Two themed poems by Michael Lee Johnson

Two poems
by Michael Lee Johnson






In the Garden Where the Flowers Grow

I'm going to take Islam where their God has not been before-
to the garden of Jesus, olive oil presses, Gethsemane--
trees, flowers, fruits, vegetables didn't poison anyone there.
Passion was sweat on the ground and brow.
There weren't darts of hate, misconception or terrorism;
children on their knees five times a day brainwashed to hate.
Christ didn't lead them astray nor make them pagan pink.
There is no God apart from Allah, and Mohammed is the Prophet,
but it's Jesus who makes the garden grow with or without water.
Then and now the apples grow in my garden of forgiveness.
Figs trees grow far away where I can't reach them but believe in them.
Like the Tamarisk tree, Christ is a source of honey,
manna and wafer, a taste so sweet in the desert so dry.
You don't have to be a scholar to write poetry, religion, or understand
the Eucharist; but you need to be a real saint to know the difference.
Islam, is Judas Iscariot among your converts nose pointed toward
Mecca today?
I'm going to take Islam where their God has not been before-
to the garden where the flowers grow.

++++++++++++++++++++

Berenika

Do what I tell you to do
your face is like floor dough
your nose like a slant directionally
unknown like an adverb--
tossed into space.
Your hat is like an angel
wedding gown draped
over vodka body
like a Christ shield
protecting you in innocence.
It is here I kiss your lips as a total stranger;
bring myself closely to your eyes;
camp out on your narrow lips
and wait for the morning
before I slide like a sled
deep snow, away.

Author bio:

Michael Lee Johnson lives in Itasca, IL. after spending 10 years in Edmonton, Alberta Canada during the Vietnam War era. He is a freelance writer, and poet. He has been published in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Turkey, Fuji, Nigeria, Algeria, Africa, India, the United Kingdom, Republic of Sierra Leone, Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia. Michael is a member of Poets & Writers, Inc and Directory of American Poets and Fictions Writers. He has published 145 poems in 2007 to date. He is also the author of: The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom. Michael is now the publisher and editor of Poetic Legacy, to be found at Poetic Legacy , and Birds By My Window: Willow Tree Poems, to be found at, Birds by My Window. You can visit Michael's website at: Poetry Man.