searching a title and some sanity

searching a title and some sanity

 

 

 

Bronx sidewalks

yellow hopscotch lines long faded

cement letters dyed on tenement walls of sin

seventh avenue beachcombers lost in concrete surf

 

catch a wave of taxi smoke

and follow a lonely heart

in self-conversation searching a nickel bag

and a righteous relegation of words

to some holy idol on a billboard truth

 

it's all in a city's wake

a Harlem spill

a body of writing washed ashore

 

the fingers that forged

disjointed felons.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

1/25/19

Reviews

[Jimmy Yetts]

You've spanned the years; the old Bronx has been worn away.
That life is merely the stuff of stories, now.
How often "social progress" really just means moral decay.
Powerful poetry, Jacob!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, much different today than in the 50's when i lived there...and i agree about social progress meaning moral decay...lots of that going around.
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

love the way you incorporated the surf into NY very beautiful and thoughtfully done. I love this.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Julie.
j.

[kentuck14]

Jacob,
An interesting poem . . . Bronx sidewalks becoming a "concrete surf." especially liked the 4th line, 1st stanza and 1st line, 2nd stanza. I have to admit to my ignorance of the last stanza"s meaning!?
But I truly like this poem. Good writing!

Tom

[jacob erin-cilberto]

the poems being the disjointed felons...thank you for your words, Tom,
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Those cities that formed part of who we are never leave us. I spent my youth in the shadow of Motown and thought nothing of going across the river for a visit. The riot in '67 ended that for a long time. The city is making a major comeback now though. I think when we were young we didn't notice the grittier side of life
and maybe that hint of danger was appealing.
A good write, j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, maybe the hint was appealing...i have a good friend here in Southern Illinois who is from Motown also...he shows me pictures from time to time and still visits home when he can...
thank you, Ted,
j.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

The perspectives of the big cite are very different from those that visit and those that live there.
An ingenious piece of poetry.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Dale.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

I think as a tourist, it might not be one of the places I would set out to visit. Sounds like some of the areas in East London, I wouldn't want to go there either now. Great imagery and sounds jacob.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

probably not the greatest idea, although my sister actually went back to our old apartment building and took pictures of her standing in front of it...so i guess the neighborhood has improved somewhat again...thank you for your words, Chris.
j.

[andrew mitchell]

Its a funny scenario really, what the residents see and what the tourists see. And the Bronx of all places would have been a tough neighbourhood, almost in a constant state of depression and decay.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

interestingly enough...when i was born there and lived there during the 50's, i used to go to the park across the street when i was only 5...and walked four blocks to and from school in first and second grade...it changed a lot...
thanks, andrew.
j.

[andrew mitchell]

wow! Was it tough as the Bronx is depicted with gangs,crime, run down apartments etc They are images that come to mind like the movie The French Connection.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

no, not at all in the 50's....it was during the sixties when it all changed...we were living in Illinois by then.

[Lorry]

You painted this scene so well Jacob, that I had to stop reading at the taxi smoke to have a mini coughing fit.
I picture resident and visitor hearing different things. The tourist would hear the blare of traffic as he snapped away taking pics of that tv place we know, but the resident would have his own soundtrack of being a part of it that you feel it through your soles, that the sounds the visitors hear are background noise in comparison.
You certainly have the pulse of the city beating within you.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

even though Vermont summers made me a country lover, i guess being born in the Bronx and living my first 8 and a half years there...molded me somewhat.
thanks, Lorry,
j.