page 80 | poetry

Unseen Arms

Have You Seen My Sweetheart

HAVE YOU SEEN MY SWEETHEART
By Carl Martin Johnson

Have you seen my sweetheart, friend?
She’s been gone for years.
But my search will never end.
I wander through my tears.

I don’t remember why she left.
I only know she’s gone.
Now I face each day bereft.
It’s hard to carry on.

I may never find her.
If I do, she may not want me.
She may have put me well behind her,
Yet she will always haunt me.

Perhaps she is not real.
Only a construct of my dreams.
Then this sadness that I feel
Is more pathetic than it seems.

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A MAN DEFINED
By Carl Martin Johnson

Here I am, a man defined.
I live by honor’s code.
In my heart and in my mind,
I take the warrior’s road.

I am tolerant of your views,
If they don’t constrain me.
I’ll not abide abuse,
And will fight you though it pain me.

Stand firm here by my side,
Allied to my strong arm.
We will never hide.
Never run from harm.

Should there be those who hate me,
I won’t change or give a damn.
No matter what fates await me.
I will be me…..Here I am.

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WOMAN’S DAY
By Carl Martin Johnson

All women I will celebrate,
They have Life’s greatest worth.
Through woman do we reach our fate,
For it is she who gives us birth.

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JACK TALBOT
By Carl Martin Johnson

Jack Talbot was a wandering man.
He made the world his home.
He found beauty where only a poet can
In every land where he would roam.

He spread his words all over.
He lifted saddened hearts.
This happy poet rover
Made life better with his arts.

He changed souls with his verses,
Lines of hope and glory.
He scattered hardship’s curses
With Man’s uplifting story.

Then John Talbot died.
He would write no more.
Many people cried,
But Life was richer than before.

He left behind a word,
Entrusted from above.
Felt better than heard.
And that word was “Love”.

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COME A LITTLE CLOSER
By Carl Martin Johnson

Come closer to me now.
I swear I’ll do no harm.
Loving well, I’ll show you how.
Let me be your magic charm.

I see beauty in your smile.
The spark of passion in your eyes.
Let me work with you a while.
I will fill you with surprise.

Let me whisper in your ear,
Magic words to capture hearts.
All men will hold you dear.
You’ll be master of loving arts.

Be my darling protégé.
Let me give you Eros’ power.
Then if you want me I will stay.
In our love’s sacred bower.

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IF I’M NOT HERE IN THE MORNING
By Carl Martin Johnson

If I’m not here in the morning,
I give my love into your care.
Should Death come with no warning,
For love to die would be unfair.

It has grown to be our child.
We have nurtured it from birth.
I’ll not see our love defiled
Just because I leave this earth.

Keep it warm, safe and secure.
Hold it close to your emotion.
With our souls may love endure.
Kept alive by our devotion.

Once by true love bitten,
Its spell cannot be undone.
Somewhere that is written.
With us let it be done.

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THE HANGING TREE
By Carl Martin Johnson

There’s a hill beside the Rio Grande.
On that hill’s a cottonwood tree.
Over a strong limb there it’s planned
To hang the life from me.

I rode for years this border wild.
I’ve robbed and killed my share.
So, God help this motherless child,
The price I’ll pay is fair.

I sit this horse and watch the sky.
Soon they’ll send me swinging.
I always knew how I would die.
That my neck would feel death’s stinging.

Funny how a boy like me
Went bad instead of good.
Guess it was just meant to be.
Don’t think I’d change it if I could.

Where I’m going I can’t tell.
Never been the prayin’ kind.
Maybe to nothin’….or to Hell.
I’ll find out what I find.

I best make this minute last.
Life won’t come back again.
I got no future, only past.
What I am is what I’ve been.

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THE CLOSING DOOR
By Carl Martin Johnson

Hurry! The door is closing.
You might miss your chance.
Don’t let life catch you dozing,
Or you will miss the dance.

See the opening shrink.
But you can still slip through.
No time to stop and think.
Only time to do.

