Month: November 2024

“This World is Yours” published at Hotel by Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry27 Comments

Hello, friends. I’d like to let you know my poem “This World is Yours” has been published at Hotel by Masticadores. Sincere thanks to Editor Michelle Navajas and her team for sharing this poem with their readers. I’m truly grateful for your kindness, Michelle.

This poem is special to me as it addresses—in extremely abstract form—the dysfunction of domestic abuse and the price a son can pay at the hands of his father. It was named Publication of the Month for January/February 2024 at Spillwords Press and will be in the running for Publication of the Year for 2024.

“This World is Yours”
(c) 2023 by Michael L. Utley

“you thought you could
save the world
wee lad
you couldn’t even
save yourself

those bleak nighthawk skies
where dead stars fall
like blood-bloated flies
and fey winds howl
in deafened ears
a behemoth’s fetid exhalation
violent and ignorant
and inexorable

breathe
breathe it all in
the sweat-soaked fear
the bitter tang of futility
fill your lungs
wee lad
this world is yours
as far as tear-blurred
eyes can see…”

You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, please consider following and subscribing to Hotel by Masticadores, where you’ll discover a world of wonderfully imaginative and profound writing.

My Poem “I’ve Come at Last to Anhedonia” nominated for 2024 Pushcart Prize in Poetry

On By Mike U.In Poetry50 Comments

I’m honored and thrilled to announce my poem “I’ve Come at Last to Anhedonia” has been nominated for the 2024 Pushcart Prize in Poetry. This is a dream come true for me, and I’m beyond humbled. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Michelle Ayon Navajas, Editor at Hotel by Masticadores, for believing in my writing and for her incredible support. What’s especially exciting for me is the list of the other five nominees submitted by Michelle. I’m familiar with all five, and consider them not only talented poets, but wonderful people as well. So, best of luck to Joni, Bianca, Selma, Nigel and Francisco. What a good bunch of folks and fellow creatives, and I’m honored to be included among all of you.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Pushcart Prize, you can learn more by clicking this link.

Thanks again, Michelle, and thank you to all the people who take the time to stop by my blog and visit. I truly appreciate all of you.

Hotel By Masticadores nominees for the 2024 Pushcart Prize Award

“A Few Haiku (7)” published at Gobblers by Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry36 Comments

Hello, everyone. The seventh installment of my short haiku/senryu collections titled “A Few Haiku (7)” is now live at Gobblers by Masticadores. These small collections consist of six haiku and/or senryu. Kindest thanks to Editor Manuela Timofte for sharing this mini-collection. I hope these resonate with you.

“A Few Haiku (7)”
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

(#37)

Swathed in winter’s arms
Chilly bosom hushes earth
Snowy lullaby

…..

(#38)

As heron’s plume drifts
Away on a silent stream
Memories of you fade

…..

(#39)

Do worms of the earth
Dream of sunlight; are their minds
As blind as their eyes

You can read the rest of this mini-collection by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers by Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.

My interview featured at Hotel by Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry39 Comments

Hey, friends. The wonderfully kind Michelle Navajas, editor of Hotel by Masticadores, recently conducted an interview with me which is now live for anyone who might like to check it out. It’s such a humbling honor to be featured at Hotel in such an intimately personal manner. By nature I’m extremely introverted and quiet, but I felt completely comfortable with Michelle and her insightful questions, and I hope my responses shed a little light on what it’s like to be a deaf writer/photographer in a hearing world that so often turns a blind eye upon those with disabilities.

Thank you so much, Michelle, for this opportunity to share a little of myself with your readers at Hotel. Your warm and generous nature made this interview a lot of fun and allowed me to open up, and for that I’m deeply grateful.

You can read the entire interview here:

Capturing Silence: The Creative Journey of Mike in Colorado

Also, please consider following and subscribing to Hotel by Masticadores, where you’ll discover a world of wonderfully imaginative and profound writing.

My poem “Wisdom” featured at Myths of the Mirror Blog

On By Mike U.In Poetry32 Comments

Hi, folks. Diana Wallace Peach, the estimable and wonderfully gracious author at Myths of the Mirror blog, was generous enough to feature my poem “Wisdom” on her site today. It’s such an honor for me, and my gratitude is off the charts. Her blog post also reveals a few more details about her upcoming novel Tale of the Seasons’ Weaver, due to release early next year. Diana is a master of the fantasy genre and her novels are both sweeping in scope and breath-taking in nature. I hope you’ll drop by her blog and check it out. Also, it would be difficult to find anyone as supportive and encouraging as Diana. To me, she encompasses the very heart and soul of creativity and kindness, and her energy and enthusiasm are contagious. Do check out her blog and her library of novels, will you?

Thanks so much, Diana!

