The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom

By Michael Lee Johnson
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Paperback, 90 pages
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The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom
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Michael Lee Johnson is a freelance writer and poet from Itasca Illinois. He has been published in 300 plus journals and online publications in 21 different countries to date. He is a member of Poets & Writers, Inc and Directory of American Poets & Fictions Writers: pw.org/directory. His brand new chapbook, From Which Place the Morning Rises is now available at http://www.lulu.com/ and can be purchased at http://www.lulu.com/content/4654746 or http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1395387. The Lost American, with many descriptive pictures, is about one man's journey into exile over the Vietnam War many years ago, his struggle, his survival, his road to recovery and strength manifesting itself through his prose and poems. His first chapbook of poems and prose is available for purchase and download at: http://stores.lulu.com/poetryboy. Author's email: promomanusa@gmail.com
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Nov. 6, 2008 By Michael Lee Johnson
"The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom, Review by Carol A. Marcus"
The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom
Book Review: By Carol A. Marcus


The Lost American: From Exile to Freedom, by raising star, Michael Lee Johnson, poet and freelance writer, is about one man's journey into exile to Canada over the Vietnam War many years ago, his struggle, his survival, his road to recovery and strength manifesting itself through his prose, poems, and personal convictions. Mr. Michael Lee Johnson now lives in Illinois, United States. We feel sure you will delight in his work. Michael is a poet, painting his words with a tender and gentle touch, allowing them to create a... More > broad landscape with just a few deceptively simple strokes. Take a short flight into freedom and read the adventures of an unusual life, touching the moments many with an average eye simply miss. Whether it be the agony of self-imposed exile for a cause; or a tender moment with lights flickering in the dark, the emotions come through. Here are two sample poems:

Skinny Indiana Boy

With a heart once as big as Texas
or Alberta where he came from,
the draft resister tries to erase
the memory of his sordid past;
coming out of the Rockies,
down over the slate, out of self-imposed exile,
he leaves the northland shaking
his bandaged fists at the prairie sky.
He was robbed of his own conviction
by a war that ended, others forgot,
there was nothing left to die for, to wait for,
no more protest signs to carry in the dark -
only the chill of the northern winter left
to remind him of what he once felt,
once talked about.
The night looked long in his deep green eyes
robbing his faint life away.
The scream of loneliness has turned
his innards inside out to pity.
Non-religious accept for those
weakened moments, empty nights,
vacant lots, he leaves behind lightless
ten years of those silent wars
without refuge.
He no longer speaks with bullets bleeding
from his mouth, he no longer searches
the quiet whispers that echo in the pines.
Now he is at home near the land of Indiana lakes
where in his childhood he created the vision for his
now dead dream, content to say nothing radical anymore-
just glad to be alive.

-1981-

Flight of the Eagle

From the dawn, dusty skies
comes the time when
the eagle flies-
without thought,
without aid of wind,
like a kite detached without string,
the eagle in flight leaves no traces,
no trails, no roadways-
never a feather drops
out of the sky.
-1981-
In the first poem, Skinny Indiana Boy one can feel the pent up emotions, the longing for home, for roots, the desire to be free on one’s own terms again. One can feel the conflict between being alone, the search for God, the anger, the desire to find peace within a self.

In the second poem, Flight of the Eagle one senses imagination, freedom, the desire to be free on the wind, tortured no more, left alone to survive. Here a degree of mysticism prevails, a depth of intestacy, a genius wording of simplicity, a cover from the dark. This little piece is a true reflection of the inward tenacity of the authors will, a testimony one can trust.

Carol A. Marcus, Independent Writer and Book Reviewer, Editor: writerillinois@yahoo.com < Less
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Product Details

Copyright Michael Lee Johnson (Standard Copyright License)
Edition Second Edition
Publisher Lulu.com
Published November 7, 2008
Language English
Pages 90
 
Binding Perfect-bound Paperback
Interior Ink Black & white
Dimensions (inches) 8.5 wide × 11.0 tall

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