at the table

at the table

 

 

 

i have a boat, and a Mercedes Benz

and hear Janis cheering in raspy song

 

but God didn't buy either for me

i succeeded on my own

 

became a rich investor in dreams

played my cards better than Doc Holliday

 

and cleared the table

leaving all my loved ones in my debt

 

poor souls only wanted love

but i was always a draw ahead

 

the fastest philanderer

amassing

without the slightest prayer

 

and when i stand at the gate

with all this to show

there will be not nearly enough water

to sail that boat, only tears rusting the hull

 

and the car may no longer start

but my regrets will

as the ghostly faces sitting at the table

watch me lose it all.

 

 

erin-cilberto

9/29/19

Reviews

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Jacob... life is a trip to Las Vegas at the Table...
The midnight hour... the call of Chances... embracing the
hand that dealt the end of the dance. Many loved ones
picked up the pieces and gave you a path of riches of the mind
teaching others about three of a kind and the Joker smiles...
truly a testimonial of encounters of an enlightened mind. Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind review, Pat,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

He amassed the wealth and all the trappings at the expense of loved ones. Those he could have spent time with and didn't. A philanderer as well. When he passes on, he will be going alone and without his acquired wealth. Regrets? Maybe on his death bed, his conscience might prick him as he faces the unknown. Wonderful write Jacob.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

such insightful words, Chris...thank you for your kind review,
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

haunting ... from the start with Janis in mind ... and reminds me of Bill Hickok with his aces and eights .. i'm all in your "At the table" ... i see the man, the husband, the father ... successful yet so not ;( seems he drew to an inside straight in the finale' ... lots of story in your poem .. tragic and too true to life and living ... we are frail after all ... surely our "pay up" will come ... great read for me!
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, E.....and then the poet was shot in the back? mmmm Wild Bill...
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

ahahaha well ...i hope not jacob! ;)

[andrew mitchell]

Brilliant Jacob. Great work, one of my favs of yours, a gem.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, andrew.
j.

[John the Baptist]

Do old don juans really repent? Do they get religion? Seems like we have that here, but who knows? He could be just waiting for his second wind.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

ah, waiting...thank you for your insight, John,
j.

[roarke]

Wow. One of the best prose I've read in a long while. Favorited. Thank you.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for those kind words, roarke,
j.