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Ann M Johnson Sep 2015
This
      
          World  

                          IS
                                 COLD
   That
                  is
                             why
                                          LOVE

                                     Is
                                            Needed
                                                    to
                                                        WARM
                                                                   OUR

                                                                      Hearts
Ann M Johnson Sep 2015
Collections of what  does these things speak
Carousel horses reminding me of a simpler time
Also reminding us stay in touch with childlike wonder
Horses also run with determination with a pace all their own
  Butterflies to navigate life's changes with dignity and with gracefulness
Angels to remind me that's alright to ask for help and guidance in this journey called life
Poetry helps tie all the collections together and helps me find my own version of wings
I dedicate this poem to All My Hello Poetry Friends, you are great!
Ann M Johnson Sep 2015
A solitary walk in a nature trail can feel so energizing while alone
  A solidary walk through a crowded campus and through a long crowded hall while alone can feel so draining and lonely
In the first instance captivated by the beauty of nature
In the second instance the time seems to drag by while surrounded by anxiety
We are the ones who feel
almost everything.

Squeezed like sun-warmed
wine grapes, pressed
like fragrant coffee beans,
distilled like kilos of flowers,
may these memories of our lives
become good poems.
To you, my new family,here in this international place for poets, and always, to Eliot York, for building it.
©Elisa Maria Argiro
Once I lost you
Once I tossed you
You never said a word
I never could have heard

Miracle you bore
A refugee in the wreckage
Sharpening your wings
Withstanding dangerous oppression

Young being, incomplete being
Trying not to succumb
To your own capitalist appropriation
Eminent commodification
Implicating your body and mind

Who remained unscathed?
Who wreaked the havoc?
Just...so many wings could gain wind
In this cage, lacking space

System simply cannot withstand
Cost of everyone's liberation
Convenient systematic predilection
Where some are never meant to fly

Miracle you bore
A refugee in the wreckage
Sharpening your wings
Withstanding dangerous oppression

How can any wings soar
When the trail of their shadows
Hide systematic traps for our failure
To ensure only a few course the skies

Liberation is not meant to be
Just yours or mine
No commodity for private consumption

Its usage, embrace, and appropriation
Has universal implications
A radical transformation that seeks to complete a human being
Emblematic of an ideological reconceptualization
A revolutionary new understanding of being human

A re-authentication of our own liberation
Purely predicated on that of others
June 4, 2013
Ann M Johnson Aug 2015
Life is not a spectator sport
If an injustice bothers you
don't just sit on the sidelines
take action

If you want to see changes in the world
don't just wait for others to act take the first step
yourself

Don't wait too long
You don't want to die
wishing that you had done more
that if only you had truly lived
and made an impact on others
living selflessly
instead of selfishly

Hero's are often found in ordinary people
who have the courage to do
seemly extraordinary things
We all have the same potential to take action
to preserve our basic human rights and the rights
of those around us and the potential to make a Global impact
  If you observe discrimination  and injustice
don't simply be a bystander
instead take action
By not taking action you are being part of the problem
instead of the solution
If you are not sure what to do
talk to a trustworthy person that can help you
if you need to make a formal complaint
muster up the courage to do so
You may discover that you are stronger
than you thought you were
more courageous than you believed yourself
to be
Make a difference the world is counting on you  
the first step in making a chance is often taking
action locally
  Now is the time to make a positive change
if you have not started already
You may inspire others to take action
but don't wait for others
Make your first step today
even a marathon starts with a first step .......
I recently had to make a stand against some discrimination and injustice that I recently observed. I am not a hero but I did not feel like I could just be a bystander but instead talked with people about how I could make a statement in the hopes of making a positive change and hopefully in the long run make a difference.
  Aug 2015 Ann M Johnson
Gwen Johnson
I say I'm okay
but I'm not
I'll have my good days
and I'll have my worst
but until the day
I go to bed without
a feeling of dread
or tears on the bed
pounding in my head
the inability to catch my breath
I'm not okay

I won't truly be okay
Until the day
I can say hello
without having to rehearse it
or wonder if I said it
too quiet
or too loud
if it even came out
and worrying if
the conversation will go past that

If the most I say
about how I'm feeling
is okay
and you had to ask in the first place
I'm probably not

If I'm more worried
if you're okay
than I'm probably not
because until I unlearn
how to pick everybody but myself up
I'm not

I say I'm okay
so you don't have to worry about me
but I'll still cling to all the care
and love you give to me
because I'm still unsure
if its all I get
so until the day
I don't feel the need
for reassurance that you care for me
I'm not okay

Until the day
I can no longer relate to this
I'm not okay
but I'm working on it
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