In the Blink of a Mottled Eye

Reale's poems are powerful dramatic interludes about family, love, broken promises and betrayal in which the complicated gifts of the past, mothers, grandmothers and silence itself prevail. They seethe like an unrelenting whisper in the dark that draw the reader in then explode inside her inner eye. Passion itself is the sacred tether on the poet's journey, the religion to which she is ultimately bonded. Reale is unflinching in her exploration exposing the complex roots of intimate memory, the things we think we know, see and believe, as well as hunger and insatiability, which even truth cannot appease.

-Arya F. Jenkins, author of Silence Has a Name (Finishing Line Press, 2015) and Love & Poison (Prolific Press, 2019)

In the Blink of a Mottled Eye, is an evocative portrait of the author's life. Reale's deeply moving poetry navigates through layers of memory, love and loss, pain and trauma, through "the blue and yellow lessons," where "getting through the day [was] a spiritual act." Reale weaves wisdom and intellect together with her warrior spirit, dispels the roles and ways that still bind women. "I can think for myself"- and that she does with poetic excellence. In this exquisite collection, Michelle Reale's adept encapsulation of story is steeped in a prophetic knowledge of what it is to be human. At its center, In the Blink of a Mottled Eye, holds the stillness of understanding as it calls out, "Raise your fist in the air, swing it around a bit." "Let us unfurl our taught bodies into the tic of infinite minutes."

-Jeannie E. Roberts, author of The Wingspan of Things, Romp and Ceremony, Beyond Bulrush, Nature of it All and other books.

In Michelle Reale's latest collection, In the Blink of a Mottled Eye, there is a tenderness for existence and surviving that is so palpable, it can be felt under the skin-a delicate touch of empathy and wonder. Everyday moments are peppered with deep reflection and an ardent need to rise above the mundane-to live in the exquisite space of the mind and the infinite possibilities that dwell there. Reale shares with us a world seen through the eyes of an insightful curator, and we would follow her anywhere.

-Cristina M. R. Norcross, Editor of Blue Heron Review; author of Beauty in the Broken Places, Amnesia and Awakenings, and others.