fellow veterans

fellow veterans

A Poem by jacob erin-cilberto


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

© 2020 jacob erin-cilberto


My Review

Would you like to review this Poem?
Login | Register




Reviews

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

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

thank you, Margie...
j.
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 ❤️

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

thank you for your understanding review, Rose,
j.
jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

great avatar...Meow!
Rose

4 Years Ago

Haha! Thank you very much! ❤️
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.

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

yes, we owe them so much...and i am reminded of the Viet Nam days...we hated that war, we protested .. read more
Einstein Noodle

4 Years Ago

yes ... a shameful thing how they were treated .. the War .. well ... that's a large conversation is.. read more
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.


Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

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

than.. read more
Patricia Wedel

4 Years Ago

Romance is a flower that is penned to your Lapel... Rejoice and sing 🎶 for Autumn colors and Pump.. read more
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

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

Oh geez, all those wonderful fruits and vegetables destroyed...but yes, it is survival of the fittes.. read more

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

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

I am sorry to make you wince, my friend...
And to lose a comrade like that...has to be such a.. read more
Neville

4 Years Ago


no worries jacob.. that was a long time ago now .. but I do understand just how distressing .. read more
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.

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

thank you for your words, duff,
j.
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...

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

It actually took you into a realm very close to where i was when i wrote it. Thank you, Curt...and I.. read more
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.


Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

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

4 Years Ago

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

Posted 4 Years Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

4 Years Ago

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

First Page first
Previous Page prev
1
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Request Read Request
Add to Library My Library
Subscribe Subscribe


Stats

206 Views
12 Reviews
Rating
Shelved in 1 Library
Added on September 26, 2020
Last Updated on September 26, 2020

Author

jacob erin-cilberto
jacob erin-cilberto

Carbondale, IL



About
Originally from Bronx, NY, I live in Carbondale, Illinois...teach English at a community college and have been writing and publishing poetry since 1970. I am here to read for inspiration from other po.. more..

Writing

Related Writing

People who liked this story also liked..


Sorry Ladies! Sorry Ladies!

A Poem by AJNJ