Long Southbound Poems

Mr. Bravery
By Curtis Johnson

There once lived a very decent and brave man who was promised three keys.
“One of these three keys, said the key holder, will unlock the door to happiness”.
The man bowed his head...

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     It was my seventh birthday party, mother had everything planned,
Decorations were in the dining room, invitations sent out, balloons;
          And on...

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Are you the butterfly
while in my dreams
I flit after Soshi?
—Basho, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

It's not at all anxious to bloom,
the plum tree at my gate.
—Kobayashi Issa, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

The red...

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I knew the day when I saw the sun shining through the rain
And I pulled my blue suitcase out of the closet
Searching for some sweet way to say good-bye to you and me

After such a...

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In the sizzling sun, Miss Beulah took a run in her wedding shoes.
Her groom, Walter, waggled at the alter, propped up by booze.
When the preacher couldn't reach'er, Walter fell flat on his head. 
In rough...

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Philipians1:3-14

The things that have happened to me have turned out for the furtherance of the 
Gospel.

Simple acts of kindness. 

As I sit here in my motel room teetering on the edge of homeless I can...

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I stoked every fire echoing into the mouth of arthritis?
A rhyming balm develops epileptic quasar fear?
If so, will he enter arbitration “Sold Out”?
Sleep wills She to cocoon beside you, Artemis?
Resplendent fallow flowers ecstasy coriander?
Do we...

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Left Memphis on a southbound bus. 
Entered north Mississippi as I knew I must.
Turned toward the Alabama line.
Spent the next couple hours dreaming you were mine.
Dark tunnel, no light either end.
Took a swig from my...

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When we are forced to stand our ground
Because someone is out of bounds
When you find yourself wanting to rebound
feeling like you have to stand your ground
Realizing your personal space 
Has turned into a battleground

Taking the...

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Fool is substituted for intended word

It has been a beautiful day,
warm and true and you've played
through the bulk of it. Now! 
Get to work, earn your keep!
Write, you Fool, write!

There are great events moving
in the...

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I was dreaming that I was running fast all around,
feral, wild, untamed-   and I ran like a hunting hound.

Then, I felt changes in my bed and a sound,
so, I lifted my head...

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TIME   AND   PLACE


Spring is found in the Lowland valleys with gowan-filled braes of Scotland
When the early-reaching flowers bloom in cool freshness,  and
The air is bracing and always new-washed-glass clean ...

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SEASONAL    PLACES


Spring is found in the Lowland valleys with gowan-filled braes of Scotland
When the early-reaching flowers bloom in cool freshness,  and
The air is bracing and always new-washed-glass clean  -
With the...

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I rose for the summer, but for autumn I fall
Head first into oranges, reds, and yellows
Warm days and cool nights brace for winters call
A season of strange hot and cold bedfellows

 Head first into oranges,...

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One day a tin got up from a shelf bed and walked out of a house. With the tin went eighty six knives, ten plates, and a large laughing ladle. They reached the outside world...

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i unfolded the bright sunlight
unbound it from the winter sky
held it in my rough hands
and let it stream down upon me
wash away the night chill from my bones
let my soul drink its beautiful warmth
like a...

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A man, quite renowned, came into our town;
He tried to expound on matters profound.
He frowned when he found as he tried to expound:
drowned by the sound of a hound in the town.

This was indeed a...

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On youth's restless green puff
I rode a greyhound bus southbound.
Everything I owned stuffed into one duffel bag.
Forty eight hours on highway x.

It was getting dark so I settled for the first dive I could find.
One...

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Looking North, an evening sight,
undulating ribbons, gleaming bright, 
pierce the gloom of darkest night.
Constantly flashing red and white,
snaking slowly till out of sight.
Eager for haste, anxious for flight:
yet held in abeyance, this evening rite,
no longer...

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A long drive down the Central Valley,
cool then warm, the kind of day in March
when the season can go either way,
back to winter or ahead to spring;
a day that draws new grass up 
in unplowed...

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There must be some way out
of this maze of pain and doubt.
I left every thing behind
but, my road is starting to wind.
Someday I might find 
hope at the end of the rope.

The sky makes me...

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Roaming and roaring...Who's next to devour?
The sins of soul slaves...they give him his power
Steal,kill,and destroy like shots from a gun
Turn away Turn away from the evil one

Slithering serpent hissing lyrical lies
He sees the past and...

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The new year found me alone at a deserted roadside,
not knowing where to go but thumbing for a ride.
The signposts displayed 2023 South and 2024 North.
Motorists, speeding along in both directions,
saw my two thumbs up...

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I will watch their winged endurance, on the crest of autumn's eve,
without knowing where or distance, but in faith they must believe
As the harsh breath sounds of winter are calling geese to leave
I will hear...

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No prettier flowers match the ones
Lynn nurtures with immense care;
all her fantasies seem to adhere...
as if they were evocative lyrics!

Crape myrtle trees are blooming early,
they beautify the lively garden below;
blossoms make a soft and cozy...

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