Image

Author Archives: nicole johnson

Still Here With Me

Posted on by nicole johnson

Like an old mixtape,
I tried to erase you,
Ran you through the rewinder,
Tried to rewrite the truth.

I still see you in my mind,
Holding me ‘til we fall asleep.
That moment on repeat,
Playing over me.

I tried to let you fade out,
Tried to turn the volume low,
But every memory plays loud
Like you never let me go.

I’m moving forward, still you stay,
Living in the in between.
I don’t talk to you anymore,
But you’re still here with me.

The smell of your cologne still lingers,
Bergamot and spice.
Every time my phone lights up,
My heart forgets the time.

I’m moving forward, still you stay,
Living in the in-between.
I don’t talk to you anymore,
But you’re still here with me.

I tried to let you fade out,
Tried to leave you in the past,
But some love don’t disappear,
It just learns how to last.

I’m moving forward, still you stay,
Somewhere quiet in my mind.
I don’t talk to you anymore,
But I feel you all the time.

Go the distance

Posted on by nicole johnson

I want to think of you like a warm breeze

Free flowing and happy.

Our last words to not be filled with anger

But thinly veiled fear.

I want to see you in my dreams

A vision so sweet.

The little thin lines at the corners of your eyes

Forever turned up.

I want to hear the laughter of your children

As they grow older with every season.

The voices growing stronger

With every passing turn

I want to see stories in the paper

About your heroics.

To me, that’s a true gem.

Davey Jone’s Locker

Posted on by nicole johnson

Her body sunk below the surface

It flung through violent waves

One by one, they crashed against the Earth.

She couldn’t see.

Blinded by an ocean of rage and ache.

No longer equipped to fight the current in this state.

She used to slide under the radar of feisty fishermen

Dodge their illusive nets

But they’ve got her

hook,

line,

and sinker.

Stranded with the dead-eyed flounder,

Her throat constricted and the breathes were shallow.

She was just another fish trapped on a ship of uglies

Liberation

Posted on by nicole johnson

It’s happening again
This pounding within my chest

Feet cemented to the ground
We watched the earth reset.

My body tensed,
Waiting for the impact.

The waves took us both under.
We sunk deeper and deeper beneath the surface.

I have never felt more free.

Civil unrest

Posted on by nicole johnson

The sun is at its peak in the sky
Not sure what came of the time.

The crows created a nest in the trees,
While I wiped away the last semblance of hope from my cheeks.

Racing through hoops of unrest.
The rioting,
The looting,
Protestors chanting, “I can’t breathe. Don’t shoot!”

Deep inside, I am screaming.
Can anyone hear me?

My voice has reached new octaves
I’m the pianist slamming down the keys

I am not a threat
My cellphone is not a weapon
Stop! Don’t shoot me!

Rinse, repeat
Another brother is on tv
Another sister didn’t make it out of custody.

We wear masks to protect the public from a virus
Where is our protection from the government?

Were we not created equal?
Did Martin not take a stand on the bridge in Salem?
Have we not done enough to make America great?

We are suspicious.
We should be feared.
We don’t belong here.

Trapped in the twilight zone
Somewhere circa 1960
Why is my life not worth saving?

Why is this even a question?

This ‘ole tree

Posted on by nicole johnson

I love the way that you touch me.

My mind and body buoyed to the sea

Tethered to the anchor of forbidden fruit.

We are at a standstill and I’m ready for the scenic route

Listen to the sound of the music playing in the background.

Ready to take a leap.

Inside I’m rotting,

Water seeping into the crevices.

Growing spores on the source of forced breaths.

Cracking at the root

Afraid to take a step

I refuse to go anywhere without you.

And so I stand, where I’ve been placed for centuries

Withstanding the chaos of fire, water, and man

Nothing shall faze me.

A wall of steel is what I shall be.

A mere scratch on the surface.

A warrior in the forest of havoc.

In depth

Posted on by nicole johnson

The clouds were lively tonight.

Dark and broody

A storm was brewing.

He gazed longingly at his beloved

Words trailed off,

Much was left unsaid.

The waves crashed against the hull,

As the wind picked up,

Thunder roared.

They’ve created something special

This little slice of secret menu apple pie.

It brought comfort to them like a sweet white wine.

Traces of fresh 20 proof comforted her.

In liquored spurts,

The words were out in the sweetest ballad.

Tears filled her eyes as she lay her head down for the night.

Softly whispering “I love you”

Hoping they reached him before sunrise.

voyage

Posted on by nicole johnson

This feeling of unease seeps its way into a world where hope is reserved for fighters.

Coming from places where suns and moons rise at different times.

They fight side by side, partners as some may say.

How wide can one’s arms spread in a world reliant heavily on faith?

She stood on the edge of the cliff

The breeze was brisk and yet confined itself to every crevice.

The water came crashing at the shoreline,
Creating this sense of unexplained melancholy in the pit of her belly.

They were riddled with memories of worlds intertwined,

Rising and falling together like a moth to a flame.

Rainy day

Posted on by nicole johnson

Straddling the line between monsoon and drought.

The weatherman couldn’t predict Mother Nature this time.

What was happening, there is no scientific diagnosis.

The sky cried for a little while

Until the sun broke through the clouds

Just for a moment, everything was ok.

Just for a moment, everyone was on the same page.

People came out of their shells with a purpose

All looking up at the clouds with the same look of masked anguish.

Just for a moment, the weatherman predicted

Dark and cloudy is the the forecast today.

Free

Posted on by nicole johnson

I’ve often reminisced about the wind gliding through the luster of my hair,

I am transfixed—

by the place that gave me asylum from my own pretenses.

I walked through the meadow,

Stumbling upon the lives that appeared before me

An existence of utter tranquility

That momentary silence heeded

Engulfed by the need to stop the clutter of voices

Preventing ink from touching paper.

To feed upon my own insanity

They told me not to hide.

The sun bore through the trees

My skin displayed the absence of light—

Forming this connection.

I knew we would thrive

Inside the globe of our ancestors.