props for the main act

props for the main act

top hat avenues

New York City magic

hiding in Hudson slight of heart

Lady Liberty sawed in half

by invalid alien blades

as they creep passed her in dark of night

now as unwelcome

as the blaring horns

of taxis battling night traffic

with kerchief treachery

in a no fly zone neighborhood

of the Bronx,

where vagrants

go to disappear

like a card trick's

Ace up a sleeve of solitude

not wanting to be seen

'neath a telltale moon

randomly picked

from a jaded audience

of one.

erin-cilberto

2/13/16

Reviews

[.]

A lovely tale for one of the world's great cities, New York.
I've never been there, Jacob, but intend to someday. A vivid portrayal of the city in all its elements.

It fascinates me about you coming from the Bronx. Such a tough neighbourhood, and how it must have changed over the years!

Another fine piece of work!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Doodley...

actually when i was there in the fifties it was relatively peaceful...

changed later...

appreciate you visiting my poem and hope you get to visit NYC one day...

j.

[.]

I shall. Always been a Yankees Fan! Haha.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

wow, i like that....was lucky...i got to go to old yankee stadium in the fifties and see the mick, yogi, hank bauer, moose skowran, whitey ford and others...my heroes.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i am still die hard pinstripe blue.

[.]

Mickey Mantle!!! How lucky you were!! A great ball player!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

very lucky...he was my Yankee hero...but my favorite player was Willie Mays...and he was with the NY Giants when i was still in NY...dodgers in Brooklyn, Giants in the Polo Grounds and the Yanks...how lucky i was.
my dad went to games and saw Ruth play...he is 96 now...his favorite was Jolting Joe Dimaggio...

[.]

Ahhhh. Such history the Yankees have! So many greats! I was born in the wrong generation! Haha. Take care, Jacob.

[Norman 223]

You paint an interesting picture of New York in this poem, Jacob , with images that show many faces of its character. . I used to live in London, but with the social changes that have occurred, plus the grotesque new architecture, I have no wish to ever visit the place again
N.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Norman, appreciate your sharing...old London was a place i always wanted to visit...
read morethank you, Norman, appreciate your sharing...old London was a place i always wanted to visit...

j.

[Lyn Anderson]

Most cities have this double edge to them, captured well in your trademark style.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, KL.

j.

[alifeacoustic]

New York can be a place of dreams whilst visiting, but stay too long and you see the sights that regular dwellers see all too well and avert their eyes from. Then you realise that it is any city,anywhere, that your heart calls home. Beautiful write Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, although it was home for almost all of my first nine years...definitely has its downsides...was much safer back in the 50's when i was there...but part of my heart still resides...
thank you, alife, for your words.

j.

[Einstein Noodle]

biting satire ..with a twist at the closing ... its difficult not to be a jaded party of one ... with illegal penetration of our Nation sharply felt .. times of trouble ..times of unrest and economic gloom ... breeds scapegoating and mistrust ..but that speck of reality that takes innocence ..is a reality ..thoughtful precise as always jacob ..tight and well expressed poem ...you really are very good at what you do .. have a great day!
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind words, E.

j.

[Einstein Noodle]

for sure ..:)

[Alfred Kukitz]

A scary night tale, great metaphors, everything ambling in fear. Great write in BOO!

Regards,
Al

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Al.

j.

[Corset]

what can I say about this, lol. hmmm, Aliens are our friends? Jesus was an Alien? We've watched too many movies, our angels are aliens, they protect us, give us our higher thoughts, love and care for us, protect us from comets, asteroids and bad poetry?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, Corset...

j.

[m.s.early]

Nothing is as it appears. Even down here when you tear down the pastoral backdrops of lined up hay bales and wide open blue skies, there are vagrants and looters in the shadows waiting like predators.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, x.

appreciate your sharing of what happens there.
read morethank you for your words, x.

appreciate your sharing of what happens there.

j.

[M. Shepherd]

This seems similar to how I feel about Los Angeles, that beneath the glamour and glitter of hollywood it's a wretched, racist, seedy, smoggy, cockroach and addiction infested cesspool and it's no secret either, everyone knows it, but you know there are those bel aire dwellers and Hollywood big shots that wear the top hats and would love nothing more than to simply magic the filth away by not looking at it.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

but we can't magic it away, can we? thank you for your insightful review, Marcie...

j.

[W.k.kortas]

"Hudson slight of heart"...ah, the shell game of shell games, with a Rolex knock-off to boot. You've been away from the boroughs for a while, but you haven't loss their pace or feel. Nicely done, indeed.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, W.k.

i wonder if the feel would ever go away...

j.