mouthing trifles over a rosary of intent

mouthing trifles over a rosary of intent

 

 

 

all souls in my morning java

and javelins through the sugar cube of a heart

i am riddled with holy doughnut regret

 

glazed over in prayer

trying to find penitence 

before lunch,

 

but the clock is ticking in a quiet church of the mind

and all i can find

 

is the devil's crooked smile

reflecting up at me

 

in the bubbling conscience

of my soup kitchen 

pantry

 

as my sins evacuate

and my napkin saturates itself

 

with my contrite contrition.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

11/1/19

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

"I am riddled with holy doughnut regret". What a great line. I love doughnuts. Your poem made me think of the guilt I have if I over indulge and eat too many. This could equally apply to love. Is your Catholic faith here making you seek contrition for that Devil smile on your face for what happened the night before? That's. where you took me Jacob.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i appreciate your sharing where this poem took you Chris...guilt is a pretty strong element of Catholic faith....that is for sure,
j.

[Ayvid N]

The devil's crooked smile makes me smile. Appreciated so much Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i appreciate your kind comment, DIVYA,
j.

[John the Baptist]

Well, there are contritions and then there are contritions. "Holy doughnut regret" is probably not going to cut it if you're trying to get absolution for one of the seven deadly. Also, you should probably try to wipe off that devil's crooked smile before you go to confession.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i smile way too much, i know.
thank you for your words and the chuckle, John.
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Take another wafer and call me in the morning.
I always thought the Catholics and Jews had the best history for writers. Atheists and Agnostics work well fighting zombies and sharks ... but the protestants, what do we have? Billy Graham's legacy? I don't think our side really believes in the Devil ... can't picture two Jehovah's Witnesses as the stars of the Exorcist.
Never saw Jesus in a piece of toast ... so much for that clock ticking in the quiet church of my mind.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, pass the sacramental wine ... make it Merlot.

A strange place to go, I know ... but here I am.

A good write j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

okay here is the Merlot, but save me a sip would ya..?
thank you for the insightful review, Ted...
"the power of Christ compels you"---whoever the "you" is.
j.

[Michael Oliver]

Stoppit Jacob! Oh how well I know these days of atonement of the later years- we spend our time on conceptual knees begging some form of forgivenss - Excellent thanks

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, we do...it's that time...
thank you, Michael.
j.

[Lorry]

Im still stuck on how wonderfully descriptive a rosary of intent is Jacob. It is both black and white, in that it can be read, in my warped little mind at least, as being both ominous sounding and a softly sighed regret.
I am guessing the latter in this case, as that ticking clock in the church of your mind sparked thoughts i have often thought, with that constant thunk that has visited my mind too often.
Good luck finding penitence at that time though, for me to find it they would have to add a few hundred hours to the day.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

for me probably a few thousand...thanks for understanding and relating, my friend.
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I'm not sure if I fully grasp the intent, but it seems like your intent (to not eat) is overridden (by the desire to eat). Perhaps this is a simplistic view, but it's what my brain is receiving. Oops! Sorry … got to go … I can hear the chocolate calling. Rating 100/100 … Edited to denote 93.5% rating after giving you 100, with there only being one rating. Weird!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i appreciate your read....and well...the site is going crazy....
i was feeling kind of Emily D. here....trying to believe but finding it almost impossible.
thank you, Linda...
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Did I completely misread it?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i believe poems are never "misread"
they belong to the readers and I am just glad that the reader can take something away from a piece.
j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

ps
i really like how you read it...and i can see that interpretation fits snugly...

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Perhaps Emily is haunting the site of late. I actually took a quiz, "Which Poet Are You;" and I was 86% Emily Dickinson. LOL! I posted the results on my profile page so that others could take the quiz as well; but thinking this may have been the cause of the scam alert, I deleted it. I just thought it was so funny, after the spate of poems around her of late, that it showed me 86% as ED. 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

she questioned faith...religion...i find in older years, i do so as well...it's a battle...a back and forth...i think she had the same. 86%...wow
maybe you are her in reincarnation...

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I think everyone does as they get older. When their mortality stares them in the face, they all of a sudden start paying attention to their reflection. It's funny because I actually don't think I write like her at all. She was incredibly good, but we are so completely different.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i think you have your very own voice...your poems flow...Emily's are always a bit hard to read with her slant rhyme etc. Maybe there is similar philosophy at times between you and her....but different voices for sure.
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I actually purchased The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson after we wrote those poems of late. It had been so long since I read her work and I couldn't find her poetry among my collection of books. I find it weird that she never named her poems but simply numbered them in consecutive order. I have always chosen a title for my poems.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, she never did.
she is my favorite.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

It's really sad that she lacked the confidence to pursue publication, particularly with the volumes of poetry that she wrote. On the other hand, I understand it I used to paint and people loved my work so much that they paid me to create paintings for them. Initially, I just hung them up in my office. When I was being paid to do it, it all of a sudden became work and I lost the passion for it. After having gone through that experience, I have always made it a point to keep my writing for me, for the pure joy of writing.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

she only published 11 poems in her lifetime...and those were done anonymously...
I imagine your painting is awfully good ....but yes, sometimes being paid for our art feels like we are selling out.
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Agreed. :-)