Instamatic

Instamatic 

 

 

the autumn leaves were falling all around me

as i watched her in her Pendleton jacket

posing by the golden tree

 

and background mountains smiling

with cool blue grins

love in New England as he held the camera tight

as if he were holding her memory forever

 

and now that snapshot eludes him

but somehow the feel of the moment

still turns shades of yesterday

 

into a photograph that rakes 

across his consciousness

when the fickle moon lets him develop

 

the film.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

9/11/16

Reviews

[Carolynn]

Well with Autumn fast approaching this seemed a very appropriate read for this point in time. I love the descriptions you used for both the photographed memory and the image of fall all around :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Carolynn..

j.

[Paul Bell]

To think the instamatic was revolutionary in its day. Cost a fortune in film mind you. Mostly through posing, and the sixty second wait for development.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insights, Paul...

j.

[Ara Mosby]

Being a photographer, this metaphor really hit home for me. The idea of "capturing" something, but never being able to fully capture with the lens the moment that we see with the eye - we can come close, but being there and feeling it is just so different. This is the same with experiences and subsequent memories, being there - in it - we feel and know the depth of things, and then there is the after, that raking "across his consciousness" feeling that always leaves its mark. Well done...I truly enjoy your work.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

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

j.

[h d e rushin]

cameras were so good then..Not this junk carried in shirt pockets as a phone apt. Snapshots weren't made to be spontaneous but deliberate. "Posing by the golden tree", with background mountains smiling". Last
night my cousins 7 year old son, took a snapshot with his Samsung galaxy 7 of his mothers feet........wtf..

great poem my friend.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, dana...

j.

[Vatsal Rohilla (account..]

Memories of the remote past are quite like captivity. We feel helpless for we know we cannot go back and live those moments again, happy moments which now bring sadness.
Love the way you have written this piece. Keep writing.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Vatsal...

j.

[ms. barrie]

gorgeous imagery, of long lost love's
nostalgia. Amazing use of word weaving, it's sensitivity
Kisses one's psyche. quite an elegant write
Thank you for sharing ~ X - barrie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, barrie...you are kind with your review.

j.

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

These are beautiful snapshots Jacob, I wish my mind worked like this:)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Queenie..

jacob

[Einstein Noodle]

i'm getting schooled in fashion this morning ..had to look up Pendletons ..very colorful!! killer closing ..felt jagged acorns scraping across my brain ..ouch! it is becoming fall isn't it? favorite time of year .. "Instamatic" opened memories straight off ..Instamatic, Kodachrome takes me back!
love those last two lines .. fickle moon indeed
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, E. :)))
j.

[V]

Great and vivid images. Your poems always really draw me in and send me into another reality.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Vanessa...

j.

[V]

You're welcome.

[Sheila Kline]

Mention of the Pendleton jacket brings back a plethora of pleasant memories for me, worn with pleated skirts and starched white blouses; always a sign of autumn. It is the snapshot memories that become those dear as we grow older, and allow us to remember them when we choose, perhaps on a lonely night while watching a Harvest moon, or the glow of logs in a fireplace.
Lovely thoughts my friend, really quite nice Instamatic flashbacks!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your visit and your words, Sheila...

j.