death by circumstance

death by circumstance

 

 

 

i fall onto jagged conclusions

stumbling over a cliff of thematic pain

you keep getting older in your semantic seclusion

 

and i am unable to read your sentences

or hear your exclamations, 

the lines went as dead as your ability to communicate

 

but i remember that look in your ancient eyes

it's about a life on the verge of something else---

--- that spark is still there,

 

you speak volumes

without uttering a word,

and the miles that separate us

 

are lapped up by a pen out of fuel

that still drives itself crazy

when distance is relative.

 

 

erin-cilberto

1/30/16

Reviews

[paddy d daly]

Life is mad jacob or can be mad, You have
summed it up well, it's hard to get the perfect
balance, maybe some people are just lucky.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

maybe, i don't know many, if any...:)

thank you paddy....and nice to put a face with the name, finally...

j.

[Chartheteacher]

I read this about 8 times in a row and the line 'it's about a life on the verge of something else' keeps stopping me. Aside from anything else, this somehow manages to soothe and terrify me at the same time. This is a hauntingly beautiful piece of writing that I feel connects with my own personal grief. I find that the mark of an incredible poet is to make a reader feel that a poem has been written specifically to them and that is something I experience here. Thank you for this.
Charlotte

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind words, and sharing how you relate, Charlotte..

j.

[icelandicblue]

I read this last night and I chose to let your words rest in my mind for a while. We are so helpless to stop the fading to black, and it leaves a void because the final journey doesn't always begin at the end. You capture the essence of what it means to see mortality in what we once held as eternal.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i really appreciate what you saw here, Anne...thank you for the perceptive angle.

j.

[B. Boileau]

Sometimes words aren't enough, sometimes they don't need to be. It's what's felt that really matters. You can see it in the light of their eyes. Sometimes the tone of their voice. Or when able just a simple gesture.
Either way the emotion is still there and more importantly still felt.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

that is all so true, bill, thank you for your insights,
j.,

[iand63]

Woo this is going to need several reads to work through the layers. The epic struggle to define, the quintessential poetic dilemma. Sometimes the journey of the ink through the pen feels like an eternity.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

it does, yes, thank you, ian.

[andrew mitchell]

Another battle of the sexes connecting with each other's thoughts but on a second reading I see you expressing thoughts on a love one deceased that cannot reply to your questions but answers them all, in silence, connecting if only partially!!!!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, andrew...yes, could be either one of those.

j.

[Miss Sharon]

Beautifully written Jacob. I especially like this line (it's about a life on the verge of something else---) Exquisite. ~Sharon

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Sharon.
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I have personally witnessed a once-great and pious man, one who gave his all to the community, one who was acknowledged for his efforts at the state level, disappear within himself. It began with forgetting where he parked his car then slowly unraveled from there. When the awareness is completely gone and that "death by circumstance" has claimed its victim, the loved ones that surround suffer the most. It's the cruelest death of all - there but not, alive but dead. It's cruel and unjust. In a blink, a lifetime of hard work and effort is forgotten. All that seemed so important has no value. The reflection in the mirror is a ghost.

This is a truly tragic event in so many lives today, and tears swim in between your words.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for sharing this story, Linda Marie...very sad...i appreciate your visit...

j.

[ms. barrie]

a very deep and moving write...written with exquisite eloquence
indeed captures the helpless, sighs of frustration...towards
the circumstances of a loved one.
I can very much relate to this. I love every word you've
used & how you used them...an incredible write.

Thank you for sharing your poetic gift *s* with us all
~ x - barrie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind review...the situation is always so tough...

j.

[Lydia Shutter]

A touching write...I think about your Dad. The love and frustration are woven together when an aging relative is far away and communication is difficult. You want to see the light in his eyes, want to hear his voice, but it's just not possible. We feel them slipping into another realm and can do nothing to stop it. Just know he feels your love even if it is long distance....I am certain of that. A poignant write. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for that, lydi..i hope he does feel it...

j.