The Dickinson Factor

The Dickinson Factor

 

 

adjusting composure

my posture weakened when i read you

poems of discontent

brief eulogies for our love

once so engaged

the life of us was the life worth living

 

and then, the reading became awkward

the writing had no voice

eyes darting to walls with photos

we hung our love upon them

and now i feel the rope burns

as i dangle in disbelief

 

Emily Dickinson often wrote from the perspective

of the dead,

I love Emily,

I loved you,

 

but now

it might be time to love a specter

since the scepter carrying entity

has visited us

 

Emily can't leave me,

she's already gone,

and soon she can write about me

from her grave

 

after all,

a dead heart

is a lively topic

for some.

 

 

erin-cilberto

7/15/19

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

"now i feel the rope burns as i dangle in disbelief" what a great line! If Emily Dickinson could write from the grave, she WOULD write about you, Jacob. Indeed, a dead heart is the inspiration for so many poems. A little different from you...I like it. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

that is such a compliment...although i think she would have better things to do...thank you, Lydi...
j.

[emipoemi]

.....I have no words.....my voice is in my awe!! This is phenomenal! What might really hit it over the park is if the last line was solitary (it would add some eeriness to that last stanza and poem as a whole with that line isolated - but your call). This is otherwise divine! Bravo! Well freaking done!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review emipoemi....

and i will consider that suggestion...i debated that when i wrote it....still...thank you...
j.

[emipoemi]

my pleasure.

[kentuck14]

J
I really like the feel of this . . . A seeming loveless Emily and your own loss of love sewn together in this piece. Retreating into poetry as a way of dealing with the real world, a poet loves a long dead poet in proxy! The comparison of hearts is dept . . . two hearts dead in their own way cannot really communicate as we'd wish. Let someone else deal with it if they like . . . this poet will deal with it in his own way. Good write, Jacob. thanks
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Tom,
j.

[kentuck14]

J,
I was going to say this made me think of a couple of poems I've read . . . "Undressing Emily Dickinson" and the other whose name I don't recall begins with carrying Emily's coffin to the graveyard.
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for the heads up..."Taking off Emily Dicinson's clothes" by Billy Collins...
what a wonderful poem...and i love the use of her own words within...
was not familiar with it...but love Billy Collins and teach him in my lit class.
j.

[andrew mitchell]

Great poem Jacob, yes dead hearts do become legends in their own writes! I own a book of Emily Dickinson’s poetry- great works as are your own works. Same as music the beat goes on!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

for you to put me anywhere near Emily in the same sentence...thanks for that...I have a long long way to go to even touch her shoe...
but i am glad that you have a book of her works and appreciate her...she is my favorite, always will be...no other poet for me comes close.
thank you, andrew.
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Well done like this but I’m still yet to read her it’s a must I must do

[jacob erin-cilberto]

oh my, she was best ever, in my opinion...
yes, read her, even just a poem or two on line.read moreoh my, she was best ever, in my opinion...
yes, read her, even just a poem or two on line.
thanks, Julie.
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

Ok shall go do it now

[Eilis]

What an interesting interplay, here. I like that the poem is about three people (in a sense) but we are only acquainted with two: the speaker and Emily. Perhaps this is the point. Can anyone live up to the image/ideal of those we admire but have no chance of being disappointed by?

Emily Dickinson guarded her privacy so closely, yet we read her now hungry for better understanding. Perhaps it is our need to understand how brilliance can seek to hide and be unable to see its own light. I think part of the allure of her is the way she kept herself back. Our curiosity seeks a door in. Of course, she was also just brilliant- an innovator.

I love the way you celebrate her here. And how in the poem she seems to hold a permanent place within the home. It’s an excellent exploration of the poet-mind, in my opinion. Through the avenue of love.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your very kind review, Eilis....yes, she is my favorite...and she was so ahead of her time...quite unlike most of the women writers of her time who stayed within the confines of what was expected.
really appreciate your insights here.
j.

[Fairy Khan]

A dead heart sure is a lively topic for me. What a great poem, Jacob! I am reading and re-reading again.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Fairy.
j.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Very clever sir.
Some poets we read make us feel connected when we see they are going through the same things as us. It can be liberating. The power of the pen.

Love that last stanza.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Dale,
j.

[Neville]

Okay, I shall be as brief as I possibly can...
Whilst I appreciate it would be physically impossible to achieve given individual preferences, subjectivity and perspectives plus the very diverse nature of literature and poetry etc... but, in spite of all that, if I could write a poem half as good as this and for it to be recognized as such by other writers, then I would be a very happy man indeed.... she was rather bril wasn't she jacob... Nice one is an understatement sir ...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, Emily was absolutely amazing....I would kill to write like she did...
thank you for the kind review, Neville.
j.

[Neville]

me too probably.. the only thing we have in common though, is that we share the same birth day...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

wow, Dec. 10....that is so cool, Neville...

[Neville]

that's the one... as I've said before, not the same year tho :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

ha ha, yes, that would make you 200 years old...
and it would probably have been hard for you to type your posts here.

[Neville]

or anywhere maybe... typical innit :)

[Einstein Noodle]

ahaha love your closing sir ..after such a somber emotive tribute to Emily ... and who has not placed her in their hero bucket ... few if any i would guess ... the death and dying and never dead .. the printed word eh ... and words spoken .. all so very haunting
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I can imagine that people might think she was a snob, rather than a reclusive, shy individual...and imagine they would not like her as a person...that is possible to me...but to not like her poetry? I couldn't imagine that...she was the best.
thank you, E.
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

i agree, jacob ... she's a hero for me too .. love her stuff! .. plain looking .. but a hidden physical beauty that might have been accented with todays products and know how .. most everyone back then strove for plain didn't they .. best of the day to ya sir!

[Edie Blue Starfish]

Lingering longing long after the loss provides buckets of inspiration
Why is sad more inspiring than happy? Or maybe it's just me. I love this poem.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i find sad much more easier to write than happy...for sure.
thank you, Edie.
j.