another matter

another matter 

this time five

no longer alive,

the badges of distinction

blue moribund to extinction

authority's breeches

beaches of whales with hungry bellies

Jonas find their way into the stomach

and violence yawns again

Job sits pondering the angry sky

he hears bullets from century's future

the sound in biblical proportion

to the extortion of hate

bombs bursting in antagonistic smiles

the whales belch

more shots explode the night

a country mourns,

an ocean dries up amidst the sorrow

the badges of distinction

lend tears to extinction

an educated guess---

God didn't write the transcript

to have this ending

but peace in our lifetime 

seems

no longer pending

erin-cilberto

7/8/16

Reviews

[andrew mitchell]

nothing has really changed on racism, it's always there just cowers on different levels. a sad depiction on what man has become with power and hatred. there was a time when one felt protected when the police arrived.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, and the problem is there is such a high percentage of good police who do try to protect...and yet all get a bad name...and then all are subject to shootings like this...

thank you, andrew.

j.

[Ana B.]

I wonder when did the humanity lost its ''soul''. Seems whenever you turn, there's a senseless battler, for virtual crowns and fake virtues. This one struck a chord in me. Lovely writing Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Ana.

j.

[Another Relic]

Unfortunately, each side thinks they're right in the matter and the media doesn't help...nor does the president. This may turn out to be a long deadly summer if cooler heads don't prevail.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you are so right, Autumn...we need cooler heads...

thank you for your words...

j.

[Lyn Anderson]

I am deeply disturbed by these new happenings. Should I say new, or more of the same? Here on the radio, a black activist explained what he saw as the difference between many U.S. states and Canada, from his perspective. He said (paraphrasing here) "we rail against the kind of prejudice that has us unfairly pulled over by police and harassed, but I never worry they are going to put a bullet in my chest when they pull me over."

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, i worry too...either if it is necessary...it doesn't matter, it will always be seen as a racial thing---that is just the current mindset of the country...
much overreaction by both sides---and there should not be "sides" in the first place.

there should be restraint...and a coming together.

thank you, KL...

j.

[Lyn Anderson]

I don't understand why the further along we go the further back we seem to slide.

[Latifa]

I tried to pick one favorite line, couldn't, truly such expression that penetrate the mind and deliver the message ever so strongly, such power.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Latifa...

j.

[Einstein Noodle]

oh there is so much to be said over all these things happening ... so much finger pointing and dialog it looks like an octopus ... being afraid of the police is not something only minorities have ...i am afraid every time i drive by a police car so i check myself to make sure i am not breaking the law ... its not a negative thing ..i tried to look up how many police/citizen interactions occur in a day ..or even just one hour across the US ...millions i am sure ... i guess that a very very few involve police abuse of power ... that is a problem ... we have laws to handle it .... we have some of the worst schools in the world ... in the name of open mindedness we have all but erased a moral bar to reach for ... that is a problem ... we have parents and families to do that job but when its not also supported ..in fact many times torn down in the schools it makes things even harder ... terrible attitudes of disrespect and violence lifted up by peers and adults that pedal it in song ... sigh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i didn't want to respond to this one erin- it just seems so futile ... easy to understand your closing ... but there is another peace from God that brings, with faith, ..a comfort and assurance within .... there i went again talking ;) and didn't even begin with the politics of the last 8 yrs ....
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, E.

Amen.

j.

[Papaya]

You can't have peace ever when there's retaliation.
You need to let the law deal with things in most cases but what about when the law is the problem?
Everything I see is so scary. I want to leave a better world for my children.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i hope you can do that...leave a better world for them...because this all scares the hell out of me, thinking about what it will be like in ten years...or twenty...

thank you, Ana.

j.

[JayceeC]

The struggles that we face...the eruption of violence from stunningly nowhere to kill and maim...ah eye for an eye, yet not quite the same..did we really have peace or where we filling ourselves.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words...i think we might too often fool ourselves...

j.