Fools

Fools

 

 

 

 

 

melting cicadas

into a swirling sun

of deportation

 

the signs of early emptiness

nature grabs its recess

we stomp in the playground

 

noise, romping children we are

disintegrating into rabid concern

away from the crowd dispersing

 

away,

interrogation

questions in a deafening spring

 

and then just a park

of nothing

rusted see-saws, broken armadas of benches

 

it's all a scene, delirious

laughing grasses bend in delight

the humans are gone

 

the cicadas

reappear

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

5/5/22

Reviews

[duff]

Marching onto a new path. Collect your coordinates to navigate. A harsh compass anyway you look at it. Provoking Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, duff,
j.

[duff]

My pleasure.

[AMMD]

I think of nuclear winter here and the eerie scene of a normal day on the playground vaporized from it. Swirling sun of deportation is such an eloquently poignant way to encapsulate annihilation

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very insightful words, AMMD.
j.

[Laz K.]

Humans disappear, and "There Will Come Soft Rains." However, I'm afraid we won't be let off the hook so easily. After all, what would be the point of a cosmic zoo without any self-conscious creature on it. So, probably we will have to clean up the mess we created....those of us that survive.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, we will...I appreciate where you are coming from...
thank you, Laz,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Yes, our species is a blot on the landscape. Roll on night time and let the natural world come alive with its sounds and activities while we sleep. In the morning the litter will resume piling up. That's where you took me J.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Chris,
j.

[red93]

Eliotesque meditation on human folly. I am reminded particularly of 'The Burial of the Dead' Section of 'The Wasteland'. Excellent resonant Work as ever.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, red,
j.

[Lisasview]

Ahhhh, the loss of our beautiful nature..
Those poor cicadas needed to get out..right?
A little noise never hurt anyone..
Lisa

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, quite the loss,
thank you, Lisa,
j.

[Lisasview]

You are most welcome,
Lisa

[andrew mitchell]

We have a habitual routine of littering, polluting and vandalising our surrounds. We are a scourge on the landscape.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

absolutely, andrew,
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

We used to collect cicada shells when they molted and put them into jars. They are one of the noisiest animals on the planet making a sound equal to a jet aircraft at takeoff. We have yearly cicada plus the 13 and 17 year batches that show up periodically. But I guess after spending 99% of your life underground you might want to get out and make some noise; something many can relate to after the pandemic. What monuments of decay we humans leave in our wake, our playthings like the works of Shelley's Ozymandias. I enjoyed reading. F.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, like the pandemic...we are abuzz now.
thank you for your words, Fabian,
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

I believe the "fools" here are the humans desecrating all that's magnificent about nature. They stomp and talk so boisterously that they can even drown out the sound of the cicadas who sing in the summer months, like high operatic voices. There is also a hint of deportation in the heat of the border sun, where playing children are suddenly swept away from their parents; confusion and horror leave emptiness at the scene.
Best, B

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your relevant words on this piece, Betty,
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

You’re very welcome J😊

[Sami Khalil]

I googled cicadas and, to my amazement, found our they have many benefits that I did not know about. They are not even harmful to humans. They make like a clicking sound.
Long live science and good poetry sir Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

We have so many here in Southern Illinois that at times they can be deafening.
yes, long live science and good poetry....Emily D. would agree.
thank you, Sami,
j.

[Sami Khalil]

Yes siiiirrrrr. You are welcome.