the scent of regret

the scent of regret

growling canines

unwanted visitors

the house, otherwise quiet

the heart beats in the dark,

the dogs approach the door

a knock resonates...

anxious hands touch wood

she tenses,

they want her,

she whispers softly to some god to save her,

the men in her life,

await,

a lock clicks,

her heart breaks all over again

the dogs attack,

jaws snapping at flesh,

but the bite marks are invisible

as are the ghosts of her past

there is a sudden hush

the ambiance becomes stifling

her memory is her own leash

her eyes snarl,

teeth of anger bared

they won't let her alone,

like paparazzi,tales of the past

                        hound her

 relentlessly.

6/11/17

Reviews

[Chris]

I had the strangest sense of Police being at her door to notify her of a death....Had it from the line "a knock resonates..." damn how THAT goes.

I've been away from your work too long Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i really like this interpretation, Chris...
thank you for your thoughtful review.
j.

[Alfred Kukitz]

Letting go of trauma is akin to unloving a dog. There is always potential but never resolution.

Regards,
Al

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and i know how attached you get to your pups...thanks Al.
j.

[Jimmy Yetts]

Dogged by her past; a haze malaise.
Canine carnage!--here, obviously, not man's nor woman's best friend.
Powerful poetry, Jacob!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Jimmy...

j.

[andrew mitchell]

The hounds of Baskerville follow her memories that lead to regret and pain. haunting images locked in memory can leave one frothing at the mouth when the collar is too tight. Vivid images, great writing J.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, andrew...and yes, one of the best Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce...

[Michael Oliver]

I like the atmosphere of this poem . Some times the images are of Persephone being guarded by the dogs of hell after her abduction by Hades. At others a domestic scene about the silence of a woman's mood in a difficult relationship. Mythic Jacob mythic.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Michael...
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Guilt, particularly the Catholic variety can cause life long fear and anxiety. Who ever thought it up and came up with original sin!
This moves like a scene from a horror movie as I could visualise it so clearly with your word choice Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful review, John.

j.

[Gee]

How many pages would remain blank if it were not for lost love and death. Poets, it seems, need unhappiness to fill the well into which their quill is dipped.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Gee.
j.

[J. J. Nightingale]

Past deeds haunt, and tear at one's soul.. only had a few, but they taunt and twist as a murderer's knife..deep to the quick .. and blood flows, and pens dip that flow..and bleed .......

Deep jacob... took my breath away..............

Jazz

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Jazz...

j.

[J. J. Nightingale]

You are welcome........................ J.J.