the parallel school

the parallel school

 

 

girls,

in patent leather bound textbooks

 

those are the lessons i wanted to learn

zoned out the Nuns with their rosary beaded vocabulary

and diagrammed sentences,

 

i wanted to be the verb that played her object

and become the object of her affections

 

hoping she would preposition me,

but instead,

i hid my heart between the covers

of mundane math, and English and history

 

and my history consisted of blank pages

when it came to her

 

i still dream of those lessons i never had

and the bruised knuckles incurred 

 

as my grade point consisted

of failing numbers,

because i never even got a first kiss

 

no matter how intensely i studied her countenance

no matter how many letters i wrote to her in class

but never sent,

no matter how many times i got the verbs wrong

 

no matter how much i dared to be 

her only pupil

in a school no one else attended

but me.

 

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

9/7/16

Reviews

[Ashwin Shanker]

This poem brings home memories of those days when we seldom had the courage to walk up to a girl and simply ask her out for a drink or coffee.. School days, oh such a lesson that was to learn before we moved on and washed ourselves in the dirt that is life.
So pure we were, our love for the other simply for their smile, their affection and not their body or money.
I was able to resonate to those days when stress were few and love was a pure joy, each day fresh and new.

Thank you for taking me there. Great work

[jacob erin-cilberto]

the way it used to be...so much simpler in those days...and more face to face encounters...not so much technology..
thank you, Ashan..
j.

[Lydia Shutter]

The classroom crush....unrequited because you never voiced it. Maybe she was writing secret love notes to you too. High school....our lives are molded there and we never quite make it out of that long hallway, do we? Loved the grammar metaphors. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

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

[andrew mitchell]

Oh the memories bestowed on us lads when the hormones kicked in, so many crushes, so many loves that never fruited out of shyness or through studying on subjects of no interest but thoughts travelled on girls taking us on endless daydreams and the question of " Will she like me" Then there was the infatuation with those gorgeous young women teachers but that's another story with a similar fate.lol a lovely write that brought back memories. I was lucky I went to a public school!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh yes i know what you are saying about the teachers...at St. Joes we had mostly nuns...but we also had Mrs. Catalani...beautiful blond and Miss Pluth...my favorite, dark black hair...and both as elton john sang " a middle aged dream"

thanks, andrew...

j.

[Rita L. Sev]

Grammar metaphors and Catholic-school imagery - you're playing my song here, Jacob! Wonderful wordplay about a classroom crush.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i thought you might like this topic...thank you, my friend.

j.

[J. J. Nightingale]

Play=full .. a neophyte's struggle to learn..lol

At least you have your dreams...

Fun..Well Done !!

Jazzy

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Jazzy.....

j.

[J. J. Nightingale]

You are welcome Jacob.....

[Kelsey Ann]

Wow. It's beautiful how you play with the vocabulary. The last stanza especially stands out. Great job! :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Kelsey...

j.

[Carolynn]

I love your play with words in this one Jacob - it really tells the story in such a unique way which is so very much your style - I always enjoy reading your poems. I hope this wasn't a personal memory ;)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

based loosely...thank you, Carolynn.

j.

[Vanesa Markovic]

Nice to see time has not touched your talent.
A delightful read, Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Vanesa ...that is kind of you to say.

j.

[Papaya]

Super hot poem, I cam see those poor bumbling fool boys in this one from the early high school years.
The prefect and the cheerleader. We had no hot teachers.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thanks for the smile, Ana...is that pic Hayworth?

[Papaya]

Yes, it is. I love the style and fashion from those days. The women were beautiful, and classy.
read moreYes, it is. I love the style and fashion from those days. The women were beautiful, and classy.

[Corset]

Hot for teacher? The last few poems sounds like you've been strolling lately. :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, strolling into the past...

thank you, Corset...and really nice pic.

read moreyes, strolling into the past...

thank you, Corset...and really nice pic.

j.

[Corset]

old one :) I can't smile like that now, it looks like someone sat on the left side of my face when I try.