Anointed with Timeless Joy

I want to dance in the sunshine of my soul; 
Laugh in gales of greedy delight at nothing at all. 
I want to strip bare and bathe in rain-drenched blossoms 
Falling like snow from the flowering pear tree 
And let down my hair to cling in rivulets down my back. 
I want to go fast down life’s slide on my belly 
And land laughing in the dirt at the bottom of the world. 
I want to count the stars of midnight and ride the comets 
Across the universe, bare-back, with my spurs dug in. 
Dusty eons and frozen grains of sand in the hourglass 
Mean nothing but being alive in all the soul’s timeless joy; 
Spending golden moments lost in endless beauty; 
The breast of time rising and falling with the tides of the moon. 
Each breath is a lightness of knowing, of remembrance 
Moving rhythmically to the drums of everlasting madness 
While strolling leisurely through the light tunnels of infinity 
With a silly grin spread across my wonder of existence. 
Endless joy is sparkling eyes, and a laughing soul in bare feet. 


Breath of Life Sonnet 

Oh, the intemperate swells of the heart 
That drown me in their wake when you appear, 
That melancholy stills when you depart; 
And comes again to life when you draw near. 
Ancient forgotten love spells seem to call 
Like fading siren’s songs from long ago 
And all the sighs that held me so enthrall 
Whisper once again how I love you so. 
Come to me from the tunnels of the wind.
Let not our time on earth be lived in vain.
Love is a living force that has no end - 
A breath of life for us to breathe again.
 Love is a magnet that pulls heart to heart; 
Once together, no force can pull apart. 


Prayer at Twilight 

You are my thoughts in the shadowy lane at twilight; 
So real I wonder if you can hear my footsteps 
Crunching over the stones beneath my feet as I walk; 
Or the whisper of the grass when I step off the path. 
Can you hear my voice as I speak to you in make-believe, 
Imagining your hand in mine and you walking beside me? 
The stars hang above the treetops like tiny lanterns 
Waiting for the breath of God to blow them out 
When dawn peeks breathless over the hills of morning. 
I will be long in my bed before the new day arrives, 
Snug under the covers of night and its holding 
Of my treasured dreams of you in earnest longing 
Tucked in my lonely heart missing you with each beat. 
My fervent prayers at night are always the same words, 
Let him be safe, healthy and strong and missing me 
As he seeks my soul in the long shadows of twilight 
Down the silent starlit lanes of his stalwart soul. 

Annie Johnson is 84 years old. She is Shawnee Native American. She has published two, six hundred-page novels and six books of poetry. Annie has won several poetry awards from world poetry organizations including; World Union of Poets; she is a member of World Nations Writers Union; has received the World Institute for Peace award; the World Laureate of Literature from World Nations Writers Union and The William Shakespeare Poetry Award. She received a Certificate and Medal in recognition of the highest literature from International Literary Union for the year 2020, from Ayad Al Baldawi, President of the International Literary Union. She has three children, two grandchildren, and two sons-in-law. Annie played a flute in the Butler University Symphony. She still plays her flute.