Daniel L. Johnson

Paonia, Colorado, USA

Paonia Colorado is my home. I was born here on 7-3-36. My great Grandfather named this town in 1881 him and his family were the first people to come in here and make their home, and I feel like I'm apart of it too. I went away to find work because there was no work in this valley at the time for me. I did help old people take care of the yards that was o.k. for awhile it made a little money for me but I needed a lot more to keep my own family so I left Paonia and got a job in the hard rock mined, and it was hard work but I love it. There was money coming in to take care of my family. I lived in a lot of little towns here in Colorado but Paonia was still my home. I wrote my first poem here when I was between six and seven years old. I love to make words rhyme. They are beautiful when they're all together in a good poem, it makes me feel good inside when a poem comes in a rhyme but I always feel theres room to get better and when I do write a good poem it makes me so happy I want to tell all my friends about it. You know I can write about people but when it comes to me I don't know what to say. I hope this is o.k.

Summers Over

Now that Summers over
fall winds chill thee air
changing our Mountains scenery
to a beautiful red and gold
then soon the leaves will be dropping
and followed by winter snow
caping over the mountain peaks
making our winters get bitter cold
there most every morning
around twenty below
as the cold winter winds
whip the tall lonesome pines
bringing a picture
to my window at times
that to my Friends it's beauty
Ijust cannot describe
and when I'm in bed all I can hear
is the whipping and whining
of that old north wind