The Heat Goes On...

Confession Tuesday - I don't give a Klout Edition

It's Tuesday... Tuesday, got that?  (this is for my own benefit)

Dear Reader: It's been a week since my last confession. Another hot week. How many is that now? I honestly can't remember.

I confess that all day I've tried to convince myself that it's Wednesday. This was complicated by the fact that I had a Chiropractor appointment tonight and I normally have those every-other Wednesday but I had to shift to Tuesday this week.

Last night it was 102 at 9PM. Sun is down and it's still 100+ and I confess that I am losing faith in the possibility of again enjoying the weather.

I noted my Klout has been falling. It's dropped to 40 and I confess I don't care. I've been far too obsessed with it this past month. watching it inch up and then retreat. I confess that I also believe that it fails to adequately reflect certain social media that it supposedly is plugged into. For example nothing has changed like forever with my Google + even when I do public posts on it.  So I remain convinced that whatever their  algorithm settings are, they fail (assuming they really use algorithms)Anyway, I'm through being obsessed with it, thank you very much. If I check in with it, it will be rare.

I confess that I did get a cool Klout perk that I will mention in another post. Still, this doesn't change my previous confession.

I suppose I should be grateful as I just checked and it's only 96 tonight but I confess I am Cranky Michael because at 10PM we could do better.

Several times the past three or four days I've heard bird chatter at home. Lots of it. You know how in the wee hours of the morning you sometimes awake to it? Well this has been like that except at various time of the day. Tonight I cam home from work and was cooking dinner and I hear them and it was like after 6:30PM. Now I confess that I find birds fascinating. I hope that the next time I hear them I can slip out and find exactly where they are and what kind of birds have been serenading me.

The Mag 127 Shavings

Figure Eight, 1952 by Franz Kline

The center of balance shifts.

An axis that wobbles.

A toe scuff here,

there; a bit of flair

finished with a jump-

a Salchow,  the sit-spin

and  kowtow to the judges.

Michael A. Wells

The Mag

July Shameless Self Promotion

A poem I wrote several years ago found a home in River Poets Journal  Spring-Summer 2012. At this link you will find a a pdf file of the entire publication. My poem titled Night Wish can be found if you will scroll to page 7- bottom right column. 

Realizing Our Bearings

It's seems to me that times like these often become a compass  for us.  The tragic Colorado shootings reach beyond victims and family and seem to touch us all. Communities expand and become more inclusive. We all share (perhaps in different ways) the pain and sadness but we also find our bearings. We see with more clarity. We come to understand what exactly our values are and the gray lines become more focused. 


Realizing the fragility of life changes everything and even the little things with loved ones suddenly rises to the top. I'm thankful for our health. I'm thankful for times of laughter. I'm thankful for the poetry I see in everyday life, in nature and on the page.

Brandalism: Street artists hijack billboards

Street artists are targeting advertising billboards in a new movement nicknamed 'brandalism' for a Subvertising Campaign.  And what has this to do with poetry?   [READ THE STORY HERE]