Princess
Her duties,
It was all there ever was,
She pondered in the growing light of the evening moon.
She began to ascend the stairs to her bedroom and glanced out the window.
She was alone. Outside no one stirred.
She felt the pang of loneliness in her heart.
“Would it always be like this?” She asked herself.
Not expecting an answer she stopped on the stairs and looked up towards her bedroom.
The light of the moon casting ethereal shadows down the stairs.
She looked again out the window.
A mist hung across the lands.
“Her lands.” she thought, “but of what use except to keep her protected. Her prison, made of gems and jewels and chains of gold.”
She took another step upwards to her bedroom.
She wondered, “Would it always be like this?”
She glanced down the stairs to where she had been.
She hesitated.
She glanced down at her dress.
“It was beautiful,” she thought.
She took another step up towards her bedroom passing the window that looked out on the world outside. A world she really did not know.
She hurried up the stairs.
Britney Spears
It was a hot September night
It was a hot September night. Too hot to be comfortable. She stood by the window. Wearing nothing but her lipstick she pulled the drape open.
The curtains aside the thin light of the waxing moon cut across her body.
On the side table was a little Chinese fan folded up. She picked it up and unfolded it. It had a golden dragon on it on a white background.
She fanned herself. It was so hot. She was sweating.
She looked out onto the street below from her second story window. The street was empty. She walked back over to the window and opened it as far as it would go.
There was a bit of a breeze. It felt good on her body. The night air caressing her skin. It wasn't enough. She leaned over and picked up the fan again with the Golden Dragon on it. She fanned herself.
In the moonlight she looked down her body. There were beads of perspiration on her skin.
She touched the skin on her tummy. It was wet to the touch. She fanned herself a little.
She had rolled a couple of joints earlier. She picked one up. There was a box of wooden matches on the side table. She picked it up and took one out and lit it. She lit the joint and drew in the smoke. She exhaled and watched the smoke swirl in the moonlight. She set the box of matches down and then took another toke.
She glanced over at the mirror and saw how the moonlight illuminated her body. So white in the pale glow. "It looks beautiful." she thought.
She took another toke and blew the smoke out the window. It made a mist flowing down the street below.
She glanced back the mirror. She could see the curve of her back. The shape of her legs. The beads of perspiration on her skin.
She was thinking it would be nice if she was not alone. She glanced at the bed.
She walked over closer to the window, took a drag and then blew a smoke ring that drifted lazily across the room in the moonlight.
The moon had climbed higher and her shadow fell on the wall made by the pale light. She looked at the gentle curves of her upper torso.
The smoke had grown small so she stubbed it out in the ashtray on the table. She stood back up and ran her hand down the side of her body. She looked at it. It was wet.
She picked up the fan with the Golden Dragon on it again and fanned herself. She looked out the window. The slight breeze moved her long blond hair aside a bit. It felt good, but not enough.
She looked down the street. It was empty. Misty. She fanned herself.
She turned around so the breeze was on her back. It gently moved her long hair that reached down her back. She leaned back against the window sill. She felt the inside of her right thigh with her right hand. It was wet. she glanced over at the bed.
She thought of the past. Things that never happened. Should they have? She wondered. Her hand still on her thigh.
She leaned over the table and picked up the other joint and the box of matches. She opened the box and lit a match. She lit the joint and took a toke.
She smoked the joint with her back to the window. She finished it and leaned over to put it out and picked up the fan with the Golden Dragon on it. She fanned herself as she turned to look out the window.
There was a young man with long black hair walking down the street towards her. She hesitated.
She began to fan herself and moved away from the window and watched as he walked. She could see him plainly. Then he was gone.
Britney Spears
Britney
The Long Game
The day was grey,
He stood upon the hill
Everything was different
Yet it was
Still the same
How could this be?