Jump quick and you can make it.
Right on through you’ll slide.
Joy lies beyond, so take it.
Life shines on the other side.

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FEAR
By Carl Martin Johnson

Fear gripped me, icy-fingered,
Spread tendrils ‘round my heart.
Terror came and lingered,
Tearing my resolve apart.

It clutched the coward in me,
Snatched it from its cave,
Letting weakness win me.
How could I be brave?

I stood still and frozen.
Would I betray my trust?
I was the sentry chosen.
Now it’s fight I must.

I see the enemy’s eyes.
He is closing for the kill.
He will take us by surprise
If I cannot find the will.

God, let my hot blood flow,
My icy heart unchain.
Set my sword in battle throe.
Ignoring my wounds’ pain.

If it’s now I die,
Let me die with valor.
So, Fear pass me by.
I despise your faintheart’s pallor.

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YOUR BODY IN LOVE'S HEAT
By Carl Martin Johnson

Your body in love’s heat
I hold in celebration.
But the ecstasy most complete
Is our souls’ copulation.

________________________________________________

FEAST OF LOVE
By Carl Martin Johnson

Your lips against my skin
Set my loins afire.
Such delicious sin.
Such sensuous desire.

Your tongue across my chest
Tastes the hunger in my sweat.
With a spicy love we’re blessed.
We are in Eros’ debt.

Sweet flavors of pure lust
Excite our lover’s craving.
Our suppressed fires combust
Sending all our senses raving.

We savor every taste.
Each aroma gives us pleasure.
Nothing goes to waste
In this lovefeast that we treasure.

So, all of me devour,
And on your beauty I will dine.
We will feed our coupling’s power.
I’ll eat your passion, and you mine.

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I PEN VERSES THAT ARE NOT MINE
By Carl Martin Johnson

I pen verses that are not mine.
They arrive on angels’ breath.
Whispering to me words so fine
They let me see past death.

________________________________________

UNSEEN ARMS
By Carl Martin Johnson

Unseen arms wrap ‘round me
When life becomes too hard.
As if a brother found me,
I rest while he stands guard.

Held above the current,
No struggling against the flow,
Not seeing ghosts who weren’t,
Sensing my courage grow.

The strong arms will not release
‘Til I can make it on my own.
My troubled soul at peace.
And worry’s dragons flown.

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IS IT YOU
By Carl Martin Johnson

Is it really you I see,
Or are you buried deep within?
Do you show your self to me,
Unmasked by lovely skin?

How can I really know you?
How can I gain your trust?
I will do my best to show you
My love is more than lust.

Open up your heart.
I will treat it with great care.
Your inhibitions will depart,
And you’ll be happier, I swear.

My soul I too will bare.
All deceit will be forbidden.
No disguises will we wear.
Nothing will be hidden.

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TIMES
By Carl Martin Johnson

I’ve seen times of sadness.
I’ve seen times of joy.
Times of dreamer’s madness.
Memories time can’t destroy.

There were times when I was fearful.
Times when I was brave.
Times my heart was tearful.
Times I was love’s slave.

Soon comes the time of ending,
When I will see my rest.
The glory that is pending
Is a time when I’ll be blessed.

_

OUR BODIES TOUCHING
By Carl Martin Johnson

Our full bodies touching,
Moving with passion’s tremor.
Our hands sweet parts clutching.
Inhibitions growing dimmer.

Lost in erotic throes,
We quiver with desire.
Poetry, not Prose
Feeds our lustful Fire.

_

SLEEP CAME GENTLY
By Carl Martin Johnson

Sleep came gently to me,
Kissed me softly in the night,
Like a friend who knew me,
And embraced me with delight.

She held me in her arms.
Rocked me ‘til the dawn.
Soothed me with her charms.
Gave me strength to carry on.

Come morning light she stroked my face,
Introduced me to the dawn.
Loosed me from her fond embrace,
To return when day is gone.

_

LUCIFER’S REGRET
By Carl Martin Johnson

He gazed deep into the flame,
Recalling times long past.
He knew he was to blame.
But now the die was cast.