“Wisdom” by Michael L. Utley

“A Few Haiku (6)” published at Gobblers by Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry32 Comments

Hey, friends. The sixth installment of my short haiku/senryu collections titled “A Few Haiku (6)” has been published at Gobblers by Masticadores. These small collections consist of six haiku and/or senryu. Special thanks to Editor Manuela Timofte for sharing this mini-collection. I hope these connect with you.

“A Few Haiku (6)”
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

(#31)

Autumn ground mists rise
Earth gives up its ghosts as moon
Summons spirits home

…..

(#32)

Stones in shallow stream
Smooth and round as heron’s eggs
Current tends her nest

…..

(#33)

In a bamboo cage
Finch sings of the open skies
It will never see

You can read the rest of this mini-collection by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers by Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.

“The Cairn” published at Hotel by Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry48 Comments

I’d like to announce my poem “The Cairn” has been published at Hotel by Masticadores. Kindest thanks to Editor Michelle Navajas and her team for sharing this poem with their readers. I truly appreciate this opportunity, Michelle.

“The Cairn”
(c) 2023 by Michael L. Utley

“a handful of stones
the currency of a hardened heart
cannot purchase a reprieve
from the weight of mountains
upon my soul

scree of memories
who can navigate the slope
of ankle-breaking regrets
the sharpened shale
of the empty slate
where hope
was once etched
and now only
dust remains

we walked that path
through the foothills of yesterday
where everything was evergreen
the eternal evening
redolent of lilac and honeysuckle
and wild rose
and the wan moon
dozed in the lavender sky
and you were there
but you weren’t there
your body in a mountain meadow
and your mind in
a roiling pit of despair…”

You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, please consider following and subscribing to Hotel by Masticadores, where you’ll discover a world of wonderfully imaginative and profound writing.

“It’s Not Lost” published at Gobblers by Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry26 Comments

Hi, folks. Just a note to let you know my poem “It’s Not Lost” has been published at Gobblers by Masticadores. Many thanks to Editor Manuela Timofte for her kindness in sharing this piece. Thanks so much, Manuela!

“It’s Not Lost”
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

“It’s not lost on me
How this coral-tinctured eve
Tempers morning’s joy
With sadness and coos of doves
Grieve dying light’s somber end

It’s not lost on me that I
Never got to bid farewell
As sun languishes
On melancholy verge of
Day’s bitter demise…”

You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers by Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.

“Platitudes” (reprise)

On By Mike U.In Poetry33 Comments

(Author’s note: I first posted this piece in March 2024 because my gut told me American democracy would fall in the 2024 elections…and it has. Hatred, fear and lies have ushered in a new, dark world in America as fascists now have power. I am beyond angry and deeply hurt that my fellow Americans have chosen fascism over truth, love and compassion. For now, all I have are these words…and my promise that I will never stop fighting for democracy…)

“Platitudes”
(c) 2024 by Michael L. Utley

the yoke of burdensome veracity
does not comport with those whose vapid souls
would congregate toward lies like moths to flame
and frenzy-feed on poison from the troughs
of those who wish to lead all men astray

thus in the end your heaven’s impotence
could not redeem this unabating hell
and all your pithless ersatz platitudes
lay shattered in inconsequential heaps
the dross of feckless minds and futile means

and though you crow
This truth I know!
as you insist
you ken the gist
of edicts straight
from heaven’s gate
your craven heart
betrays you

this truth I know—that there are those who scheme
to dominate the spineless weak of mind
whose brackish hearts and savage mien await
the opportunity to unleash hate
and spread destruction in their savior’s name

and wear upon their heads their savior’s creed
its name emblazoned red upon their breasts
and armed with flag and gun and profaned cross
prepare to soon fulfill the prophecies
of bloodlust and democracy’s demise

and you proclaim
your savior’s name
on bended knee
and worship he
whose rancid heart
tears souls apart
and vow to kill
to please him

the dove of peace and purity is dead
its carcass desecrated by the mob
its once-white plumage dripping crimson now
as boots stamp restlessly and voices hush
your vulgar gilded calf about to speak

and all the lies of men pour forth as smoke
and all eyes blinded, all hearts burned to ash
and all ears hear the trumpet of the spawn
and all minds bound as one, their task at hand
it’s time to make this country great again

and you shall tread
among the dead
with weapons raised
your savior praised
a new world birthed
now hell on earth
and from above
heaven weeps

the monster you’ve created has no name
its voice the sound of screams and champing teeth
its appetite for wrath insatiable
and as it turns its gaze on you it grins
and now perhaps at last you know the truth

thus in the end your heaven’s impotence
cannot redeem this unrelenting hell
and puerile platitudes cannot assuage
the damnation you’ve brought upon yourself
go forth in horror, your new world awaits