
Carl Martin Johnson
Poet, Author, Slayer of Dragons
© Carl Martin Johnson, All rights reserved
FADING BEAUTY
By Carl Martin Johnson
Youthful beauty cannot endure.
It was not made to last.
It is your soul that will hold pure
When the mirror’s allure has passed.
Enjoy your present, use it well.
Let your bloom attract the bees.
Flaunt what you have to sell.
Drive the young men to their knees.
Soon time will come to meet you,
Paint your face with living’s lines.
Younger beauties will unseat you.
Yet, you’ll age well, like the best of wines.
They will see, who are worthwhile
The warm beauty of your soul,
And the radiance of your smile.
Those time does not control.
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DREAMS I CANNOT KEEP
By Carl Martin Johnson
I have dreams when I sleep,
Dreams I cannot keep.
They make life worth living.
But when dawn bids me wake,
All my illusions break.
I lose what Night was giving.
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LAUGHTER HIDING
By Carl Martin Johnson
Why are you, Laughter, hiding?
I will catch you soon.
The sunbeam I am riding
Can hear your happy tune.
I found your sister, Smile.
She graced me with her kiss.
But you’ve been gone a while,
And your hearty sound I miss.
I can feel you near.
In a moment I’ll embrace you.
I will spread your cheer,
So others need not chase you.
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WILL YOU STOP THE RAIN
By Carl Martin Johnson
Who will stop the rain,
Should rain begin to fall?
Who will ease my pain?
Who will heed my call?
Who will bring the sun?
Part the clouds to let it shine?
Who will get that done?
Make the rainbow mine?
Wind, carry my plea.
Find a loving ear.
One who cares for me.
One who’ll hold me dear.
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GREAT SOUL
By Carl Martin Johnson
There is a warm Great Soul somewhere
That calms all my worst fears.
I feel it when I have hard care
In my unshed tears.
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STUCK WORDS
By Carl Martin Johnson
Some days the words won’t come
They are stuck deep in my soul.
I don’t know where they’re from.
Their birth I can’t control.
My pen does as it's told.
Letters come as a surprise.
Verses weak and verses bold,
They are strangers to my eyes.
They float in the world’s mind,
Searching for a fool like me.
There are many of my kind.
I’m just a tool, you see.
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SEE THE HEAT
By Carl Martin Johnson
Do you see the heat,
Do you feel the light,
When demons and angels meet
To tell poets what to write?
They pleasure in their game.
We are pawns and nothing more.
Words of beauty or of shame,
It is they we scribble for.
So, poet , lose your pride.
You only spit their verses.
Angels and demons are inside.
Theirs the laurels and the curses.
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WHERE WISDOM HIDES
By Carl Martin Johnson
Prophets have their role.
Sages serve as guides.
But look into your soul.
That’s where Wisdom hides.
Close your eyes and seek the glow.
Feel its warming light.
Hold it close and grow.
You will know that it is right.
The seed was planted at your birth,
By God’s own hand was sown.
All wisdom that has worth,
Blooms there as your own.
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GOD, SEND ME A FEAR
By Carl Martin Johnson
God, send me a fear,
So I feel alive again.
It is risk that I hold dear.
Addicted to adrenalin.
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A LIFE COMPLETE
By Carl Martin Johnson
Each moment is a life complete.
A beginning and an end.
One after another meet
Until there are no more to spend.
Every instant we are new.
All else is in the past.
Only now is true.
And now will never last.
We must the seconds treasure,
Make each better than before,
Times of pain and pleasua lifere
Equally make us more.
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I AM STILL LIVING
By Carl Martin Johnson
Today I am still living.
That means I’ve got a chance
To find what Life is giving,
To join her in the dance.
I will never declare surrender.
There are wonders yet to see.
Look inside and see the splendor.
Kin of angels, you and me.
Let our souls shout out in joy.
There is beauty all around.
Dark thoughts cannot destroy
The grandeur we have found.
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LIFE FLAME
By Carl Martin Johnson
Let not your life’s flame grow cold.
Stoke it to roaring fire,
Lest your immortal soul grow old
And of being tire.
Your spirit burns pure love as fuel.
Let it fill your heart.
Never let yourself be cruel.
Take all Mankind’s part.
Share the warmth inside.
For others be a light.
Let no love be denied.
But fellow souls ignite.
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WINTER SOLSTICE
By Carl Martin Johnson
Tonight is the longest night.
Today the shortest day.
But if we hold each other tight,
We’ll keep the blues at bay.
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AT YOUR SIDE
By Carl Martin Johnson
You’ll not walk this road alone.
I’ll be always at your side.
We’ll not by the Fates be thrown.
Our will shall be our guide.
Should enemies assail us,
Together we’ll defeat them.
Our courage will not fail us.
Arms linked we will meet them.
And all Life’s joy we’ll share.
I’ll forever be your friend.
Only call and I’ll be there.
Our love will have no end.
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I HAVE AN UGLY FACE
By Carl Martin Johnson
I have an ugly face
To those who cannot see.
But God gave some the grace
To look deeper into me.
I have beauty in my heart.
All of it I’ll share.
But to find it is an art.
You must really care.
To most of mortal eyes,
I arouse only disdain.
But angels know disguise.
They feel salvation in my pain.
So they fill my soul with angels wings.
In my eyes you’ll see the wonder.
You’ll find the joy that kindness brings.
And that I’m more than just God’s blunder.
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