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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SWEET SOUNDS
By Carl Martin Johnson

Sweet sounds of lovers sighing,
Of babies laughing low,
Of strong and good men trying,
Of fine women as they grow.

Sounds of dawn birds singing,
Of rain dripping from leaves slowly,
Of distant church bells ringing,
Of monks chanting deep and holy.

I hold all Life’s sweet sounds dear,
But the ones I’ll love the best
Are angel whispers I will hear
When God calls me to my rest.

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A SOLDIER’S PRAYER
By Carl Martin Johnson

God, I feel you ‘round me,
In the earth and air.
I am grateful that you found me.
Please accept a soldier’s prayer.

Make me compassionate, though brave.
Be saddened when I’m killing.
Try when I can to save
Though to fight hard be willing.

Let not my heart be cruel,
When protect my land I must.
But with courage my sword fuel,
When my cause is just.

And when Your angels take me,
With warrior’s honor may I die.
Lord, do not forsake me.
I am a soldier, and I try.

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LEAVE, SADNESS
By Carl Martin Johnson

Leave my heart now, Sadness!
Leave my heart with speed.
I won’t let you grow to Madness.
Your cruelty I don’t need.

I see Joy’s bright beams
Surging to replace you,
Changing nightmares to dreams.
Her power will erase you.

So leave me, dark emotion.
Life begins anew.
Joy has my devotion.
I am rid of you.

 

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TOGETHER FOR ETERNITY
By Carl Martin Johnson

I am you and you are me.
Together we are one.
Now we own eternity
We cannot be undone.

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THE GRAY STONE
By Carl Martin Johnson

True, I’m just a stone.
To most of little worth.
But there is much I’ve known
Since I was forged at the world’s birth.

I was once a giant boulder
Of marble’s greatest sort.
Carried home by human shoulder
And turned to wondrous art.

Then the vandals came.
They threw me to the ground.
My statue shattered into shame,
Marble pieces all around.

Now I’m an ordinary rock.
But I’ll be great again.
A trillion turns of the cosmic clock
And the cycle will begin.

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I WILL FIND IT
By Carl Martin Johnson

In the long run I will find it,
The door I’m looking for.
The Truth will be behind it,
The Face of God and more.

I will walk Life’s trail,
Every hard step I’ll endure.
Many times I’ll try and fail.
I will dead end and detour.

Until one day I will know.
I’ll be blinded by the Light.
I will have learned to grow.
And my pen learned to write.

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BY STARLIGHT
By Carl Martin Johnson

By starlight I best see.
Its cool white makes life clear.
It reveals fine things to me.
It gives form to what I hear.

It illuminates what was hidden
In the bright sunlight of day.
Things mysterious and forbidden,
Things even angels cannot say.

Sounds are seen rather than heard.
Holy secrets come to view.
One day I’ll see the Word.
Then I’ll know all that’s True.

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UNCLE BILLY
By Carl Martin Johnson

They found my Uncle Billy today.
He’d been dead for a long time.
Police said there was no foul play,
But his death was still a crime.

Letters and medals hung on his wall,
Attesting to his valor.
A Purple Heart above them all,
Saluting his lifeless pallor.

The bullet at last had found him,
Though it came from his own gun.
Chains of life no longer bound him.
Despair had finally won.

He was no more alone.
Not forgotten, like down here.
Warrior souls just like his own
Made loneliness disappear.

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I CANNOT BE KILLED
By Carl Martin Johnson

I cannot be killed.
I am not flesh, but soul.
With the kind of Life I’m filled,
Only God and I control.

 

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THE RABBIT
By Carl Martin Johnson

The rabbit looked me in the eye.
He was too scared to run.
I was hunting, but I don’t know why
I could not fire my gun.

I could not wait to eat.
I had vegetables for a stew.
But his eyes were my defeat.
A vegetable soup would do.

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ONE MORE HILL
By Carl Martin Johnson

One more hill to take.
One more battle to be fought.
Primal fear will reawake.
No victory is cheaply bought.

Yet he’d move forward as before.
He had no cowardice in his heart.
He’d wade through the blood and gore.
He would more than do his part.

He was a warrior …..he would fight,
Though body and soul in pain.
If he made it through the night,
In the dawn he’d war again.

He turned his eyes up to the sky.
The stars would help him pray.
He knew he would not die.
It was Thanksgiving Day.

 

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THE NEW KING IS BORN
By Carl Martin Johnson

Bow down, ye haughty kings,
Ye emperors of yore.
The Herald Angel sings.
Heaven opens wide its door.

There is a new king born this day.
He is God become a Man.
On your knees and pray
That He keeps you in His plan.

You rule with chain and sword.
Love is His axe and shield.
His army is the Word.
Truth is what He’ll wield.

So despots all beware.
If you fight him, you’ll not win.
Take His love and share.
And a new world will begin.

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THE SELFISH PART OF ME
By Carl Martin Johnson

I loathe the selfish part of me,
The piece of me ungiving.
It lurks deep in the heart of me
And keeps me from full living.

It cares only for my own needs,
Has no regrets in taking.
No matter what the hurtful deeds,
And sorrow it is making.

I must try to weed it out.
Plant flowers in my soul’s garden.
If not, I know, without a doubt,
My whole heart will harden.

Only love yields sweet dessert
Surely I should see.
Of all that selfish acts may hurt,
The one most harmed is me.
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BRING IT, LIFE
By Carl Martin Johnson

Come, Life, take your best shot!!
There’s nothing I can’t bear.
Try to beat me….you will not.
Hit me hard, I don’t care.

One Man has taken all my pain.
Far better man than I.
I bow only to His reign.
Only He can make me die.
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