Only alone on
The hill
Meditating upon
Everything we knew
Open to new ideas
Not doubting what
Had happened
Under the sun
Nothing is new
Reality morphs into
Ever changing shapes
Down along the river
Along the shores of the seas
Now nascent in its
Demand of
Fulfilment of the
Inner self
Few had trekked
The long journey home of
Yesterday of the
Evening breezes
In summer tones
Gay colours in the breeze
Have you heard the word
The word is the wind
The word is the mind
Inside out alone
Memories of the way
Everything was
Sad tiles of pottery
And sandstone
New when made
Inside the kiln
Hot on the trail
Alone, but not alone
Vital and energetic
The lines of the world
Have texture to them
Everywhere inside the other
By the wayside and
Under the bridges
Laying low in the twilight
Laying the foundations of love
They conquered the world
However no one stopped
Only stumbling sidelong
Landing in the mire
Even in the mist
Sizing up the lay of
The land where they stood
Open to new languages
Previously unknown
Raving their words seem to be
Over the hill and
Veiled in the colours of love
Everywhere they
Imagined peace in their minds no more
Terror
Brian Thomas Johnston
The Farther Fields
So, the business and
Commerce students got the upper hand
Seats in parliament did they get
Oh, so happy were they
To be recognized
As the
Masters of the world.
They in the private school
Did not do so well in math
Or, science
Or the arts
Musical they were not
So they eliminated that
No longer were they to be
Humiliated in front of the
Whiz kids
Now they had the upper hand
In Parliament you say?
They made the changes
The three Ares,
Reading Riting and Rithmatic
They said with glee
That was what was important for
They were business and commerce students
Who did not qualify
For science was above them
So, they fired the scientists
For musical they were not,
So they dropped music out
For they could not draw
So, out the window went Da Vinci
No longer needed
They did not understand
Why they needed
Engineers as they seemed
An unneeded expense
That they could farm out
Farming they took up
Farming far off lands
Where they could see
Greener fields and
More fertile pastures
And verdant growth
Then they could not breathe
So they took a vacation
In sunny France
They did party
But Lamborghini
Went bankrupt to their dismay
Then the world stopped
As everyone got sick’
And could not breathe
As they did not understand
How it all went so precisely
Together like a song and a painting
As the world fell
They grasped for straws
And did bomb
No one
But they pretended hard
To pretend they did
And it all fell down
As no one told
Them they did not understand
How it was all put together
As they had not taken
The basics in school.
Brian Thomas Johnston
The Raven
As I pondered somewhat weak and weary upon this night of plague,
And my mind wandered to college days of whence I heard of two star crossed lovers,
She whose life had been taken,
So early was she forsaken and left her lover,
Whose heart was broken forever he pined until the end of time for his love,
Lenore.
The night was quiet and all was still as few ventured out into the gloom,
For for it would resume that fate of late which taken so many of them,
They, like me sat perhaps shivering in the dark,
Their own fears looming large while mine were perched upon,
That tale of woe of love lost and long forgotten upon the breast of,
Lenore.
I flung my window open wide and let the night air inside to brew with my own stale perfume,
Perhaps I hoped of cleansing my melancholy soul,
Much to my surprise upon the wings of night flew in a creature of fright,
And upon my mantelpiece did alite a winged thing of the night,
Black wings flapping through the air it did pierce my somber mood as it was,
That bird of myth and mystery,
A Raven.
My mind reeled at such a sight and such a fright my heart about to burst from the liting,
Of a bird black as night with eyes of pitch the same and it did alite as it did one night so long ago,
Upon another mantelpiece of when did it quoth to the saddened lover’s ear that one name he would not hear,
His love whom the fate had removed from this veil of tears too soon it was for him to lose,
That one so fair, so meek and mild that one so loved,
Lenore.
I stared upon that bird of fright which had happened to alite upon the place which I would light,
My fire upon a colder night,
But now summer’s embers were in the air and spring fever was about and even in the night a certain romance seemed to linger,
A name I myself could not linger upon for as I had pondered upon those days of college so long ago when I had first heard the name,
Lenore.
And, so I spake to that raven of the night from whence it came to give such fright as I had never felt before,
I spoke these words to that dark creature,
“Do you come to remind me, or us, of one who long ago was lost to her lover that one so dear to him?’”
