I’d write every day if I had enough ink. You gave me this pen and it’s starting to shrink. I’m just trying to save it. I’d live every day if I didn’t just think. Got […]
Author: Chuck Johnson
Off The Shelf (9/2018)
Tell me I don’t hear me on the radio While my wheels fall down the road, Up to your mountain inside the snow. Come on, get me there, bring me home. Tell me my thoughts […]
Morning Shows (9/2018)
Coat your throat. Touch the sky. Unroll the pool and float, so high. Race on and on and you wanna slow down. Days awake, Up so high. Float on the pool, unroll the sky. Way, […]
Comfortable (9/2018)
It’s flesh in front of black and white. The one you think of every night. The sting of a spring, floating away. The one with whom you know you’re safe. So you make yourself comfortable. […]
Window Pane (9/2018)
When I walk to your window, I see myself looking in. Moving drops of melted snow To find a fire burning Near your warm and calming glow. You see you outside of old frames. You […]
Stacked Storms (8/2018)
Below your toes, just above your waist. Inside, find bottom. You dig in, escape. Under the clouds, ahead of the night. Outside, jump in. Take the biggest dive. To the right of those and just […]
Rapids and Ripples (8/2018)
He could build a big beard, grab a sleeve, run away. Get a dog and a van, have no plans, have all day. Shout, ‘I’ve never felt so free. Look at me.’ But, honestly, anybody […]
Nothing Surrounding (8/2018)
I am not a liar, I just take my time. I live on a wire, sometimes I am fine. I am not a writer, I’m just wasting ink. I swam in a fire, and then […]
Half Past Jackson (8/2018)
Driving on the coast, midnight under the moon. Flying like thieves, leaving all that they brought. We’re on our way now and we won’t get caught. Crawling up the road, sunrise under the moon. Floating […]
Life, Like Rain (8/2018)
You think that you’re breaking. You don’t know you bend. You feel like collapsing, and you think it’s the end. I’d take all your rain. I’d take all your sorrow. I’d make all your days, […]
By The Pool (8/2018)
Oh, little hotel room mansion. Floating plastic lemons, sitting by the pool. Wade in water by more water, Not worried about not getting paid. Black and white cartoons and answers. I’ve never known how to […]
Jump on Water (8/2018)
Hear these same songs in this same spot. Nothing at all’s the same anymore. It all feels so different. Head to toe, connected. Hammer and nails, miles of tile. I’m out of myself and happy […]
Real Around January (8/2018)
Needles weeping under bridges with stars. People, passengers stuck in cars They don’t understand where we’re headed. We move with the speed of sound. We dance through hurricanes, No matter how loud. Sit and smoke […]
Only Breathing (8/2018)
Before I ran into you, I’d never stopped to meet me. I bounced around inside myself, Hoping to break free. Sat in the back row and wrote it all down. Wrote it all out before […]
Winter My Way (8/2018)
Organ playin’ in the background, Runnin’ down black and white Like fingers singing on a crosswalk. Annie’s swingin’ on a playground. Workin’ all day and night, Bike fingers stinging on a stopped clock. I’m always […]
Follow Me (8/2018)
I slipped off my plate. I could see right through it and couldn’t get to me. I was leaving and I was late. Swallow one white dot and you’ll be right. It’ll bring a storm, […]
Just Ticking (8/2018)
These days I got no worries, I’m in no hurry to get what I want. I’m jumping on a road. I don’t care where this bus goes. That guy does though, I think he’s driving. […]
Fixing Buttons (7/2018)
I couldn’t stop and I couldn’t go. Time is nothing but more, or less, time. And what if it ends tomorrow? We never know what we’re gonna be, But, we can be more than what […]
For Days (7/2018)
Lately, I don’t stay up late. Been sleeping. It’s been four nights, But that’s four nights for the first time. Lately, I don’t always break. Been breathing. It’s been four days, But that’s four days […]
Boy that Boy (7/2018)
The boy who couldn’t let himself in. Every time he’s ending is when it all begins. Woke up in a hurricane, afraid to sleep at night. That boy smiled through so much pain until he […]
Sat on a Saturday (7/2018)
I sat alone on a beach on a Saturday. Thought about a note I wrote a while ago. A note about fighting parts of myself, wanting free. I know I called it, ‘Song To Me’. […]
Silence City (7/2018)
Gotta leave this city, man. This city’s killin’ me. Gotta find some balance, man, I can’t stop spillin’ me. Gotta find cool sunshine, man. This sunshine’s killin’ me. Gonna take a walk out there, Get […]
Weather and a Woman (7/2018)
Where is my ship? Who moved my shit? Been sleeping nine to five. Seems something isn’t right. Got too much on my mind. Weather and a woman. How did I slip? Who touched my shit? […]
6 to Space (7/2018)
I drive in the sandstone, my mind in the sea. I climb to your rooftop for a little peace. I go to the city, sit down by the bay. I go up to heaven to […]
Stories in my Mind (7/2018)
I read a book where it wasn’t all easy, But I’ve always liked making up Better stories in my mind. The way before is now behind. Ahead of a head and it’s always easy. Yeah, […]
Karen (7/2018)
