“Odysseus” published at Spillwords Press

On By Mike U.In Poetry

I’m excited to announce my poem “Odysseus” has been selected as a featured poem at Spillwords Press. Many thanks to Dagmara K. and her staff for publishing this piece. It’s an incredible honor to share my work with the readers at Spillwords Press, and I’m truly grateful for this opportunity. Sincere thanks, Dagmara. I appreciate it.

“Odysseus”
© 2013 by Michael L. Utley

“I saw Odysseus sprawled on the sidewalk between
The squalid little deli and the boarded-up
All-night video place whose weather-stained
Posters advertised GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS
Amid obtuse indecipherable graffiti and
A fallen constellation of multi-hued shards of
Broken glass that crunched underfoot like
Bone fragments
The patina of snow about him
Pristine in its absence of footprints from
Passers-by…”

You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. And once you’re there, take some time to check out the work of many other talented writers on Spillwords Press, where you’ll find a treasure trove of good writing.

85 thoughts on ““Odysseus” published at Spillwords Press”

  3. This is fantastic writing. Epic. I have seen Odysseus… The repetition of the phase as you point out the fragility and finite existence of all men. True anecdotal references, are all poignant, earthquakes in the mind as it were. Made me pause and think of so many things.
    Wonderful writing as always Mikey. I applaud you big bro. 👏👏👏

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    1. Thanks, Nigel. Yeah, some true anectodes in this one. I still recall the dead biker on that midnight desert highway surrounded by cops chatting idly. I’ve always wondered who he was, what his story was like, what happened to him, and if anyone cared. Same for the other examples. We’re all trying to find our way back home, and so many of us become hopelessly, permanenty lost. These folks become invisible, and it’s a shame. 

      Thanks for the kind words, my brother. Truly grateful for your presence here.  😊

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      1. When I had just moved to the US I befriended this kid. Smart dude. But he had lost a lot at a young age and inherited a lump sum. Was forever trying to find himself. Died in a motorcycle accident. Hit a curb doing 120. I still think of that kid. He was also trying to find his way back home.

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    2. Oh, man, that’s rough… So sorry to hear about this, Nigel. This world can be such a hard place, and a lot of stuff makes no sense at all. I had a friend die at age 17, not even one month after high school graduation. I was supposed to drive into town that afternoon with my guitar and jam with him for the first time (he was a drummer), but instead I found out he’d died three days earlier. Nah, this world makes no sense whatsoever… 

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    1. Thanks, Sam. I hadn’t seen Taxi Driver in ages, so I found the scene you mentioned on YT. So many lost people in this world, and no one seems to care. I’m Odysseus in my own way, still trying to make sense of my life, trying to find my way back. ”Life is a journey,” they say, but we all need a destiantion to keep us from giving up.

      I appreiciate your support, my friend. Thanks for the kind words. 😊

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      1. Oooh Taxi Driver is my favorite of favorite films. I think I relate to that wanderer complex, always observing and having to find a half-way grace between disgust and empathy. It works often, but the times it doesn’t, leaves me feeling dismal in life. My favorite part of The Odyssey however is when the men on the boat melt candle wax nubs into their ears to block out the sound of The Siren. One of my favorite parts of Greek Mythology!! I choose quiet, even if I could wail the same way in opera if I tried. I’ve just woken up and sharing all my favorites, haha. Hope you’re doing well, Mike!! I’m still sticking along and following with your many publications and wonderful poems ☺️☺️

        Liked by 2 people

  5. rajkkhoja's avatar rajkkhoja

    Congratulations my dear friend!

    Nice poem written you.

    “Excellent lines.Broken glass that crunched underfoot like Bone Fragments The patina of snow about Him Pristine in its absence of footprints .”

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you, my friend. I’m always happy to see you visit and read your kind words. It makes my day brighter! You are always welcome here, my friend. I hope you’re doing well. 😊🙏

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    2. I’m doing okay, my friend. Trying to stay warm this morning (it’s only 30 degrees F). Thank you for your prayers, my dear friend. It means a lot to me. Have a wonderful day! 😊🙏

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    1. Thank you kindly, Darlene. It’s a brutal poem, for sure. So many lost people in this world, so many who struggle, and so many who end up invisible and forgotten… It’s very sad.

      I appreciate your wonderful support, my friend. Thanks for being here. 😊

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  8. I wanted to post a comment there, but it’s far too tricky to tackle this morning, so I’ll leave it here:

    “I saw Odysseus standing on the corner
    Across from the new shopping mall with
    Hundreds of stores and a garish
    GRAND OPENING FREE HOT DOGS
    WIN A NEW TOYOTA TRUCK
    Sign filling up half the blazing summer sky
    The color of which no one noticed as they
    Funneled mindlessly into the parking lot of sticky asphalt”

    Those lines above made me stop and reread them several times. The scenes came alive as I read your words. There is such power in them, sir!

