in Frost's Shoes

in Frost's Shoes

 

 

my past is a wood where i reside

the foliage thick enough

i can't remember

veins of the leaves of my heart

 

pages of distant love

strange echoes fading

a scrapbook of photos

i don't recognize

 

there is that eerie silence

is it selective hearing

or a refusal to clear out the trees

of masochistic longing

 

even as the ax's tune

emerges from a wood inside

deep, deep inside.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

7/30/19

Reviews

[barleygirl]

This is a superb poem! Wow! I was completely immersed in a tangled forest of my own making! I love "can't remember veins . . . of my heart" . . . and "trees of masochistic longing" . . . that last one so vivid, reading felt like stabbing! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Margie,
j.

[Eilis]

I think I read this the other night when you posted it and loved it immediately. You've captured the spirit of Frost, and I find it so interesting because you've done it in your own poetic voice. It's a lovely dance between poets and it only requires the presence one (you) to make it come to life.

Robert Frost was the first poet who taught me that poetry was something accessible. I wouldn't have ever written a poem, I don't think, if I hadn't taken a course on his work and found my way into the forest of poetry. His work has such depths yet he managed to also make it accessible to the average person. I know that was important to him.

And, I think you offer a similar slant for us here, Jacob, and in your other work as well. Here, you've captured the physical, emotional, and psychic sides of the same experience and made it a seamless poem. Something I have always admired about Frost as well.

Really enjoyed this poem.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

from reading your work, Eilis...i feel we are fortunate that you took that class on Frost...no poetry from you would have been a travesty.
thank you for your visit and kind words,
j.

[Lyanth]

I have no words really. My own mind today is as a dense forest blanketed in a woven cape of fog.
I did enjoy reading however, and relate well. Forests are indeed wonderful to explore, especially when we do not see what lies beyond the treeline. I suppose if we cannot remember we must try to explore and re-discover.. at least that's my take. Thank you for sharing.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Lyanth,
j.

[Lyanth]

Thank you for giving me something to ponder.

[Chris Shaw]

That wood is too deep. You can't even see the wood for the trees. You know what you have to do? You have to get a tree surgeon to take some of them out make a clearing and a new path so you can see where you are going. That's where you took me Jacob.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Chris,
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Sometimes it's necessary to cut away the dead wood, so the tree will survive and grow stronger. So, dance in Frost's shoes and take the road less travelled.

A good write, j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and that's the only poem of his I liked...:)))
thank you, Ted,
j.

[Wondering Mind]

Oh I admire your expressive genius. The whole poem is a beauty but I most enjoyed the stanza before last.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Wondering Mind...
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Those feeling that lie burried, hidden deep inside as we try to forget yet they never leave simply get jumbled up with everything that supercedes them. As always expressive, pathos filled verse Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, John,
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

i think your closing is very strong and emotive ... we get lost in the woods .. the Big Bad Wold lives there ... we get comfortable in the warmth and moistness of the decaying leaves .. the shelter of the trees' canopy .. the broken heart lives there eh!? :(((( funny, jacob..i am on the same page as this; this morning..in fact i jotted those beginnings of another poem just before i sign into the Cafe' ... but it takes me a while to roll 'em out ;) great read experience for me ... thank you for sharing
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review...and will look for yours when "rolled out"--
I saw that Wolf a few minutes ago...he wasn't smiling.

[Einstein Noodle]

scary ..but more dangerous when he smiles :o ..great poem ... i will let you know .. but it does usually take me a while ...

[Einstein Noodle]

ps. nice bit of play with Mr. Frost ... frozen shoes "..with miles to go..." gotta love that guy!

[Fairy Khan]

Wow!
I am short of words for praising what I read. We often dwell on our past, and become it’s victim. This is o relatable.

P.S. In the final stanza, the word should have been ‘axe’s’.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Fairy.
Actually either spelling is accepted, "axe" or "ax"---
but thanks for the heads up....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and it's funny because "axe" used to be the more commonly used form, now "ax" has become popular, but the stupid spell checker shows "axe" as being a misspelling..i hate spell checker...
:))))

[Fairy Khan]

I like the old school writing better. :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i can totally understand that...yes...
i will consider changing it.