Michael Allyn Wells

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Confession Tuesday - E.T. Edition

Confession Tuesday - ET edition

Grab a cup of coffee and come with me to the confessional...

Friends, it has been one E.T. movie with the grand kids, one rejection of three poems, 8 days of Grind poetry, one discontinued conversation on Medium with a fellow who was stuck on telling me I was repeating Hamas talking points on Gaza, and I explained after many different conversations that he sounded like a genocide apologist, and I was through wasting both of our time, Blogged on Dante and Rodin, am convinced that Trump's presidence will be crippled by the Epstein dibockle and he will not be able to shake it, the start of reading a new book, and a full week since my last confession.

The book I am reading is Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahrar Mandanipour. It's his first book to appear in English translation. I am finding it fascinating. I confess that I find it so inventive in its approach to telling the story.

I confess, I believe Trump's presidency is toast. He will not be able to recover and further Democrats will sweep a new majority into the House, and perhaps the Senate as well.

Blogging on Rodin and Dante and the inseparable link between the two over the Inferno and the Gates of Hell, and I confess I need to delve into Dante's Divine Comedy.

The war in Gaza has taken a toll on my sanity. I confess that I never thought the actions of Israel could be so brutally inhumane. But they are, and

honestly, I have acknowledged this as genocide a lot longer than many.

Oh, what will I write about on day 9 of the Grind? I confess I have no idea presently,

I confess I forced my grandkids to watch the movie E.T. on Sunday. Every child needs to see that movie. It has so much to say about empathy. I believe it is an excellent teaching moment.

That's about it for this week. Thanks for handing out with me as I talk about the good and the bad of the week.

Until next time...

Peace and be safe~

Tuesday, September 02, 2025

Confession Tuesday - Notch-Yo Cheese edition

Dear reader:

We must hurry Confessions are ending in 15 minutes, Follow me...

Reader, it has been submissions to two journals, umpteen Diet Cokes, way more text messages than I want or need, One Nacho cheese and jalapeno pepper dinner, one Labor day holiday, and one week since my last confession.

I confess that I am exhausted by the complete ignorance and incompetence of Donald Trump. I confess I believe he is killing the economy largely out of ignorance and poor decisions. But you know what? That will likely nail the coffin in the midterm elections.

I confess when I think of Trump, there is nothing good that comes to my mind. I make no apology for that, just as he has never apologized for the lawlessness he undertook to attempt to overturn the the 2020 election. He owes the people of this country a giant apology, but we will never get it. He is clueless.

I confess I am in the mood for black walnut ice cream. Yeah, go ahead and say it... that's old people ice cream. So what, I'm old!

I confess when I get off here I need to write a Grind Poem for today. don't want to wait much longer to do it.

I confess it is hot and humid in this house, and it makes me want to scream. I do not do hot well, and I never have.

Let me close tonight by saying that I am so totally sad and angry at the continued gross arrogance and intense brutality that Israel is inflicting on the Palestanian people. The large scale and indiscriminate bombing, and the inhumaine starvation are enough to make me want to scream in the face of Netanyahu and tell him I cannot wait for him to go down. His genocide legacy has also become Israel's genocide legacy. I confess that. I believe they no longer deserve a seat at the United Nations. I have supported Israel since my early childhood. No more. It lacks any moral justification. It has skimmed U.S. Taxpayers money for years only to use the weapons and ammunition on Palestinians who for decades held them down under Apartheid. No more. Not another dime for weapons for Israel. The zionists have taken over the government it is time the Israeli people free themselves the zionist hate, and the bloodthirsty Israeli government. They all should be tried at The Hague, The entire Netanyahu cabinet, and the IDF - and the zionists that have set up illegal homes in the West Bank all should be tried in The Hague.

With that, I bid you a good night till next time. Peace!

All best!

Michael

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Confession Tuesday August 25, 2025

Good evening friends:

Off to the confessional.

I confess it's been one week since my last confession.

A particularly depressing evening, a day fraught with stress over cars, and a day when two new cases at work came in at the last minute... I confess I will be busy tomorrow preparing for court Thursday morning. I Confess I consumed one piece of Tippins Peach Pie which was to die for, I confess to consternation over signing up to write for the "Grind" in Sept. (which I did), and confess to hives that I keep breaking out in for some unknown reason.

Saturday, August 23, 2025

Productive day even if it was administrative stuff as opposed to writing.

It's been a Submission Saturday. I got my shit together and did a contest package with 10 pages of work, as well as a submission to a Literary Journal. I'm going to call it a night and and try and relax and finish reading a book. Probably should do a journal entry before I go to bed too. I've got about 2-1/2 hours to toy with yet tonight.

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Eat Your Words: A Kansas Poetry Cookbook

A shout out the Kansas Poet Laureate

For this Poetry Cookbook Project

Traci Brimhall is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently Love Prodigal. Her poems have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Nation, The New Republic, Poetry, The New York Times Magazine, and Best American Poetry. She’s received fellowships from National Endowment for the Arts, the National Parks Service, the Academy of American Poets, and Purdue Library’s Special Collections to study the lost poem drafts of Amelia Earhart. She’s the current poet laureate for the State of Kansas. Her poem, “Smoke Carries the Wish to the Heavens,” appeared in American Poetry Review.

Eat Your Words: A Kansas Poetry Cookbook

Edited by Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas
20 Chefs, 20 Poets - Recipes & Poems

POETRY / American / General
COOKING / Regional & Ethnic / American / Middle Western States
COOKING / Individual Chefs & Restaurants

ISBN: 978-1-956578-73-7
Retail: $15.00

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Morning thoughts during Rolling Thunder

Photo: M.A.Wells

Rolling thunder this morning is unsettling to our German Shepherd, Silas. He has gotten better about such sounds and fireworks but I guess he will likely always have some issue with it. He is a rescue dog but we have had him for more than 10 years. When we first brought him home he was laden with anxiety for almost everything. He would not walk through a doorway unless led through on leash.

When I am working at my desk he, and the little long haired dachshund, Madison, will quietly rest close at hand. Madison's main function in life is to tag along underfoot - especially when I move into the kitchen because he knows it is most likely there, that God will see that manna will fall from heaven. Any eatable that is enroute to the floor he will likely snarf up mid-air before it hits the floor. But he is perfectly fine eating off the floor as well.

If I am sitting otherwise quietly at my desk but have something I am eating, they are both instantly aware. Madison impatiently working for my attention in hopes I will share. Silas on the other hand lumbers over and stands quietly with this look he knows I cannot resist. It is polite and sincere and of course makes me want to reward him. If he feels however that Madison is winning in the attention mode, Silas will up the ante by adding a very quiet whimper. His posture otherwise remains polite and he only moves closer if I offer an extended hand with a treat. Madison will of course rip it out of your hand if at all possible.

What is really funny is that if I have popcorn or chex mix, or something else I can offer him while I am eating it -- and of course ancy pants too, once I am finished I have to say "all gone" and show the bowl or my hands like I am a Black Jack dealer. Once that happens he quietly goes back to his spot on the floor.

Dogs are some of my favorite people.

We have had cats too as well as at the same time. But we have had dogs that were not cat friendly and I can't be certain these two would tolerate a cat, so that is not happening. I do however miss the cats even as they were trying to walk on my keyboard as I write. But mostly they would get comfortable next to where I was writing.

I notice it has grown quieter and I think maybe we are done with the thunder for now. All is quiet, and I need to shift to another mode for a different writing project.