Nature
The sky is gray
On this late summer day
As the sun imbues
Its various hues
Upon the scene.
A sight to be seen,
A beauty to behold,
A thousand campfire stories to be told.

With the settling twilight
And the settling night
Comes the settling fog
About every log,
Every limb
As the light continues to dim.

Yet, do you hear it?
Yes, a kindred spirit,
As it beckons
To us, Nature's patrons,
Who think deep thoughts of
All things up above
And things all around
And adventures upon which to bound.
Well then,
Let's begin,
Before this great night can end!

Nature II
As I continue to tread
The well-worn path between the trees,
Many thoughts swim in my head
Of the refreshing beauties
Of the crisp, clean air
Playing in my hair,
The rainbow
That has begun to show
Over the tips of the trees,
The birds’ outspoken symphonies,
And the sun-rays that warm my face
As I pass each open, sun-lit space.

Nature has its own music,
Its own specially tuned melody.
I never want to lose it,
For what it means to me,
I can never fully express,
Even as my feelings well up in my chest.
It is here in the forest,
This place of nature and spirit,
That I feel blessed,
And ignore the old habit
Of humankind
To mind
Its own business
And forget about the wilderness.

Come friend,
Let’s walk this path again,
Before this great day can end!

Nature III
In that sky so immense,
I see clouds something dense,
Holding tight and tense,
Ready to drop their contents,
In order to rinse
And cleanse
All this poetic nonsense.
Yes, I'm guilty of many sins.

On this grayest of days,
While watching the lightning blaze,
I'm pondering my all too human ways,
Hoping to soon see hopeful sun rays,
To brighten my own soul's shadowy grays.

I now realize,
That until our demise,
That which is good and right
In God's sight
Our nature often defies
And denies.

Nonetheless,
Let me not digress,
For I hope and work for the best,
And I must never rest,
For God promises
Salvation and nothing less
To those who would in Him believe
And their own sinner state quickly leave.
Now, as we find God's love strong and true,
We can begin our adventures anew,
And enjoy nature once again,
Before this great day can end!

Nature IV
As I walk down the glistening beach,
I watch the waves break on the shore.
All nature's joy seems within reach,
And I enjoy it all the more.

Many are the sights that I behold:
Lots of people fishing on the pier,
Lovers whose whispers will go untold,
And young swimmers who have no fear!

Yet, even as I watch the birds,
And they dive in to look for fish,
I realize that even these words
Can't properly describe all this!

Nonetheless, the great tide of life
Still continues to ebb and flow.
Live by faith, for all of our strife
Will be solved by God, not what we know.

Now then, let's begin this journey again!
Let us walk down the beach hand in hand,
Until the afternoon tide comes in,
And it overtakes us walking in the sand!

Owen Johnston lives and teaches Wado ryu Karate in Lake City, South Carolina. He enjoys reading, writing, training, and spending time with his fiance. The above poetry was excerpted from the author's book titled "Heaven on Earth". For more information, please visit Johnston Wado ryu Karate.

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