
We all share the crown.
No one man alone
Can fit the royal gown.
The victory was not mine.
It belongs to all who fought.
They made a nation fine,
That with heroes blood was bought.
And they learned that we Paladin
Are not as strong as they.
It is good and simple men
Who will guide Life the right way.
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ANSWERS
By Carl Martin Johnson
I climbed the mountain and looked around.
Nowhere seen were the answers sought.
Yet I knew they must be found,
Else my living be for naught.
I looked up to the sky,
Searching the stars for any sign.
I saw nothing to tell me why,
Or my part in the Grand Design.
Caves and caverns I descended,
Into the bowels of the earth.
Still the journey was not ended
To find the purpose of my birth.
Many years in vain I wandered,
Edging nearer to despair.
All my time and hope I squandered
Chasing answers here and there.
At long last my will gave in.
I closed my eyes and cried.
But with my gazed turned within
I discovered a small spark deep inside.
Against my wishes it drew me near,
Growing brighter as I closed.
A desperate hope overcame my fear,
And I allowed my mind to be exposed.
It absorbed my soul and secrets shared.
Told me my hunt was wrong.
Was not for answers I should have cared.
It is the Question that sings Life’s song.
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APOCALYPSE
By Carl Martin Johnson
Hooves pounding, beating, flashing
Splashing deeply in the mud,
Into live and dead both slashing,
Driving through thick foaming blood.
Riders red-eyed, scythes and sabers.
No mercy shown for weak mankind.
No protection from their deadly labors.
The horsemen ride with vengeance blind.
Now beg mercy all you sinners,
Too late now for bended knee.
No more now of God’s grace winners.
Now we meet our Destiny.
Run, ye wicked and ye frightened.
You will not find salvation near.
No more souls will be enlightened.
The End of Days is here.
Now it is we against the others,
Angels damned and angels saved.
We must fight them all, my brothers.
Our only hope is danger braved.
Beg not God to intercede.
You are armed, though unaware.
You must now spill blood or bleed.
There can be victory if you dare.
Fight with me, though brave be few,
And we have greater share of glory.
When this final battle is through,
The stars themselves will tell our story.
Of the three sides in this fight:
Demons, Angels, and Mankind.
Only one will last this night.
Only one will God wake to find.
God’s closest kin is Man.
It is we who shall prevail.
It is we who will make The Plan.
It is the others who will fail.
So, charge on Horsemen, and you others.
Come and meet us on the field.
You will find me and my brothers
Will not be the ones to yield.
Come, Apocalyptic Riders!
If ye would fight or referee.
With me and mine, you’ll see not hiders.
We are the best that Man can be.
This is the Battle of the End.
The World starts new from here.
From this night, it is not you, Friend,
But me and mine the World must fear.
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VIGIL
By Carl Martin Johnson
The night was cold, but never mind.
You were at my side.
I think God was very kind
To let me be there when you died.
We knew each other many years.
We loved young but moved apart.
Others gave us smiles and tears,
But love lay dormant in our heart.
Half a century until we married,
Before our souls became complete.
Then all the life we carried
Gave our love strength if not youth’s heat.
For a year we’ve been full blessed,
Believing happiness would never end.
We never would have guessed
How little time we had to spend.
The stars were plentiful this night.
Not competing with a moon
Made each silver point more bright
Like many tiny diamonds strewn.
You read until the late sun faded.
I sat at peace, no thought at all.
For no other life would I have traded.
The road was smooth until the fall.
You kissed me lightly as I slept
And awoke me from a dream
Of joy so pure I wept
Wakened eyes still fresh agleam.
I rose to fill your glass with wine.
When I returned you were gone.
Your lovely eyes had lost their shine.
Your soul decided to move on.
I wish I’d been taken, too.
I will be lonely from now on.
God knows how close we grew.
What is left, now you are gone?
I have held you all the night,
My last night to have you near.
Now I see the morning light,
And I must let you go, my dear.
I’ll pray to hurry to your side.
Please save a place for me.
It is not our love that died.
That will live for eternity.
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PASSING BY ON MY WAY
By Carl Martin Johnson
As a boy I walked this country road,
It’s red clay powder dry.
Just to the east a small stream flowed,
But that was days gone by.
This time of year, in early Spring,
Small flower buds dot the trees.
Red and blue birds are on the wing.
Early clover calls the bees.
There are thin, high clouds when I raise my gaze,
The sky still a pale winter blue.
In a month the fields will be ablaze
With blooms of every hue.
In the white house back there, my parents live.
They’ll be sad they missed me.
I know there is much that they would give
To have simply hugged and kissed me.
But, anyway, I’ll see them soon.
All the family will be there.
Not one of us is born immune.
We all must pay the fare
Just today the shells left me dead and shattered.
I raged at such a cheat.
Then I saw that length was not what mattered
A short life can be complete.
It is not so bad to be set free,
Only frightening for a second.
The passing only worried me
Until I saw the One who beckoned.
And if you ask him as a friend
To stop for a visit along the way,
He will, as for me, an angel lend,
Because once in Heaven you’ll want to stay.
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LOVE IN ANGER
By Carl Martin Johnson
He hurt you with his cheating.
He made you hide and cry.
You felt your broken heart stop beating.
You prayed that you would die.
Then the sadness turned to hate.
You were knocked down but not dead.
To be a victim was not your fate.
He no longer ruled your bed.
You knew you were alluring.
You could tempt most any man.
You would not seek true love enduring,
Only to use your beauty while you can.
