inner city sweetheart

 

inner city sweetheart

 

 

 

neon burns into her soul

gravity walks her body's streets

a bulb flickers out,

LOVE loses a letter

the L...

 

now she can't remember if it spelled "Love"

or "Over"

 

she stretches out on cold sheets

a bed that lost its magic

 

she dreams of breakfast

as she hears the subway stroll by

on titanium feet

 

eggs and heartbreak as

old eats her up

business is dying

 

tomorrow, youth will rent the room

she can no longer afford

 

and she will seek shelter into the barrel of a gun

then holster her aspirations

when the bullets pay her bill

 

she checks out of her future

taking a couple soaps, towels and shampoos

with her, 

 

as she exits her nightmare

and a Vacancy sign glows with soft sadness

just outside the window of her heart.

 

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

5/18/16

Reviews

[Lee]

salute to your mind ........you are unique!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just fire

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Lee.
j.

[barleygirl]

Couldn't resist spinning "Sweet City Woman" (Stampeders 1971) while reading your poem . . .

Love your haunting tale of the way it can go lots of times. Especially love the 3rd stanza, in your typical style of word play with amazing results. We all have to check out of this hotel sooner or later . . .

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"i can almost touch you" great song by another of the one-hit wonders,,

thank you for your words, barleygirl...

j.

[Matching Socks]

I'm seeing either a woman has just left a man or hooker, either way she is not young anymore and its difficult to come to terms with this because she knows she's losing what she feels once made her desirable and as she leaves she knows that she has go to go somewhere other than here so she accepts her lonely heart and decides to live instead of die. Really liked this. great lines. My fave:

"tomorrow, youth will rent the room she can no longer afford"

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, Ana.

j.

[Corset]

brilliant the play on the word lover and over, and L for lost causes, but she manages a few mementos on the way out.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Corset.

j.

[Daydreamer]

You did it again! Never cease to amaze.
Perhaps I'm strange but I found this rather empowering.
To check out, to make the choice to stop playing the game on - her terms it seems.
What a life to behold. I see this as possibility for transformation..

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful review, Daydreamer...

appreciate the words...
read morethank you for your insightful review, Daydreamer...

appreciate the words...

j.

[mou]

It is very sad and needless to say it becomes more vibrant by the touch of your pen..
True, a very small, daily picture are enough to describe a loss..
Thanks for sharing this J.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, mou,

j.

[Crimson_ish]

I remember having read T.S.Eliot's "Preludes" and this poem reflects it in so much, in its symbolism, it depicts the degrading modern society, how it is lost in fragments, and sadness, and monotony, for me the highlight of the poem was the very setting and the modernist form of poem, the scattered monotonous feel of this, this for me so much closer to Eliot's work, very amazing read.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

to even be mentioned in the same breath with Eliot...wow, thanks for that...a very encouraging review,

appreciate your words,
j.

[Shannon]

Oh, this one is so matter of factly sad for me. And just a fact of life for her.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, S. Mi

[Ed Hart]

here's a scene of long life lost, sad to the bone, a familiar refrain...the poet always sings his heart...i think Vanessa's words are spot on, as they say...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Ed...
j.

[V]

A sad yet beautiful way to put it. I love your choice of words, they create those lovely vivid images, this one almost felt like a movie scene to me. Sometimes I just don't find the right or more words to describe what I see/feel in someone's poetry. Your writings, particularly this one, read so pleasantly, aesthetically in a way and that's all I can feel or say.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Vanessa...

j.

[V]

My pleasure.