Nature
The sky is gray
On this late summer day
As the sun imbues
Its various hues
Upon the scene.
A sight to be seen,
A beauty to behold,
A thousand campfire stories to be told.
With the settling twilight
And the settling night
Comes the settling fog
About every log,
Every limb
As the light continues to dim.
Yet, do you hear it?
Yes, a kindred spirit,
As it beckons
To us, Nature's patrons,
Who think deep thoughts of
All things up above
And things all around
And adventures upon which to bound.
Well then,
Let's begin,
Before this great night can end!
Nature II
As I continue to tread
The well-worn path between the trees,
Many thoughts swim in my head
Of the refreshing beauties
Of the crisp, clean air
Playing in my hair,
The rainbow
That has begun to show
Over the tips of the trees,
The birds' outspoken symphonies,
And the sun-rays that warm my face
As I pass each open, sun-lit space.
Nature has its own music,
Its own specially tuned melody.
I never want to lose it,
For what it means to me,
I can never fully express,
Even as my feelings well up in my chest.
It is here in the forest,
This place of nature and spirit,
That I feel blessed,
And ignore the old habit
Of humankind
To mind
Its own business
And forget about the wilderness.
Come friend,
Let's walk this path again,
Before this great day can end!
Nature III
In that sky so immense,
I see clouds something dense,
Holding tight and tense,
Ready to drop their contents,
In order to rinse
And cleanse
All this poetic nonsense.
Yes, I'm guilty of many sins.
On this grayest of days,
While watching the lightning blaze,
I'm pondering my all too human ways,
Hoping to soon see hopeful sun rays,
To b
Owen Johnston lives and teaches Wado ryu Karate in Lake City, South Carolina. He enjoys reading, writing, training, and spending time with his fiance. The above poetry was excerpted from the author's book titled "Heaven on Earth", a sample of which is available at Johnston Wado ryu Karate - Online Community.