Cash Crops

Early American plantation owners
made huge profits using cheap
slave labor to produce cotton.

But they had another more lucrative crop.
They bred those slaves like animals
to produce more slaves to sell.

Too Late

How will we know when it’s too late
to save the bees?
How will we know when it’s too late
to save the wolves?
How will we know when it’s too late
to save our environment?
How will you know when it’s too late
to save your grandchildren?

Blind Fear

We’re afraid.
Afraid to think
the mighty United States
could actually be taken over
by a small group of people
who want to use it
for personal gain.

We’re scared.
Scared to admit
our sacred democracy
could be hijacked by oligarchs
who are only interested
in increasing their own
wealth and power.

We’re frightened.
Frightened to believe
there are Americans
who care only
about their grandchildren
and don’t care if ours
are left out of the
American dream.

I am

I found this poem by my son, Brian, when I was looking through some of his old papers. I hear his voice when reading it.

I am

I am an odd person with a hairy face,
I wonder how deep is outer space,
I hear the sound of a dinosaur's cry,
I see pterodactyls in the sky,
I want to be in a happy place,
I am, an odd person with a hairy face.

I pretend that I am a superhero,
I feel I understand the number zero,
I touch the smiling face of a bumblebee,
I worry for the happiness of my family,
I cry for the sadness of the human race,
I am an odd person with a hairy face.

I understand that being sober takes some work,
I say I never want to be a jerk,
I dream to find that special one,
I try to be a better son,
I hope to see a smile on every face,
I am an odd person with a hairy face.

I am Brian Edward Johnson

Rules for killing

It’s OK to kill children in war,
but not OK to kill a fetus.
It’s OK to kill a criminal who does not want to die,
but not OK to kill a suffering patient who does.
It’s OK to kill an ape,
but not OK to kill a human.
It’s OK to kill someone you’re afraid of,
but not OK to kill yourself.

Who made these rules?

Impostors

What is conservative about starting unprovoked wars?
Or passing on trillions in debt to our grandchildren,
or ignoring our crumbling infrastructure,
or polluting the environment we depend on for life,
or preserving fetuses while starving children,
or enriching the wealthy by robbing from the middle class?
Why do real conservatives allow their credibility
to be stolen by greedy impostors?

Adirondack Chairs

They gather in gaggles
on porches and lawns
some painted green,
pink or sky blue,
some carrying pillows
and standing in rows,
but never seating anyone.

The Perfect President

Many of his critics
call Trump an aberration,
but history suggests
he exactly represents
the American attitude
toward it’s role in the world.
Like America, he refuses
to admit his mistakes
and justifies his greed
by claiming American
exceptionalism.

Naming the Enemy

Each time we declare war on another culture,
we coin dehumanizing names for them
so we can kill them without remorse.

Redskin, Rusky, Haji, Gook,
Gerry, Nigger, Raghead, Dink,
Injun, Greaseball, Cracker, Spook,
Polack. Pickaninny, Jap, Chug, Chink.

We use language to turn them into something
other than fellow souls with similar dreams,
patriotic ideals, and families who love them.

The names help justify the indiscriminate
killing of soldiers and civilians
by reducing them to less than human.

SS America

The Ship of State is commanded by a spoiled boy
who steers his vessel in circles just to prove he can.
The crew collapses on the deck as the strings that move
their limbs begin to fray and finally break.
The passengers bicker among themselves whether
the captain is a demon or a grifter or a narcissistic idiot.
The survivors of other sunken vessels must tread water
until the frightened skipper knows flotsam from jetsam.
The first mate screams that fuel is running low
so the captain sends an S.O.S. to a ship lurking nearby.
No one seems to notice that ship flies the Jolly Roger
and its shirtless captain wears a knowing smile.
They don’t see the silent torpedoes coming through
the choppy sea until it’s too late for SS America.