Shutdown In Bed

            Shutdown In Bed

It happened on a day when all was right.

Two hot cars, looking out of sight.

The day was here for the big race.

They both would give it all it takes.

 

My fuel injected Sting Ray and a 413.

Revving up their engines and sounding mean.

When the flag went down we were off.

All the smoking tires could make you cough.

 

He was getting rubber in every gear.

But, I was still out front without any fear.

All was just a blur as scenery flew by.

He was getting beat by ’that other guy.’

 

‘That other guy’,—- meaning me.

I was ahead, and all could see.

He had a ram induction, but it’s understood.

I had a fuel injected engine sitting under my hood.

 

Just before I won, I woke up in bed.

What were these dreams in my head?

I don’t race cars. I’m way too old.

I would never do something so bold.

 

Must be a flashback of childhood dreams.

Brought on by The Beach Boys “Shutdown,” it seems.

That song made me feel alive back then.

Now, I’m dreaming I am at it again.

————————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

Come Back Home

             Come Back Home

There was a time when you would come around.

You’re face would shine with love unbound

The dove of peace would fly your way.

You fed him virtues every day.

Hallelujah.

 

Then something happened in your life.

Something that brought in major strife.

Like they tied you in a kitchen chair.

Then force fed you till you didn’t care.

Hallelujah.

 

You were fed on the ways of the world.

Your lips grew bright, your hair curled.

All that mattered no longer did.

The sins of the world kept you hid.

Hallelujah.

 

I have faced the wicked ways.

They once tried to draw me away.

I fought back with all the armor.

I didn’t want to be a charmer.

Hallelujah.

 

Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah.

 

Haven’t you wanted something more?

Once before you were at the door.

Knock once and you can come in.

Walk away from the world of sin.

Hallelujah.

 

More than one has been led astray.

Most are sorry for that day.

Few say they’re sorry, then turn away.

I hope you haven’t missed that day.

Hallelujah.

 

The dove is wounded and cannot fly.

He needs your love to get him by.

You can do it, if you try.

Don’t end up rejected and cry.

Hallelujah.

 

He is there. Always waiting for you.

His love will see you through.

Trust in Him rather than worldly things.

Once you’re back your heart will sing.

Hallelujah.

 

Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

—————————–R.W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

 

 

A Positive Outlook

 

        A Positive Outlook

After all is said and done.

I will carry on, without the fun.

Life can be a tragedy.

Or, it can be happy and free.

It was happy once upon a time.

You were more than a friend of mine.

Now that it’s all said and done.

I think back on all the fun.

Those were happy times back then.

Back when you were more than a friend.

The past is just a good bye now.

Today is all that has survived, somehow.

Tomorrow is full of surprises.

What I do with them is my devices.

Be it good or be it bad.

Lessons from the past will help this lad.

I will approach tomorrow with hope.

And the knowledge that I can cope.

Make the most of what is to come.

Maybe get back to having fun.

Always look forward to the best.

Put all the past to rest.

Life is what you make it to be.

Even a life without you and me.

Upward and onward to infinity.

A life of happiness to set me free.

———————-R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

 

 

A Train To Nowhere

 

            A Train To Nowhere

Riding the train from Calif. To Idaho.

On a trip with nowhere to go.

Watching the deserts of Nevada roll by.

Keeping busy as I try not to cry.

 

The clickity clack of the wheels remind me of you.

I need more for my mind to do.

I watch as crops come into view.

Tractors moving, men growing food for you.

 

Small towns flash by every now and then.

The people seem to have peace within.

The sun goes down and the view dims.

Hiding from sight any and all sins.

 

Having dinner in the dining car.

My thoughts drift to a place afar.

Better times and better company.

Remembering how happy times can be.

 

Sleep is restless, the dreams are real.

The rocking car brings sleep anew.

Up early and pacing around.

Not much on this trip to be found.

 

Finally, I reach my destination.

I depart the train with elation.

Then, as I look around this place.

Why am I here? An internal debate.

 

A change of scenery is good for me.

Lots of new & different things to see.

New and different things to do.

All to help me forget about you.

 

I was bored to death by the second day.

This certainly was not the way.

I realized whatever I do, you see.

I can never run away from me.

————————————R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dim View Of Today

       A Dim View Of Today 

It’s the way that it’s done today.

Do they think there is no other way?

What about how it was done

yesterday, when times were fun?

