Poetry and Prose by JJ Johnson
_______________________________
Seeds and Weeds
"3 Seeds"
Young ones look up to us with learning eyes each day as they grow
Teach your children how to feel and everything that you know
About love and self-esteem and what you reap you sow
Parents who express no love raise their children down so low
Once planted in a heart, the seeds of hatred sprout then grow
Pride injects a high, like drugs, through veins where it can flow
To desire more, then crash from withdrawal addicts come to know
Three seeds of prejudice raise your spirit down so low
From the depths once descended exploring new levels to exceed
Is there nowhere inside their souls unconsumed by material need?
Hypocrites utter deception, telling half-truths designed to mislead
Said so many times even they believe in the lies that plant the seed
Corporate owners seem to have forgotten the slaves were freed
Robbing retirement funds to stuff their overwhelming greed
Keeping down the poor to maintain their status among the richest breed
Who refuse to admit the pecuniary progress they impede
Zealots point fingers and label “immoral”, hearts that bleed
And proclaim God as a charter member of their creed
They hunger for power over fearful faithful they can lead
With a grip on their flock that strangles credence like a weed
Cowled cowards twisting scripture till they feel sanctified
Planting the tree grown for the cross, burned to become purified
But there’s another fire eager to see how far down they can slide
Where the fallen one would rise to lead them to unholy deicide
Seduced by fear, bathed in greed and gorged the flesh with pride
Will they embrace all three until they’ve cast their souls aside?
Will God look back from the end of man and see the hate of genocide?
The first thing God did not create, the only thing that never died
The rainbow in their love filled lives kept them on the outside
Don’t ask, don’t tell the truth, there are rules to abide
Homophobia in fox holes is not morally justified
Love feels no conflicting virtues that ever could collide
Weak hearts are overcome when they feel a darkness drawing near
Listening to the movement beating war drums within each ear
Quiet those thoughts and open the mind to a silence all can hear
Look inside the heart for the courage to quell this secret fear
Eyes held closed to painful sights shed not a single tear
When they open up their eyes the truth becomes so clear
Mesmerized by powerphiles like headlights to a deer
In darkness till they will admit every human is their peer
Search within thick forests for three seeds that grew three shady trees
Knock on their wood to hear three names carried on the breeze
Listen for the quiver of terror, glory and desire shaking in the greener leaves
See their young saplings and perceive the grand design that hatred weaves
Time marches ever onward forming new circles in the wood
Branching out lines surrounding rings where only one once stood
Lines drawn in circles that separate where colors never could
While one more family tree draws cryptic bloodlines in the hood
The high and mighty tree grows taller with each passing year
The weight of its own branches make it hard to persevere
Until its hollow trunk caves in to make way for freedoms true frontier
The first steps toward the promised land must begin right here
(3 Seeds: 05/12/2003)
JJ Johnson
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How Far We Have Not Come"
Five months and fifty years I have breathed the air of freedom
Behind my shroud of white comfort and grade
With all our laws of equal rights and equal pay
And actions to affirm that we mean what we say
With Supreme Court decisions we can always make undone
Another man declared “just look how far that we have come”
What a joke the trembling words of ignorance!
When the lines become blurred between hatred and romance
Stay sick when you’re unwell, then die and go to Hell
And if you’re in the mood to buy I got a bridge I wanna sell
We need more cash to finish the fence along the porous south
While we cut out stamped assistance to feed your hungry mouths
Cut back money to public schools where learning is sedated
To keep OUR growing minds more highly educated
We still have jobs for you that no one else will do
Found clever ways to pay you less than a minimum living wage
Taking kickbacks from plastic cards instead of cash or checks
That charge you if you spend and charge you more to save
We found more ways to make a profit from all the choices that we gave
‘Cos if we cannot own you, we’ll still work you like a slave
We’ll watch our hood for hoodlums out for an evening walk
And stand our ground against snacking hoodies that we stalk
Or stop and frisk everyone we profile as suspicious
But keep them at a distance in case their color is contagious
We’ll power up the House to defund head-start for underprivileged youth
Then we’ll pass eleven laws to make sure that you still lose
Just like the right to vote you were never supposed to use
‘Cos time has surely eliminated those who discriminated
So said MOST of the Supreme Pawns who were selected
Through haughty high-strung puppets we elected
Who in hatred and in-justice were truly deaf and dumb
Yet clearly I can see how far we have not come
(How Far We Have Not Come: 08/23/2013)
JJ Johnson
-------------------------------------------------------------
If you are not into poetry but you would still like to donate towards the upkeep of this website, there is a Donation button down the page a bit where you can send me money through PayPal. If you have never used PayPal, you can check them out at Paypal.com or call the toll free number I have posted by the donation button. PayPal is the payment meathod used and owned by E-Bay and is a highly trusted financial institution.
