insufficient maps

insufficient maps

 

 

 

fading away from cement walls into plastic reckonings

forging a faraway fate

from pristine memories

now just graffiti of a time lost on some interstate of life

that had too many off-ramps,

too much delusion of extravagant attractions

scenic enterprise

for the unwise 

 

i am the tourist

to the twist

of existence

running low on fuel

and wondering if I might ever make it home again.

 

 

erin-cilberto

2/9/19

Reviews

[Ted Kniffen]

Funny how the journey begins...full of piss and vinegar...rarin' to get started...hands on the wheel...foot on the gas...a handful of pamphlets pointing out the desired destinations. Then one detour leads to the next and before we know it we've reached a point on the map where we never meant to stop.
Still, the scenery wasn't all that bad...
we're closer to the destination with so much more to accomplish...and they want us to switch from gas to electric.

Good one, j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you are so insightful, Ted...i have felt exactly what you said...
thanks,
j.

[gram linski]

Good poem, j, I liked the language and meaning sometimes clashing, pristine memories/ graffiti of a time lost, great line and read

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, gram,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Oh my, I know that feeling. Running on empty and my navigation up the spout. Wonderful. That applies to how I sometimes have felt, driving through life and it applies literally as well.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you see so many sides...i appreciate that...
j.

[redzone]

I know this feeling of getting lost in life, of wondering whether it is possible to find home, yet alone find that home will want you since so much has changed... the thing is maps will show you the way to many things, many adventures all having side attractions that make up your life and wo you are, but they cannot show you the cost of such off ramps, the tolls paid that make everything different where for the good or bad... and to make things worse the maps they do offer have all these so call self help formulas to success and happiness that give you nothing more than deeper into those back woods roads where the locals think you are their next meal...

anyway, got lost there a bit myself, you wouldn't have a spare map to share would you Jacob.... lol.. ;0) you know, we are old enough now how about we go on a road trip, one hand on the stirring wheel, the other clutching a bottle of 'Old Granddad", singing Steppenwolf's 'Magic Carpet Ride', reading poetry and with our girlfriends by our sides at 100 mph..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzoooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmm

okay, probably could have just said I love this poem Jacob, but where is the fun in that??!!!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i wish my maps were worth sharing, my friend, but they can be a bit confusing and i haven't exactly learned how to read them myself..
i really like your Steppenwolf reference..."a lousy candle was all i found"---
j.

[Wild Rose]

Reminds me of the Glasgow to Edinburgh motorway > Too many off & on ramps
Motors bumper to bumper charging on as though rushing away from a wind blown fire

Stupid bod driving so close - were you asleep I'm over the speed limit as it is
I want to slow down fuel stop in another 10 miles

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, and the smile, Wild Rose,
j.

[Lorry]

I know it is not about this, but pretty much everything you mention could be about the journey down part off route 66 we took a couple years ago. I knew it was far from its former glory, but the ruin it brought, in favour of what can only be described as modern crap, was a stark reminder of there being no room for sentiment in this
cruel old world.
It left me feeling very low on fuel too.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your understanding of the journey, Lorry,
j.

[Mrudula Rani]

Perfect expression of being flummoxed. Time to time, when we lift our heads up from life and look around feeling exactly like this, and wonder how far is home.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes we do, don't we? thank you, Mrudula.
j.

[Neville]

although on a roll, I get the sense of being lost.. yet it does not have to be all down hill from here.. there is a feeling of wonderment here too....

N

[jacob erin-cilberto]

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

[Neville]

pleasure sir & mine..

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I guess as we get older and look back we wonder not just how we got here but just where we are? Few people follow a set course, we simply stumble our way and as we look back it often feels unreal. Love the phrase "i am the tourist/to the twist/of existence"!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insight and kind words, John,
j.