Karen, you carry us up the road to the show. Karen you’re scarin’ us – we don’t wanna slow. A spring in the mountains and we’ve got to go. I’m right behind you and you’re […]
Watch It (7/2018)
Everyone’s leaving the house. Evil keeps more people out. Babies in cages, our hearts rearranging, Take us back to the carriage. This pumpkin has no clue. Poisoned heirs. Out of order. Tearing tiny fingers from […]
Two Piece Puzzle (7/2018)
He’s an idiot genius. He’s a tortured heart. He’s a one piece puzzle That somehow falls apart. He’s spinning vinyl’s brainchild. He’s so goddamn smart. He’s a two piece puzzle That no one ever starts. […]
Homemade Desert (Just Tuesday) (7/2018)
I write on an elephant. Home, made. Desert. Elephant’s alone with me. It’s so warm, so they all stay inside. Except the neighbors, they’re fighting again. They make my moments rebegin. Her car won’t start. […]
Smile That Shuffle (7/2018)
Prickly green scenes. Strings strumming strung out fingers. Looking for his place, where there aren’t any trees. Sugar coated foam. Bee sting finger building boards, Begs to build a home. Walk beneath with memories, looking […]
Buried (7/2018)
In some ways, it’s already yesterday. I don’t know how I made it. I got buried. I dug in. Got dug out by people I dig. Pulled out by people I love. Why do people […]
Ball of Twine (7/2018)
Widowed paws, pause – no Stop. Play with my mind. Cats, skylines, women, Songs scratch this little ball of twine, It’s mine. Sax stranger, drive me wild. Play with the night. Love, roses, women. Pick […]
Oven (7/2018)
Third story, oven, Looking out at the trees. Thinking of things I thought I would be. Dust swirling, oven, Castles latched on the breeze. Traveled at night, so far from the sea. When all the […]
Somehow Have Me (7/2018)
Skipped stones and steeped thought. I walked for years before I got lost. And I never knew I’d be alright, If I slept all the way through the night. There is a light inside me, […]
Denver to the Desert (7/2018)
The leaves changed with the terrain. Leaves left and came with the terrain. We listened to the Cities during sunset here. Years ago. So I gave it a spin in the dark. Thought of you […]
Past The Mountain (6/2018)
Torn up plans, loading your whole life. Move it over the mountain And always take your time. Tattooed ants carry so much life. Moving over the mountain, Where they won’t have to hide. So many […]
Warrior (7/2018)
His thoughts walked while he took in the lake. Delayed, walked deep, deep, his dark ocean. Beneath sleeping, steeping emotion. Up to now, a roller coaster. Never been afraid of roller coasters. Never knew why […]
Emerald City Blues (7/2018)
I am a lion. Courage, my desire. Afraid of heights, my life out on a wire. Dogs show men who preach they’re not liars. A curtain brought a tin man a home. I am no […]
Made-Up Rain (6/2018)
Half past rain in the park, The drops were all on cue. They swirled in circles with us, It was like they knew. Made-up rain in the dark. The drops were right on time. And […]
Story in Black and White (6/2018)
Deep pocket penguins take on the night. Two little stars, always liked a good fight. How did this ever happen? Sunday shadows, stand out on the street. Tiptoes walking right between four feet. Like none […]
Leaving Left Field (6/2018)
Towels, walking sand. The sun rolled down. Mountains will tell you it melted the ground. She walked out from left field. She sang by my side. And she suddenly realized That we can make our […]
By The Sky (6/2018)
Do I live in the past or am I from the future? I don’t forget things that I’ve never seen. Real reels tangled, cut scenes. Why do I know the things I do? I can’t […]
Handle Sunshine (6/2018)
Maybe today’s my lucky day. I found a wishbone on the way home, But nothing ever came true, It all just hit me. Out of the blue. Three feet bouncing across the street. The sound […]
The Paper (6/2018)
Practiced. Patience. I was waiting on the paper. See what it said. Not said, but read. Black and white, little tiny lines. Old mug of crunch, I was opening the paper. Pages of dead. Not […]
Morning Armor (6/2018)
She is a warrior. Her eyes are heaven. She is not fearless, Her dream’s never broken. She’s a worn out angel, One day dancing. Outside, a song in my head. By My Side but she’s […]
Forget That Feeling (5/2018)
Living. Legends. Maybe one day. We wandered tunnels. Hallways called my name. In it together, that won’t change. He sang songs about snakes here. I hope you made it safely. Everything up to right now, […]
Sidecar (5/2018)
Another sunburned morning and I’m right on track. A moon howls at a sun behind it’s back I will always love the interstate. The youngest son learned mourning sometimes comes back. She soon howls like […]
Song to Me (5/2018)
I will rock my soul. I will be like me. Do everything I want. Tomorrow I’ll be free. I will not grow old. Always be just me. Say everything I want. I don’t know what […]
More Like Monday (5/2018)
Why would you yell? Why don’t you talk? You make me yell. You never talk. The more you need it, The less you have to say. Go ahead, push it away. Monday doesn’t stop to […]
Life In A Day (5/2018)
A lifetime is a day. Each evening is a breath. Did you waste any sunsets? Did you get enough rest? Each city is a stop light. Every risk, a step. Each postcard is a letter […]
this is your life chuck johnson 