His soul was filled with pain.
His heart full of regret.
Glory once held in disdain,
He could not forget.

Spread before him demons screamed.
Each one a miserable being.
Forever unredeemed.
No escape….No hope of fleeing.

Grace once lit his face.
Once beautiful, now dark.
Of Heaven’s art no trace.
Vanished the Divine spark.

Arrogance had cost him dearly.
Retribution from Michael’s blade.
He saw what he’d lost clearly.
The damning mistake he’d made.

He would suffer long in Hell,
A prison of his own making.
No welcome sound of his death knell,
No from the nightmare waking.

_

DO YOU FEEL ME
By Carl Martin Johnson

Do you feel me deep inside?
Feel the power of my thunder
Will your love stay open wide
While I fill you with my wonder?

Is shrieking gale your passion’s moan
Set burning by my lightning?
Has this maelstrom from zephyr grown,
Wondrous love, but frightening?

When this monsoon at last subsides
Leaving our world drained and still,
We kiss the wind our loveheat rides,
And sleep in the storm’s sweet spill.

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SAVE A PLACE
By Carl Martin Johnson

Save a place in your life for me,
A corner of your heart,
A room where I can always be
Of you at least a part.

Just a place to rest my soul.
I won’t take up much space.
I’ll curl up tight until I’m made whole
Nurtured by your loving grace.

When you need me I’ll be there
To love you if you’ll let me.
I will never leave, I swear,
So please do not forget me.

_

WILD WIND BLOWING
By Carl Martin Johnson

There is a wild wind blowing.
I hear her whistling moan.
Setting old love’s ashes glowing.
Makes me sad to be alone.

Listen to her wail,
As she wanders in the storm.
Hiding despair in the sounds of gale,
Her heart no lightning bolt can warm.

Her spirit streams unseen.
Shrieks through barren trees.
Like demons tortured and unclean,
Setting my lost soul to freeze.

I wonder if she wants me.
Am I the one that she is chasing?
Why is it that she haunts me?
Why does she set my dead heart racing?

_

MY END
By Carl Martin Johnson

I feel the end is coming,
The limit of my time.
I hear the death drum drumming,
To their beat my soul will climb.

I have no regret.
Fate has done me fair.
I am in Life’s debt.
I’ve received a generous share.

Every battle I’ve not won.
Some dragons I’ve not slain.
But my race was honorably run.
I would do it all again.

I will have a new beginning.
What I’ve done has made me grow.
In the new life I am winning
There will be much more to know.

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BREATHING OUT HER HEAT
By Carl Martin Johnson

She breathed her heat into his ear.
Her tongue stirred hot the flame.
She had no thought of fear.
She had no sense of shame.

The love was wild and new.
She was hungry to begin.
What her heart felt was true.
She burned when skin touched skin.

She had made them one.
Single flare of passion’s fire.
What had as a spark begun
Was now a raging pyre.

She let her body with his melt.
Her flesh with his unite.
Pleasure never before felt
In the magic of this night.

Hot breath, ardor filled.
She could not hold it in.
This was what she’d willed.
It was her sacred sin.

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TO TAME THE WORD
By Carl Martin Johnson

I chased the word to tame it,
To make it suit my needs,
To let my soul inflame it,
To light my verses’ needs.

For long years I pursued it,
Oft tiring of the race.
But I rested to renew it,
To glimpse its elusive face.

I think I must seduce it.
It will not run to ground.
My passion must produce it,
Or it will not be found.

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Is It You

A Man Defined

Times

Woman's Day

Jack Talbot

Our Bodies Touching

Sleep Came Gently

Come A Little Closer

Lucifer's Regret

If I'm Not Here In The Morning

Do You Feel Me

Save A Place

Wild Wind Blowing

The Closing Door

Fear

My End

Breathing Out Her Heat

Feast Of Love

The Hanging Tree

Your Body In Love's Heat

To Tame The Word

I Pen Verses That Are Not Mine