fellow veterans

fellow veterans

 

 

 

acorns scream,

then are silenced

as they meet my roof

with a crackling thud

 

the squirrels are protracted

to clean up bodies

the cots of war

lodged between teeth

 

 

erin-cilberto

9/20/2020

Reviews

[barleygirl]

You would think, 2 months into this loud pinging & popping, I would not be so jumpy still! I love how you describe your ear-splitting scene with gutsy dramatic personification! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Margie...
j.

[Rose]

I can not fathom the things veterans suffer, but this poem definitely brings you into their minds at how painful everyday life is for them. Amazing work as usual ❤️

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your understanding review, Rose,
j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

great avatar...Meow!

[Rose]

Haha! Thank you very much! ❤️

[Einstein Noodle]

damn ... love the title .. a dedicated commitment and invitation to read .. already breaks my heart .. your screaming acorns .. at once the whistling of artillary and bombs dropped .. the sounds that cause loud noises to trigger PTSD events .. my goodness .. our veterans of wars carry the cots between their teeth .. sheesh, jacob .. i am overwhelmed with the sorrow ... well done .. every day we owe our Vets the battles that have been kept from our front doors ... powerful read for me :(
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, we owe them so much...and i am reminded of the Viet Nam days...we hated that war, we protested that war...but unfortunately the soldiers who had to go to Nam came back to abusive shouts...when they simply did their duty...no choice.
it was pitiful.
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

yes ... a shameful thing how they were treated .. the War .. well ... that's a large conversation isn't it!? :(

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Jacob... PTSD is a reality... I think squirrels never grow up
and they think they are privileged to eat bird seed first and then
the peanuts in shell that are left out for them. The Crows are like Hawkeye
in Mash and carry the peanuts to an infirmary to be operated on and
disappear. I have my own ptsd from an early romance... no dance, for sure.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I love that reference to Hawkeye Pierce...I have PTSD from every romance...:))))

thank you, Pat,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Romance is a flower that is penned to your Lapel... Rejoice and sing 🎶 for Autumn colors and Pumpkins 🎃 peace on earth with a light to new beginnings on a Path of no regrets. Amen... Pat

[h d e rushin]

so i'm in the post office and as usual, time is standing still. So I read the back of the jacket of the man standing in front of me/ something about "POW'S" and how "we will never forget". He seemed to be an older gentleman and just like any semiempirical observation, I placed his words with the time line of his sacrifice like poetry uses simile to suspend comparisons of one unlike thing to another thing in space. I carried that image with me all day, in which sorrow becomes this struggling aspect of our countenance since most linguistic signs are the basic components of any divine morpheme.

By July the squirrels in my yard had eaten all the Bartlet pears. By September all the cherry tomatoes were gone and they were starting on the cucumbers , which I know for a fact, they hate. But this summer in Michigan was long and hot and food sources were scarce. The moral being, you do what you have to do to survive. Squirrel. Man. Or vis-versa.....dana

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Oh geez, all those wonderful fruits and vegetables destroyed...but yes, it is survival of the fittest.
or maybe the ones most nuts...
I really felt this response, dana.
thank you, fellow poet.
j.

[Neville]

I am a veteran myself & although my period of active service was only brief, I did lose my dear friend Steven O who was the victim of a roadside milk-churn device ..

as far as I can recall, there were no squirrels within the vicinity and it is still hard to get my head around the fact there was so little of a big man left to clean up ..

Conflicts .. and in particular, wars I guess develop a character, or nature depending on the terrain and people involved (by people, I mean the combatants & those others that get caught up by virtue of where they live) .. My own experience of war did not occur in a dessert but rather in a quiet leafy lane ..

It was not pretty and still on occasion, I wake in a cold sweat ..

I am glad some of your metaphors may have eluded me on this occasion as I am desperate for a decent nights sleep jacob ... Whether that's the fever, or the fact I am an Englishman, I dunno .. it did make me wince though so it must be good.

Neville

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I am sorry to make you wince, my friend...
And to lose a comrade like that...has to be such a difficult thing to go through...sorry for your loss...

j.

[Neville]

no worries jacob.. that was a long time ago now .. but I do understand just how distressing the symptoms of ptsd can be

N.

[duff]

You really could go a couple ways with this which makes it that more enjoyable. Double meanings and different paths to explore. Either way it's beautifully written.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, duff,
j.

[redzone]

reminds me of the TV show MASH and the slow mental deterioration of Hawkeye Pierce... the way soldiers are cotted off, patched up and returned to get shot, wounded, bombed and or killed all over again... I refused to be part of that kill or be killed machine, but in talking to many vets, I don't think it's possible to get those "cots of war" out of your teeth... it stays with you always in one way or another... some learn to cope with it, while others commit suicide... and no matter what, "squirrels" is how we are seen and then used to clean up the mess....

Jacob, I hope you know I found this poem to be one of your best... I hope you do not mind where it took me...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

It actually took you into a realm very close to where i was when i wrote it. Thank you, Curt...and I would never mind where you went with any of my poems...if you find some way to relate...I am a happy camper...that is all i could hope to have happen.
j.

[Paul Bell]

They're trying to eradicate the grey squirrel in Britain in favour of the red.
Greys are definitely more aggressive than the red mind you.
Can't remember what animal they're bringing in to do the job, but you know it's going to be a disaster whatever it is.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

that's nuts!
I would love to know what animal it is...
j.

[Paul Bell]

I'm sure it's the pine martin.
The grey is slower than the red so easier to catch.

[Samuel Dickens]

That's quite a drama taking place on roof and tree, just feet from the world below. Hopefully, the squirrel soldiers will keep your gutters free of shells. (There might be a live one) I like this, Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Sam...
j.