Author Archives: dh-johnston.com

Covering the earth and filling the spread of the heaven,  As that powerful psalm in the night I heard from recesses,  Passing, I leave thee lilac with heart-shaped leaves,  I leave thee there in the door-yard, blooming, returning with spring.    —Walt Whitman An excerpt from Walt Whitman’s elegy to President Abraham Lincoln. It was Continue reading “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow,  But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below,  A heart whose love is innocent! -Lord Byron

I followed the trail that led into the shadows of the dark woods. Once in, I waited near a rope, was handed spray for my limbs, then a flashlight beamed where to sit. I was transported— back to the turn of the century, no longer a tourist. A sailing rig became a working voyage, asContinue reading “TIME TRAVELER (Please support The Arts)”

Shed warm coats and hats, this season springs of beginnings. Come out, start anew.                              -Deb Johnston

Ponds and lakes sealed in ice, locking the schools below. The curl of the auger bites through. Silver fins and scales scour for rations dangled hook by hook. Risking freedom, she reaches for that one last morsel.  -Deb Johnston

smudged markings near your eyes like a wide receiver on game day but your’s are night games with feet like tiny hands foraging for food —Deb Johnston

Bare ice unveils in plain view, creatures pass this way. I’m merely a guest, whether den, lodge, or nest, uninvited near someone’s home. —Deb Johnston