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    1. This is so kind of you, trE. Thank you so much. I love strong imagery in poetry. Many of the scenes in this piece are based on experiences I had, including the one with the hungry young guy with the WILL WORK FOR FOOD sign outside of a mall in Grand Junction, Colorado. Middle of summer, sweltering hot, and everyone just drove right on past him. I stopped and gave him all the cash I had on me ($10) so he could get some food for himself and his wife and young daughter. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had. And I still think about this young guy after all these years…and all the others I mentioned in this piece. 

      I appreciate you, my friend. Thanks for being here. 😊

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    1. Thank you kindly, Ashley. You’re right, of course–it could happen to any of us without warning. It’s my greatest fear that I’ll end up homeless at some point, and it could happen if the wrong people retake power this November here in the States, so this stuff is on my mind a lot. Hope for the best, expect the worst, but how does one prepare to become invisible and forgotten? 

      I appreciate you and your constant support, my friend. Thanks for stopping by to say hello. 😊

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    2. Spring always brings a little bit of hope to my life. It’s impossible for me not to look forward to the start of baseball season (unless you’re a Colorado Rockies fan), and seeing green taking hold everywhere is uplifting. It dipped below freezing last night, but that’s par for the course for late-April in southwest Colorado.  😊

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    1. Thanks a bunch, Kirsten. I was definitely excited when I learned Spillwords planned on publishing this one. I appreciate your enthusiastic support, my friend. It means a lot coming from someone whose writing I admire as much yours. Thanks for being a wonderful part of this community. 😊

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  17. Whoa! This is mighty writing!🎇😮 The dark, yet deeply sensitive and lyrical way in which you have woven the pain for those unseen by the world, and its sheer cruelty into this epic poem is beautifully haunting. Your keen observation and your ability to transform it into palpable, emotive pieces shine especially bright in this phenomenal poem. Congratulations, Mike!👌😊

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    1. Thanks a bunch, Aaysid. I think we’re all trying to find our way in one fashion or another, and some of us become irretrievably lost. A lot of my poetry deals with the invisible, forgotten people (I’m one of them), so this was an important poem for me. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Your deep inisghts and kind thoughts always make my day. I appreciate you, my friend. 😊

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  18. Dear Mike,

    I am delighted that you have composed what seems to be very close to your heart and published it at Spillwords Press.

    I wanted to leave a comment at Spillwords Press but felt uncomfortable about having to log in first, as the website does not seem to be on a WordPress platform.

    In any case, I found this poem to be one of your most complex and compelling, and I’ll have to read it at least two or three times to more fully absorb its imports.

    Yours sincerely,
    SoundEagle

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind appraisal of this piece, SoundEagle. Your words mean a lot to me. This poem truly comes from my heart, and I grieve for all the lost souls who will never find their way home again. Thank you for reading and stopping by to say hello. I appreciate you, my friend. 😊

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    1. Kindest thanks, Bianca. I appreciate you and your constant support. It means so much to me, my friend. Thanks for being here–it’s always a delight to see you stop by for a visit. 😊

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  20. Wow! Mike, first congrats on being published – again! What a powerful poem that reflects the heartbreaking reality of our world.

    We have all seen “Odysseus,” but do we respond or do we walk past without a glance. Such rich imagery of each Odysseus that compassion is ignited.

    Your honest writing highlights issues and changes people. Thanks, my friend, for sharing your gifts with us!

    Again, congrats and blessings!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thanks so much, Peggy. You really nailed it when you said, “We have all seen ‘Odysseus,’ but do we respond or do we walk past without a glance?” Too many of us turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the plight of our fellows, and there are so many excuses to justify this apathy. Many folks incorrectly believe that the downtrodden, the homeless, the addicts, the lost souls are suffering because they’re unworthy people whose own actions have derailed their lives, when in fact so many of these people have lost everything through no fault of their own. No one, as a child, ever dreams of becoming homeless or an addict or left by the wayside. We all have hopes and dreams, and sometimes life gets in the way and we find ourselves suffering due to situations beyond our control. If only we cculd recognize the humanity in each and every face we see… We’re all in this together. That old hit song by The Hollies keeps coming to mind: “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” We must do bertter to help our brothers and sisters because it’s the right and proper thing to do, and because we’re all one catastrophe away from being in their shoes.

      Thank you as always for your kind and thoughtful comment, my friend. I appreciate you so much. Your presence here is a godsend. 😊

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      2. Dear Mike,

        Hello! On average, the conservatives and the right-wing folks are much more likely to think that the downtrodden, the homeless, the addicts, the lost souls, the poor, the marginalized, the minority, the disenfranchised, and the LGBTIQ+ deserve their own “fate” and “wretchedness”. They are also far more prone to racism, ageism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and have very problematic views and beliefs about academia, science, immigration, multiculturalism, crime, firearms regulation, national security, religion, abortion, vaccination, genetic evolution, climate change, the environment, the economy, as well as civil and political rights. In my post entitled “🏛️⚖️ The Facile and Labile Nature of Law: Beyond the Supreme Court and Its Ruling on Controversial Matters 🗽🗳️🔫🤰🧑‍🤝‍🧑💉“, I included a scientific investigation into the cerebral differences between people in the left-wing and right-wing spectrum. In many cases, this difference is better at predicting people’s views and opinions than their cultural backgrounds and upbringings. It is published at

