Ordinary Light

By John S. Green

Real, raw, and funny, the voice of John S. Green takes you on a lifelong journey of seeking sacred resting places in the middle of lifes ever increasing chaos and distractions. Headlines scream, Beware! Look out! The end is near! A lightning, flashing, neon pulse that blinds us from the ordinary light.

His poems and lyrics inspire hope through the pure emotion and honesty of his quest. With images that range from rodeos and dogs to his wife and an alien goddess, John explores the range of what it is to live inside the human heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543413229

John S. Green

John is an award winning writer. His play, The Liquid Moon, won Chicago’s Jeff and After Dark Awards and was nominated for the Pulitzer. He won the Guild Complex: Leon Forrest Prose Award for his short story, The Me Zone. He has been working his whole life as an actor, singer-songwriter and playwright, and has decided it’s finally time to select from years of poetry and share them in this book. It represents a life-long search for peace in the middle of chaos. Find songs and more at his website: johnsgreenwrites.com

Book preview

Ordinary Light

The world is filled with ordinary light,

Casting soft shadows on old brick walls

And winding pathways lined with vibrant flowers.

Fleeting bits of conversations

Float up from outdoor cafes and bistros,

Fluttering on the summer wind

Like swarms of nervous butterflies.

Water flows from mountain springs

To the parched-tongued earth

Without benefit of man’s intent.

Yet headlines scream:

BEWARE!

LOOK OUT!

THE END IS NEAR!

A lightning, flashing,

Neon pulse

That blinds us from

The ordinary light.

High Tech

Aging children raised on video games and action-figure heroes

Desperately search the web for proof of their virtual existence.

Their quicksilver thumbs slam against miniature keyboards,

Evoking sounds and images guaranteed to soothe their nervous minds.

Fast/furious/ironic stimulation feeds the endless need for adrenaline,

Guaranteed to keep them from that terrifying and most endangered of species: silence.

Are they spinning out of control—

Victims of a high-tech world heading toward oblivion?

Are they on the verge of building a new world,

The global village dreamed of by Marshall McLuhan

And other visionaries of a previous age?

Or

Are their brains simply being rewired and prepared for an alien takeover?

Clever Man

Clever man

With opposable thumbs

Destroys the earth

Then asks, How come?

To beat the gods

And control your fate—

A worthy goal—

But it’s now too late.

The optimist

Will sell you hope.

The pessimist

Can’t help you cope.

For comfort’s sake,

We’ve raped the soil.

To the victor goes

The rotting spoils.

It’s over now;

Don’t waste your time

On empty prayers

and valentines.

Clever man

Has beat the odds,

Stealing fire

From the gods.

So raise a glass;

The end is near.

Enjoy before

We disappear.

Side By Side

The rock

Pure light

Divine nucleus

Energy into matter

A crack in the cosmic egg

A castle flooded with

Shimmering golden light

Herbs and medicine

A healer’s touch

Freeing the body

Or at least making it

Still enough to listen

Two worlds physical and