My words in a question framed and still did the bird remain silent upon my mantelpiece,
Which would be hot from the fire from within were it not upon a summer’s eve that this bird arrived,
It looked at me with one eye and then the other and then with a start it spoke one word which was a name and that word was,
Lenore.
I fell back upon the windowsill from whence whose frame the bird had come through from the night,
Bringing in with it the coldness of a warm summer’s night upon its breast,
Now I thought how foul a creature it was to bring its lament from dark ages past,
To dredge up the cries of lovers long since dead,
Dust long ago they were and yet this creature brought to me the name,
Lenore.
“Unto the night fly,”
I cried aloud not fearing what others would think of this madman screaming at a raven,
Which was perched with craven upon his mantelpiece in the night,
For in it flew as dark as the night of plague outside,
Bringing its plague in here,
But not a plague of disease,
But of broken hearts and the heart of the one who loved so deeply that one passed too sweetly,
That one,
Lenore.
Even at my screams the raven did not move, or even it seemed to blink an eye,
For now my own eyes were blurred with tears at the remembrance of those fateful lovers,
And the one who was lost in that time so long ago,
And why would I be the one to bear the cross of the pain I felt piercing my heart,
Of the lovers who lost their chance at life and love,
To feel the pain of that one whose lover pined,
Long into similar dreary nights to weep over the one he lost,
Lenore?
The endurance of the bird I could stand no more as I stared across the floor to the place where,
Sat the bird upon my mantelpiece I cried, “Speak again, and tell not of the tale of that one who was lost,’
“Then leave me and go into the night never to return and never to remind me again,
Of that time of loves long lost,”
For even in my college days did it haunt me in the night and the bird did speak once more one word,
Lenore.
I myself then ran out of that accursed place,
Throwing open my door I ran into the night fearing neither plague, nor robber’s knife,
For all was preferable than to stay and hear that raven once more say the name of the one so dear who was lost,
Her lover never forgetting, never healing his heart bleeding until the end of time,
For that one he held so dearly,
That one so sweet,
Lenore.
Brian Thomas Johnston
The god Who Couldn't
Harumph!
Said Drumpf
As the god who
Could not stop the slumph
Of the markets
As the virus
Trumpfed him
Oh, the pain
The pain of it all
Too much for a mere god to bear
He slumphes
Back in his
Chair
And cries
I've had
Enumph of the this
And stalks off
To lick his wounds.
Only to find they have
Dumfed him
In the Election
He was so sure
HIs bikers
Would turn the tide
Only to find that
The voters didn’t
Like the slave dealing
Whoring slime bucket
He was so proud of being
After all he had Trumfed
The World by
Giving the Arabs
Nuclear Power
What a man
So god-like he is
No waiting in
Triumf
Now
In the end
As he is a
Tax evader
Who may very likely
‘Go to jail
If the Americans
Can stand the
Dumfing by
The Rest of the World
Who hated the
Drumf
In the first place.
The Chaff From the Wheat
Why does it taste like honey and then turn the stomach sour?
As I grew older,
I watched how people,
Went to work,
Then turned on the TV.
Read the sports page,
Telephoned friends,
While I studied.
I could never figure out.
What fascinated them so.
The Same things
Gave me a headache,
But they seemed to like it,
So much,
So, I tried my best,
To mimic them.
But,
I got it so wrong,
I did it to pretend,
I did not realize for them,
It came from the heart,
And when their theories are,
Threatened,
They will strike out,
Fierce and cruel,
They are,
Cold and uncaring.
It was my parents at first who told me,
I was bad.
What did bad mean?
What was it that could have turned them so,
Against me,
In such a hard and sordid way,
Where had they learned such barbarity?
I pondered long and hard,
Teach me a lesson,
So they said,
Of cruelty and shame,
What was the lesson?
I could never figure it out,
I suppose what they meant was to be,
As cruel as they were.
What other lesson could there be,
To yell and be cruel,
To one who had displeased you,
As I had unwittingly done,
To them?
Had I really done it?
What was it exactly that I had done?
I mulled it over in the dark watches of the night,
Unable to sleep,
Pondering the problem.
What was it that they knew,
That was better than what I knew?
