Hi, everyone. Juan Re Crivello, owner/publisher/editor at Gobblers by Masticadores, was nice enough to republish my recent interview at Spillwords Press for his readers to view. So, if any of you missed it at Spillwords Press and would like to read it, you can find it here:
Many thanks, Juan, for your kindness in republishing this interview. It really means a lot to me and I’m truly grateful.
Hey, folks. I’d like to announce my poem “Fade” has been published at Gobblers By Masticadores. A big thank you to Juan Re Crivello and Manuela Timofte and their staff for this opportunity to share my poetry with their readers—it’s always an honor and I’m truly grateful.
“Fade”
(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley
“Dusk has fallen as
Stars scream heavenward and doves
Murmur mournfully
Evening-song has come and I
Cannot hear day’s parting cry
Night blooms above as
Insects whisper mysteries
And wolves share solemn
Oaths on phantom breeze and I
Cannot hear dark’s somber sigh…”
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.
Hey, folks. Spillwords Press has decided to feature me in its “Spotlight on Writers” interview series today, a thrilling and humbling experience for me. I want to thank Dagmara K. and her team for this opportunity to share a bit about myself, my background and what inspires me to create. If you’d like to read the interview, you can find it by clicking this link:
“Spotlight on Writers — Michael L. Utley” at Spillwords Press
It’s truly an honor to have my poetry and this interview published at Spillwords Press, and I’m delighted and grateful for the chance to connect with readers in this way. I hope you enjoy the interview, and please check out the incredibly talented writers at Spillwords Press, where you’ll find some of the best thought-provoking and moving writing anywhere.
I’d like to let everyone know my poem “It’s Much Too Late” has been published at Gobblers By Masticadores. Sincere thanks to Juan Re Crivello and Manuela Timofte and their staff for this opportunity to share my poetry with their readers—it’s always an honor.
“It’s Much Too Late”
(c) 2017 by Michael L. Utley
“Autumn rain
Cannot slake
Summer’s thirst
It’s much too late
For yellowed grass
And barren field
Leaves which fall unseen
Litter ground in mounds
Scarlet memories
It’s much too late
For mountain leas
Devoid of hue…”
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.
I’d like to announce my poem “Night Thoughts” has been published at Gobblers & Masticadores. Many thanks to Juan Re Crivello and Manuela Timofte and their staff for this opportunity to share my poetry with their readers.
“Night Thoughts”
© 2012 by Michael L. Utley
“I vomit out myself again each night
When lights go out and tired thoughts awake
To find that darkened mere from which to slake
Their thirst for dark dominion. In the bright
And sane pedantic musings of the light
Where every thought, word, deed presumes to take
On tones of gilded gravity, I stake
My soul against the coming evening’s fight.
The day is done; I’m with my thoughts, alone
And sleep cannot—will not—this night prevail.
My mind, a dynamo, begins to race
And images appear as if they’ve grown
In some dark, dank and fetid fen. I quail
As my true self confronts me, face to face…”
You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers & Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.
Hey, everyone. I’d like to announce my poem “The Barn” has been published at Gobblers & Masticadores. Thanks so much to Juan Re Crivello and Manuela Timofte and their staff for this opportunity to share my writing with their readers. I’m truly grateful, Juan and Manuela!
“The Barn”
© 2013 by Michael L. Utley
“On weed-strewn verge of fallow field
The barn still stands, a silent revenant
Of ages past, a mournful sentiment
Amid the dying elms concealed
Its boards the hue of ancient bones
The wind has long since scoured paint away
As season after season rendered gray
Once brilliant lively crimson tones…”
You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers & Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.
Hey, folks. I’d like to let you know my poem “The Farm” has been published at Gobblers & Masticadores. Many thanks to Juan Re Crivello and Manuela Timofte and their staff for sharing my poetry with their readiers. I’m truly grateful for this opportunity. Thank you, Juan and Manuela!
“The Farm’
© 2021 by Michael L. Utley
“Nighthawks scream
With evening’s descent
They know the truth
Black god’s-eyes
See everything
From salmon-hued
Heaven
As wings fold
Bird-bombs dive
Preying on the
Prayerless
Powerless
Oblivious
Strident-throated
Shrieks
A mindless alien-avian
Warning
Turn back
There is no hope here…”
You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers & Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.
I’d like to announce my poem “In My Image” has been published at Gobblers & Masticadores. Sincere thanks to Juan Re Crivello and Manuela Timofte and their staff for this opportunity. I’m truly grateful. Thank you, Juan and Manuela!
“In My Image”
© 2012 by Michael L. Utley
“Father said
I have seen you in my dreams
My alabaster boy
My pristine son
Marked neither with scar nor blemish
The innocence of childhood aglow
Upon your brow like the light of
A thousand suns
Your mind untouched
By fear and the lies of men
Your future the color of
Quicksilver and autumn wheat…”
You can read the rest of my poem by clicking this link. Also, don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Gobblers & Masticadores, where you’ll find some wonderful writing and plenty of food for thought.
This ongoing initiative showcases blogs with fewer than 500 subscribers which I think are deserving of more attention. Hopefully these blogs will spark your interest and you’ll check them out. It’s my way of spreading awareness of talented writers whose work I admire.
This week’s featured blog is Fata Cu Suflet De Cerneală (The Girl with the Ink Soul) by Romanian poet Bianca Alina. My first experience with Bianca’s poetry occurred last year when I saw some of her work published at the various Masticadores literary sites. I was immediately entranced by the passion and intensity of her romantic poetry, her deft skill with words and her deep understanding of the human heart and all it desires. Bianca’s poems speak to the secret yearnings of the heart, the longing for closeness, the sorrow of heartbreak and the singular joy of intimate love. Her words paint beautiful, poignant panoramas of human relationships and emotions and have a unique way of touching the hearts and souls of readers. What’s more, Bianca’s blog also features her original nature photography, and gorgeous images abound. Bianca’s talent is boundless and rejuvenating, and her universal themes of love resonate with all of us.
I asked if Bianca could share a bit about herself:
“I live in Romania. I am very passionate about poetry, learning new languages, and nature photography.
My mother is the one who taught me that language has power. I inherited from her the passion for writing.
I wrote my first poem when I was 11 years old. At 16 years old, I had a few poems published in the high school magazine. I continued writing poetry throughout my university years, but I didn’t publish any poems online. Then, I got my first job and I stopped writing for a long time.
I returned to poetry in 2022, when I started writing on my blog:
I think poetry is the language of the soul and I try to convey pure emotion through every poem I write.
My writing has been published on MasticadoresRumanía, Gobblers & Masticadores, Hotel Masticadores and Masticadores Philippines.”
For some examples of Bianca’s sublime poetry, here are a couple of magnificent pieces:
Bianca’s poetry reminds us of the love and passion we all carry in our hearts, that desire and intimacy are powerful emotions that both hurt and heal, and that the magic of romance enhances our lives. Take some time and indulge yourselves in Fata Cu Suflet De Cerneală (The Girl with the Ink Soul), where the finest poetry of the heart awaits.
Let’s spread the love and support our fellow bloggers.
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.
Silent Pariah 