© 2025 by Michael L. Utley
(#373)
burning stars
pinpoints of candle light caught
in her tears
…..
(#374)
in my sorrow
my words struggle to take flight
the empty page
…..
(#375)
in my quiet world
poetry exists not in my ears
but in my heart
…..
(#376)
children played here once
now only ghosts linger
this broken world
…..
(#377)
lock the temple doors
we mustn’t let reality
taint our holy minds
….
(#378)
our humanity
bleeds out in Gaza and Ukraine
just another day
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#199)
domestic abuse
my seven-year-old self
learns to hate
…..
(#200)
sunflower song
a dirge for those
who shall never bloom
…..
(#201)
tank tracks in mud
scrawl across sunflower fields
calligraphy of war
…..
(#202)
spent brass shell casings
golden glitter in the streets
currency of death
…..
(#203)
we watch and wait
while children cry and die
thoughts and prayers are not enough
…..
(#204)
judgment day
we have no excuse for
what we have done
(c) 2022 by Michael L. Utley
(#193)
ursine winter’s claws
rend and tear and desecrate
yellow petals fall
…..
(#194)
this endless winter
memories of sunflowers
as the cities burn
…..
(#195)
children shall run free
in gilded sunflower fields
when this winter ends
…..
(#196)
glowing sunflowers
where there is light there is hope
we stand with Ukraine
…..
(#197)
sunflower seeds
plant the gardens of healing
watered with tears
…..
(#198)
cowards who start wars
shall die in ignominy
putin’s legacy
Silent Pariah 