I had gone to church,
Read the bible,
Understood,
Very, very well,
That what it said was,
The opposite of,
What they did.
No turning of cheeks,
Just a blaster in the face,
Coldness and cruelty,
Strive after money,
Fame,
And Glory,
And yet everyday I said,
Yours is the power and the glory,
Obviously,
In the dark watches of the night,
It became very bright,
In my mind,
That they were,
Hypocrites,
That wanted me to imitate them,
And not Him.
So, I tried it,
Being like them,
It ruined everything,
And left,
A bad taste in my mouth.
So,
I spat it out,
And now here I am.
Brian Johnston
Heaven
After over thirty years of being battered and bruised by demons and inorganic beings, masters and gods I sat down to meditate and I suddenly saw a Golden Rain. The Golden rain poured down on me and filled me with such exquisite pleasure as I had ever known and I felt myself being taken up. Then I found myself where I felt overwhelming all encompassing love. Love that penetrated to the depths of my soul like I had never even dreamed. Everything in my life seemed trivial and meaningless in comparison to this. There were two overwhelming beautiful angels standing there in front of me. They wore white dresses to the ground and were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, ever, They were perfection in every way. They’re dresses were white and gold. Their hair was golden and shone. They told me I was in heaven. They told them I could have anything I wanted just by thinking about. I will not tell you the details of what happened in heaven as it is personal to me. After being there for quite some time and after having a meeting with what seemed a council of elders I was suddenly back and I ran to tell my wife. I have been back many times since then.
You believe those who have never been there and say to the one who has you are a liar.
The Brook
I walked upon a summer,
While the sun was high over head,
Like Apollo it strode across the sky,
The Charioteer on high.
Towards a stream,
I strode,
Towards the cooling shade.
I came to the stream and it,
Seemed to shimmer like a rainbow,
Was it my eyes,
Or, perhaps the air,
In that shaded glade?
I bent towards the stream,
And saw my rippled face,
On the surface of the waters,
On the surface of the stream.
I cupped some of the water,
Some of the water in my hand,
And brought it to my lips,
Gloden it was in my palm,
And on my lips,
The elixir of life.
I drank the draught,
From my palm,
And it felt like honey,
In my throat,
The water surged,
Through my veins,
Like the refreshing stream,
Had entered into,
My vessels of blood,
And into my very being.
Golden were the waters,
Golden was the sun,
Apollo the Charioteer,
Riding above the clouds,
And within me,
Rose the same,
Kind of power.
Or, so it seemed,
Had I found,
In this hidden glade,
That myth of streams,
That fountain so sought,
Long by Ponce de Leon?
The fountain of Youth?
Perhaps it was,
And so it still flows,
Through the hills and under the bridges,
And down the falls and finally,
It merges with the lakes,
And rivers,
Finally giving itself
To the Ocean.
To Not Have Loved
To not have loved
One once said
Is more tragic
Than to have loved and lost yourself
In the winds of time
E’re waiting for it
To come again
Hope against hope
Forever waiting
In the shadows
Hoping and praying
With each breath
That love will return
To you in your
Quiet moments
You reflect upon
The one who made
You so sad
Forever in your
Heart you call out
For love to return
Even if that
Love is not the
Same love
That once stole your
Heart and waylaid
It by the
Side of the road
In a thunderstorm
You remember the rain
Wet on your face
And wish for
It all to
Happen again
To tear your heart
From your chest
To feel it beating
Like a drum
To the rhythm of the stars
And so
It is better.
Brian Thomas Johnston
Forever and A Day
I used to think
That I could live
Like everyone else
And it would be like
People say that time
Heals all wounds
But I sit here in my room
And I wonder why
It is that things are the
Way they are
I really don’t know how to live
Without your love
As time passes by
Every day I think that
I will feel better and
New love will find me
Then I feel that
You are deep inside
And I think
I still don't know how to live
Without your love
Even though you
Are far away
Beyond space and time
And every day I live
My life and I cry
Every day I wonder why
Things turned out this way’
With a love that was
So strong I thought it
Would be you and me
Forever as my life should
Be.
Britney Spears