If you have any questions or concerns about purchasing my books, you can email me at poetryman@seeds-and-weeds.com . Both of my books are made by createspace.com, a poblishing company owned by Amazon.com.
Seeds and Weeds was first published in 2006 but has been updted to include poems written through September 2013 with bonus poems at the end of the book.
Passion & Pain was first published in 2011 and has been updated through September of 2012 with bonus poems.
Life has its seeds and weeds. Plant and cultivate as best you can, pull up the weeds and get them at the root. Don't mistake kindness for weekness and remember that nice guys don't finish last, we just want to be sure no one gets left behind!
Peace,
Joseph Johnson
Created
On: 12/06/2012
__________________________________________________
Seeds And Weeds is a philosophically expressive compilation of poetry and prose, offering progressive views on politics, peace, nature, fate, faith, family, friendship, introspection, and poetic inspiration. Seeds and Weeds is more than simply a collection of verse with splashes of imagery, this book challenges the mind and heart to find a better way through observations and feelings on the rise and fall of character, creatively expressed in rhyme and reason.
"Seeds and Weeds" by chapter
_______________________________________________________________________
Passion And Pain (click
It's time to weed the garden!
________________________
Author JJ Johnson was born in 1963 and raised in Gloversville, NY and later moved with his family to Schenectady in 1979. After graduating from Linton High School in 1981, he attended DeVry Technical Institute and Schenectady County Community College from 1981-1984. JJ was a Teacher’s Aide in English at Schenectady High, formerly Linton High when he attended school there. Seeds and Weeds is his first collection of poetry and prose with another in the works titled Passion and Pain. He is an active participant in the local poetry community and hosted an open mic poetry reading for over two years at the Moon & River Cafe.
JJ has long been a peace and environmental activist and continues to speak out and attend events concerning these issues. His desire to help others continues to be a driving force in his life. Prior to having a stroke in February of 2012 he worked professionally with the physically and mentally disabled with BOCES, Northwoods at Hilltop and Living Resources. JJ was a mentor and Youth Division Aide for the NY State Office of Children and Family Services as well. Several of the poems in Seeds And Weeds were inspired by events that occurred while working in these positions. He is also a FCC licensed Technician class Amateur Radio Operator and has participated in numerous public service and emergency operations in this capacity.
__________________________________________________
If you would like to donate to the upkeep of this website or my life in general,
you may do so by clicking on the Donate button below.
PayPal verification, questions or help, call toll free: 1 (888) 221-1161.
Please use the PayPal Donate button above
to
donate
towards the upkeep of this site.
It is not required to join PayPal to donate.
After clicking the button you will be sent to the donation page.
Please check to be sure it says SEEDS AND WEEDS at the top of the page, write DONATION in the description box and fill in the amount you wish to donate.
Ignore the sign-in to Paypal link if you are not already a PayPal member and click the credit card section to the left of that
where the word CONTINUE is highlighted in blue.
Thanks, JJ.
________________________
|
|
________________________
Count down to the end of time in NY City
________________________
The A-stores on the links page contain books of poetry authored by a combination of personal friends, fellow Booksurge published poets, Pathetic poets, facebook and Myspace poets whose books are available on Amazon.com.As independently and self-published poets, I feel that we should support one another in every way possible. There are several Amazon A-stores on the links page that pertain to people I admire and artistic works I appreciate. I feel it both helps to better understand who I am and what inspires me in my writing. As I do get a small commission for any purchases made through my A-stores, it also helps to support this website and alliviate the financial burden I present to others now that I am unable to work. There is a link just below to the links page.
__________________________________________________
________________________
________________________
After you've read the excerpts,
check out the links page
________________________
________________________
“Nice guys don’t finish last, we just want to be sure no one gets left behind.”
Peace and thanks,
JJ Johnson