        🏛️⚖️ The Facile and Labile Nature of Law: Beyond the Supreme Court and Its Ruling on Controversial Matters 🗽🗳️🔫🤰🧑‍🤝‍🧑💉

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle🦅

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thanks, SoundEagle. I’ll check out your article sometime this weekend (I’m exhausted at the moment). As for comments not appering immediately, I have my settings adjusted so that all comments from everyone are funneled directly into the Moderation folder, where I can check them for spam and such before allowing them to appear on my blog posts. It’s just a security measure against spammers. If your comment doesn’t appear immediately, fear not. It’s just awaing moderation. 😊

        Liked by 2 people

      4. Dear Mike,

        Moreover, the advent of artificial intelligence both accentuates existing discriminatory fault lines and also creates new, dramatic ones that can entrench inequality even further! In my post metaphorically entitled “📈🌆 Growing Humanity with Artificial Intelligence: A Sociotechnological Petri Dish with Latent Threats, Existential Risks and Challenging Prospects 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🤖🧫☣️“, there is a very long paragraph that is also highly relevant and revealing about what we are discussing here. Look for the said paragraph which begins with the following sentence:

        Persisting in all modern societies and resisting lasting solutions aside, these problems can be all too easily magnified, replicated and spread by artificial intelligence typically conceptualised and developed by people who are invariably saddled with their own set of biases, priorities and ideologies, and who feed their AI models with training data that is flawed by and contingent on its very historical nature, thus perpetuating whatever social norms and values that are contained in such data.

        The paragraph explains in detail how the likes of the downtrodden, the homeless, the addicts, the lost souls, the poor, the marginalized, the minority, the disenfranchised, the LGBTIQ+ and so on tend to remain stuck in their predicaments. If you have time, it will be even better to read the entire section that contains the said paragraph. The section is called “The Future of Humanity and AI”, at the end of which I pose ten critical questions about the future of humanity and artificial intelligence.

        For your convenience, the said post is available to you at

        📈🌆 Growing Humanity with Artificial Intelligence: A Sociotechnological Petri Dish with Latent Threats, Existential Risks and Challenging Prospects 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦🤖🧫☣️

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle🦅

        Liked by 1 person

  26. Powerful images and repetitions of forms…the ‘everyman’ of Odysseus the wanderer, beautifully rendered. Love this poem – the motorbike rider ‘ a nuisance’ to the cops, then the coroner, and finally to the earth itself…. Great work! (I still wish his dog had turned up in the last couple of lunes though…(as the only one who remembered the ‘returning hero’…but maybe that’s another poem…Odysseus Returns! 🙌🙌🙌

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind appraisal, Janice. So many of us are lost, still trying to find our way back. Perhaps loyal Argos shall appear in a future piece. The thought of someone awaiting our return home inspires all sorts of hope, for sure.

      I appreciate your support and thank you so much for stopping by. Here’s wishing you a wonderful week ahead! 😊

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  29. This is another one of my many favorites, Mike. I remember it from the first time I read it, and I think of it a lot as the invisible people are unheard, unseen, and unfelt. It makes me wonder how many heroes never get a chance. And we all suffer for it.

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    1. Thanks, Diana. This one is close to my heart–I’m one of these people. And you’re right: who knows what these people can accomplish if given the chance? How many heroes? How many stories go unheard? In Stephen King’s “The Body” (my favorite King story ever, and the tale upon which the film Stand By Me was based, one of my all-time favorite movies), he writes:

      “The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them–words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were In your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.”

      This has stayed with me since the first time I read the story back in the early ’80s. In a way, these invisible people are those secrets about whom King writes, those heroes and adventures and beautiful places no one will ever experience because no one cares enough to realize these lost people are just like us: humans with stories to tell, and all of them worthy of hearing. Why is it so difficult for people to just give someone a chance? To say, “How are you today?” and really mean it? To give a helping hand and a kind smile and not levy judgment against them?

      I’m a dreamer, an idealist. I think of the world in terms of how it should be rather than how it is, and this means I’m always disappointed. We all can do more to help our fellows and make this place a little better for everyone. I don’t know if that will happen, or what I can do to make it a reality, so I write about it and hope my words make a difference in some way.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. I love this comment, Mike. This line especially: “…those heroes and adventures and beautiful places no one will ever experience because no one cares enough to realize these lost people are just like us: humans with stories to tell, and all of them worthy of hearing.”

        You say it so eloquently both in prose or poetry. And King is pretty eloquent too. 🙂 I don’t have much hope for humankind’s ability to be humane and to see each person as a precious, unique, once in forever miracle, and I’m often disappointed too. But once in a while, someone surprises me and that gives me hope.

        Liked by 1 person

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