the needles within

the needles within

pine trees,

and gin streets

the scent of nature's breath

the cold hard aroma of opened bottles

like hearts in paper bag clothing

it's all the same,

we take deep inhales

at the mountains and the tall timbers

gracing the sunset

and then cry

at the sound of shuffling feet

red eyed tenaciousness

trying to survive

and the crinkling sound

of swigs of lives

just waiting to grace

their last sunset.

erin-cilberto

2/1/17

Reviews

[andrew mitchell]

this write oozes the hopelessness of the homeless dependant on alcohol to numb their pain. a graphic depicting write j

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, andrew.
j.

[Larq]

If only we could stay centered in the mountains, the tall timbers and the sunset...the last sunset would be ever so peaceful. I really want to live in that world. Thank you for another poem that is so alive I can taste it. :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your encouraging review...Larq...

j.

[Coyote Poetry]

The words gentle, honest and real. The words took me to place and deep thoughts. Thank you Jacob for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind comment, Coyote.
j.

[Coyote Poetry]

Was my pleasure and you are welcome.

[emmajoy]

Our surroundings can both inspire and despise us; can raise us up or drag us to the depths. Tis life, tis what it does. We struggle, we survive, we fade.

You write in a way that sets the mind and imagination going. Tis hard to stay logical sometimes because you lay your words in places I need to see.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you make me feel like a poet, emma!

thank you for that.

j.

[emmajoy]

Not, not spoiling you with flattery, Jacob... :)

[Valentine]

Walking through life just trying to survive until the day God calls the grim reaper. The same journey we all are on. Valentine

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insight, Valentine.
j.

[Corset]

God in his accoutrements will set you free, its wearing other humans that time wears its most trying, itchy outfits.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, that is true, Corset...so true.
thank you
j.

[Kristina Moulaison]

Great title and poem! The things we live with, the pain. the ways we try to cope as we walk through the world, our thin facade "a paper bag", all that covers our fragile hearts, like the words we write on paper to describe our longing, while we look for beauty and try to survive this.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, Kristina.

j.

[Ken Simm.]

The beauty of nature and the dangers of falling. I am inescapably reminded of Neil young's 'Every junkie is like a setting sun'.
Stark and remarkably beautiful Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

wow, Neil Young...love him...thanks for that allusion to his song.

j.

[Einstein Noodle]

poignant, sharp, poetic commentary ..in the same breath we take in all the awe and wonder of beautiful Nature and the gin streets together .. your poem reminds me of a young man in our neighborhood on the east side .. Eastwood actually ..his name is Mike .. older than me by a couple of grades .. he had MS and Ripple Wine his elixir .. we all hung out in Eastwood, it was a big "hood" and we all knew each other and few there were that invited ridicule and beating down .. everyone loved Mike .. he always was greeted well .. but he hung himself with a pall of suspicion about that because he hated so much of himself and was convinced no one could ever like him .. he is most assuredly dead by now ..probably many years ago .. but i think of him .. especially see him in your poem ..
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i am glad you could find a way to relate to this piece, E....sorry for what happened to Mike and how he came to think no one could like him.

j.

[Troy Henson]

I remember being 13 years of age and at the local shops a homeless man collected empty food trays and returned them to the rightful shops in exchange of food. I asked one day how old he was and the shop keeper said he was just 25.....he looked much older than that. Looking weary, tired and lost, he drank from a paper bag and rested in a small alley. He never begged but inturn he did small things to earn his keep. It was amazing but also very sad to watch.

Nicely done Jacob. Such a emotional tones and fantastic imagery.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for sharing your story, Troy...and your kind comment on the poem.

j.