The one you found was strong.
Not handsome, but quite willing.
You would not need him long,
And the adventure had turned thrilling.
You did things in that night
That you had never done before.
You cared not wrong or right,
You gave leave to your inner whore.
When you peaked and screamed aloud,
Your body wet and heated,
You felt neither shamed nor proud,
Only revenged on the one who cheated.
Now you lie beside a stranger,
Vengeance taken, but unsure.
Only now you see the danger,
And doubt this was a cure.
Could you go back to your lover?
Still want him? Yes, you do.
But from this could he recover?
Knowing you had also been untrue?
You rise quietly and dress.
You leave with numbness in your heart.
Should you, or should you not, confess,
Or leave it all for a clean fresh start.
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THE FURY
By Carl Martin Johnson
The universe is a living thing.
It was born, it lives and grows.
It has a voice, a song to sing,
And a conscious mind that knows.
Among its stars are such as we,
And beings of every kind,
Running over planets free,
Toward a God we hope to find.
We are each a cell in the corpus whole,
Integral piece and yet alone.
Both our own, and of a larger soul,
Whose limits are unknown.
Life roars joyous all around us.
Life drives us from inside.
Its wonders and beauty surround us,
Charging forward in wild ride.
We are caught in the spinning whirlpool,
Yet to this maelstrom we belong,
Reaching out to find what gods rule,
Who will save us, make us strong.
Do you hear the sound, the fury?
The mournful wail forlorn?
Embrace it, you need no jury.
It is Life being born.
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RESURRECTION
By Carl Martin Johnson
I passed gently into whiteness,
Soft and soothing all around.
Increasing in its brightness,
Until, at last, I felt found.
That which held be in embrace
I could not see, but only feel.
I searched, but saw no face.
Though the presence there was real.
In truth, I had no eyes to see.
No parts of me at all.
I was a breeze, just flowing free.
But on the edges of a squall.
A sense of something prime,
Source of all that life could be,
Commanding space and time,
Beyond eternity.
Memories flew by,
Some new, some very old.
I did not laugh or cry.
Their stories had been told.
Then I slept, or something near it.
No thought was in my mind.
Only strangeness, yet I did not fear it.
There was something new I must find.
A loving kiss becalmed my soul,
If kissed a ghost can be.
I was again becoming whole.
A same, but newer, me.
Golden whirlpools set me spinning,
Growing stronger, more complete,
Heading to a new beginning,
Hearing a new heart start to beat.
My features reassembled.
A different me outside.
For a moment brief I trembled,
For the first time since I died.
My eyes, now freshly grown,
Opened wide and looked around
Upon a world like none I’d known,
Through a soul I’d newly found.
Kind forgetfulness came lapping,
Like the tide, relieving pain.
All the Universe ‘round me wrapping,
Making me human once again.
Images came flashing
Of lives I’d lived before,
Until consciousness went crashing,
Sliding me through Heaven’s door.
An angel whispered in my ear
To send me on my way.
Said not to worry, not to fear.
I ‘d be born again today.
And I knew before the birth,
For an instant, and then gone
This new life would be of great worth,
And my cycle carried on.
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RIPPLES
By Carl Martin Johnson
Spreading ripples in the pond,
Life circles from my birth,
Memories hard and memories fond
Of my time here on Earth.
The ripples fade away and die.
New stones must be thrown.
And with each pebble cast I try
To see the ripples grown.
The rocks are larger year by year,
Taking greater strength to heave them.
I cannot hide the fear
That someday I must leave them.
Then the ripples are no more.
The water will be still.
Perhaps a new world to explore.
Can I spread ripples there, I will.
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YOUR FOOT
By Carl Martin Johnson
Flowing alabaster line
From your ankle to your toe,
Contours delicate and fine,
Exciting more than you can know.
Your perfumed skin enhances
The simple beauty of the sight.
Your goddess foot entrances,
Fulfilling fantasies in the night.
I touch your vibrant skin,
My breath your instep warming
Where to love do I begin?
Every part of you is charming.
I graze the arch with fingertips.
I find its shape exciting.
I follow closely with my lips.
Your taste is so inviting.
Each soft digit a fine ring wears,
Simple gold or ruby fire
Enhancing the beauty your foot shares
With the loveliness I see higher.
One by one, I suck them slow,
Enjoying your body’s flavor,
Feeling my passion stir and grow
As each ambrosial toe I savor.
My hungry mouth, wet and warm
Devours you with desire.
I dine long on your luscious charm.
And it sets my blood on fire.
I kiss your sweet foot once again,
Our night of love complete.
I have never had such sensuous sin,
As my loving of your feet.
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SHE COMES TO ME IN MOONLIGHT
By Carl Martin Johnson
She comes to me at night,
Sweet perfume in the air,
Bathed in the moon’s white light,
A softly whispered prayer.
She wears transparent evening mist.
In full view her precious charms.
Moist lips begging to be kissed,
Urging passion in my arms.
She slides smoothly to my side,
Skin soft as a morning rose.
A wraith-like, lovely midnight bride,
Wrapping me in passion’s throes.
After, spent, into her eyes I gaze.
They glow with starlight bright.
With a hot, pure love they blaze.
I am special in her sight.
Is she real or do I dream her?
Are they true love sighs I hear?
Does the moon magically beam her?
Is it illusion I hold dear?
She turns to me for my caress.
Her fingers touch my face.
Would I love her any less,
If it’s a specter I embrace?
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