 

That is a generation before their time.

But, that earlier generation was mine.

I feel things were better back then.

Not all the anger and need to win.

 

Less shootings and killing for sure.

No rioting or disruption, as it were.

Police were respected and trusted.

There was no fear of being busted.

 

People left their doors unlocked.

Home robberies were a crock.

People felt safe to go out at night.

Any problem could be made right.

 

A discussion and agreement reached.

No fear of anything being breached.

Wages earned by the sweat of your back.

You were happy for it. That’s a fact.

 

Your neighbor was your friend.

Not someone who did offend.

The ‘Golden Rule’ ruled the day.

Things were better in every way.

 

We should learn from our past.

Back then, things were built to last.

Life was better in every way.

Much better than the crap today.

 

Social skills today are in the toilet.

Smart phones are a way to spoil it.

No connection, except over a phone.

No wonder people feel all alone.

 

Oh, give me back the ‘good old days.’

Pat my back and give me praise.

Make me part of the current scene.

Nothing taken to the extreme.

———————R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

 

 

Fanatical Fan

         Fanatical Fan

I am coming down.

Will you come around.

To my way of thinking.

I say it while winking.

 

There is much to discuss here.

While we sit and have a beer.
Let’s have a meeting of the minds.

We are running out of time.

 

 “Will you, or will you won’t?”

“Just say I do and not I don’t.”

“It is impossible for me to know

just exactly which way you’ll go?”

 

We have dated for a long time.

We have always got along just fine.

It is time to up the ante.

Talk about something that can be.

 

It takes commitment and dedication.

A stronger stand in our relations.

There will be ups and there will be downs.

Sometimes we may feel like a clown.

 

But, the time is here to knuckle down.

Let’s have no more playing around.

Seasonal tickets is the way to go.

Will you say yes, or will you say no?

————————R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

 

Not The Way To Win A Trip

  Not The Way To Win A Trip

Shout it to all, hill over dale.

Today I won a trip in the mail.

Off to Alaska. All expenses paid.

Sounds like I have got it made.

I called the #,—- all excited.

He wanted info. I didn’t fight it.

He said I had a meeting to go to.

What else did I have to go through?

Two hours of my precious time.

Then, the trip would be all mine.

It was a time share. Imagine that.

They wanted my business. It’s a fact.

The two hours stretched to four.

I was ready to walk out the door.

We said “No!” a hundred times.

They were kind, but had set minds.

Finally, they wore us down.

They offered the best deal in town.

Now, we were ready for our trip.

It was all supplied in a little kit.

A hundred hoops to jump through.

Really limited on when we flew.

It took many calls to get it set.

Have we sacrificed enough yet?

We finally got the trip to Alaska.

If you ever go I won’t ask ya.

Cause, if your trip is like ours ,

you won’t want to go that far.

The trip really sucked big time.

Surely, the worst trip we could find.

Now we owe our lives to a time share.

I hope this makes you all aware.

It is a trap well worth avoiding.

In the end you’ll feel like voiding.

—————–R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

 

 

 

A Mystery With No End

 

      A Mystery With No End

I have been an explorer all my life.

It is one reason I don’t have a wife.

There are few places left to explore.

All has been seen by man before.

Word came down of a hidden valley.

In South America, a jungle alley.

Smoke was seen during an over flight.

Otherwise, it would remain out of sight.

So, off I went with my usual crew.

What we would find, no one knew.

The valley was narrow and overgrown.

Easy to see why it was never known.

With ropes, we fought our way down.

Using machete’s, we reached ground.

A flat floor with a river going through.

Barely enough room for the crew.

We found a path and followed it.

Continuing, though the forest was thick.

We came to a village of sorts.

Buildings that seemed to distort.

No one seemed to be around.

There were no tracks upon the ground.

Suddenly, we were surrounded by them.

They were known as the ‘Leopard Men.’

The medicine man could speak English.

How he learned it made me squeamish.

These people had no outside contact.

This valley was their only tract.

They worshiped a mysterious leopard.

The medicine man was like its shepard.

Somehow, he knew that we were coming.

English ‘came’ to him. He wasn’t funning.

“The leopard knows and sees all.”

He said it with pride, like before a fall.

“When we leave we will remember nothing.”

He told us that without any fussing.

He seemed to control all that happened.

He showed us a special map then.

I will take you to the Holy Leopard.

Only I know the way. I am his shepard.

The next day we set out, map in hand.

With the very bizarre medicine man.

After half a day’s hike, we saw a cave.

Way up the side of a cliff in the shade.

He said: “That’s where we have to go.”

I said: “I see no path, you know.”

He said: “We will all go up at once.”

Then he gathered us all in a bunch.

All at once, we all floated up to the cave.

“What the hell?” I heard some rave.

“The leopard brought us all up here.”

The medicine man didn’t think it queer.

“He is inside, around to the left.”

“He is waiting in a natural cleft.”

We went on, and soon, we were there.

We saw a large leopard sitting in a cleft.

He was silver, or maybe black? Just flecks?

He looked like a leopard, then again, he didn’t.

There was something we saw within it.

His eyes had indescribable depth

If you stared too long, your pants got wet.

There was something about those eyes.

They seemed to, literally, hypnotize.

We heard him speak within our minds.

“I read the minds of every kind.”

“I know all about all of you already.”

“Your favorite dish is Italian spaghetti.”

“What are you?” I asked in amazement.

“A visitor from the stars.” His gaze a squint.

“I am stranded for the time being.”

“Others are coming. Then I am leaving.”

“I can tell you all about myself.”

“You can compare me to one of your elves.”

“To you, I seem mystical, or magical.”

“Actually, I am not that radical.”

“However, I cannot allow you to keep the memories.”

“They could become an impossible threat to me.”

“After I am rescued, your memories will return.”

“There is much that you will learn.”

‘Someday, your race will reach the stars.”

“They will know that their ancestors met ours.”

“Things will go much better that way.”

“Your knowledge of us is better for that day.”

We had very little to say.

We learned much in the coming days.

Then, we set out on our way home.

As soon as we left the valley, we were alone.

We had new memories then of what happened.

Years later, our memories had a rapid retraction.

We could remember it all in detail.

We wrote books and articles about each tale.

So, the knowledge of ‘The Holy Leopard’ went out.

Taken in by the world, without doubt.

Our knowledge advanced man rapidly.

Off to the stars, with a cat to see.

Our ancestors will join the galactic federation.

With insight from a visitor from another nation.

May this story be recorded in history.

Yet, much of it will remain a mystery.

—————————————-R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

Glory, Or Gloom And Doom?

   Glory, Or Gloom And Doom?

Soon, there will come a day.

When all of this will go away.

It will not be by my choice.

No one listens to my voice.

 

I hate predicting gloom and doom.

But,—- the end is coming soon.

Are you ready for the brave new world?

Is your makeup on & your hair all curled?

 

You will soon be carried away.

To a place you can’t imagine today.

A place to wonderful to be dreamed.

Yet, it will be all that it seems.

 

That is, if you go the right direction.

Otherwise, don’t look at your reflection.

It will be a hideous place.

Best you always hide your face.

 

It will be warm there. Hot, in fact.

Hot enough to burn your back.

Burn even more in the end.

Destroying all that is within.

 

Best to walk on the narrow road.

It will lead to glories untold.

The guidebook will tell you how.

It’s called The Bible. Read it now.

 

Follow all that it directs you to.

He is the one who will come for you.

Let Him guide you in every way.

Start doing it right now, today.

 

Then, no longer worry about your future.

It will all be good, to be sure.

You will be a son or daughter of the Lord.

A member of the royal family. Welcome aboard.

——————————–R. W. Johnson—–(2016)

 

Time To Step Up

         Time To Step Up 

It’s true, one and one makes two.

All, except for me and you.

For us, it is plain to see.

One and one is gonna make three.

 

It was a ‘home run’ one night.

A single date that ended right.

That was it till you began to show.

Now, it seems, everyone will know.

 

This may not work out right.

I am praying that it might.

If it doesn’t, there will be new math.

One and one will equal two and a half.

 

I am ready to be a father.

My feelings are more than water.

We didn’t end on a sour note.

I didn’t say “That’s all she wrote.”

 

We just never connected again.

No, I’m not like other men.

I am responsible for my actions.

Sorry if I cause the wrong reaction.

 

Let’s get together and start all over.

Soon, we will be rolling in clover.

I am ready to make the commitment.

We both have all the equipment.

 

Let’s put it together and make a family.

Show everyone just how it can be.

We don’t have to, but we want to.

Only the best for me and you.

——————–R. W. Johnson—–(2016)