Suits and Sad Serenades

Suits and Sad Serenades

 

 

I have far too many cliffhangers

in my heart's closet

 

nothing fit right,

goodwill was an option

 

but I couldn't bear

to part

not knowing the endings

 

and then they came toppling down on me

my closet emptied at once

 

so, I packed what I could fit

into my straight jacket

and wandered into destiny

 

with just what I could carry,

so many memories

they wouldn't let me on the flight

 

to anywhere,

so I sat somewhere

 

until where became how became why

became a purpose for receding

 

from that cliff

and keeping my balance

out in the open.

 

 

erin-cilberto

6/25/22

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

I am ready to go too Jacob.
"to anywhere,
so I sat somewhere"
Thank you lord for my grandchildren. Otherwise I would sit alone at home and write only. Hello from Michigan and I hope you are enjoying the days of Summer.
Coyote

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Hello back from Illinois....and I am glad you have those grandchildren.
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

From the title I thought it might be about a funeral. I hate funerals. I'd rather a fete be thrown with food and wine and everyone remembering the good times and sharing more due to my demise. I'm guilty of hoarding and harboring some old romantic anxieties myself but I learned it was better just to cut it loose. So I did. It wasn't easy, The ties that bind are often thick ropes of remorse or chains of what might have been. Sometimes one must arm oneself with a hacksaw and a hatchet to get free. Great write, as always.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, I hate funerals as well....we didn't have one for my dad, we had a celebration instead...it was nice.
I really appreciate your sharing...hacksaw and hatchet make for a sharp review.
j.

[Shannon]

It was very clever here, the metaphor. It’s tough; what did Oscar Wilde say? I think it was something like, “He who lives more lives than one, more times than one must die.” It’s rough.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Oscar had so many good quotes...
sometimes I feel like Dorian Gray...my photo ages, I do not.
thank you for your kind words, Shannon,
j.

[Shannon]

lol That’s the practical joke that life plays on us… we never really age inside; sometimes I have to check myself and say, “hold on cowboy. This probably isn’t going to go down like it would’ve 20 years ago.” Wilde was something else.. a lot of wisdom gleaned out of that crazy life he lived. My favorite of his, apart from “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” was “The Ballad of Reading Goal.” It’s funny how many of the best men that I’ve known all did serious time behind bars. I think, right or wrong not withstanding, when you are forced to make life and death decisions, it changes you in ways that are often good-regardless of the circumstances. The “good men of Sodom,” the ones who didn’t come for the Angels of God, were really just cowards, happy as hell on their cellphones while the murders went on outside.

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

Ahhh, regaining one's compose is a wise means of attaining closure ... And perhaps completion of a few cliffhangers ...

Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn de Graham

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Marve,
j.

[supernova_thoughts]

Guess cliffhangers are a part of this amazing rollercoaster of a life. Sometimes good, other times worse.
I think it's just beautiful how we can still carry all of those and maintain.
Hope you are doing great, J.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

So many are just being able to maintain...I wish they could be getting much more out of life.
thank you for your words, supernova,
j.

[supernova_thoughts]

They will get there. Or perhaps maintaining is also good enough.

[John the Baptist]

Yes, well, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't, and that can leave a closet full of memories. These can stay with you until you realize it's time to get rid of them. The last verses indicate such a choice was made. Keeping one's balance is essential.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate your insights, John.
thanks,
j.

[lightsong]

When Fate is out of our hands we can't do but to accept. Balance between mind and heart is a key in such a difficult situation. To keep sanity and peace. Well easier to say than done. Always a pleasure to read your creative brilliant mind, there is calmness in your words here that I like.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate what you said,
maybe a calmness is something we find when writing truths of the soul and heart.

[lightsong]

Yes, writing is a release. So calmness and tranquility come with it.

[Chris Shaw]

Your metaphor is excellent here J. Balance is everything and when you become weighed down by memories of relationships in the past, something has to give. Time out. Time to adjust. Maybe a period of quiet. Never say never, but the timing would have to be right. This is a poignant write. It moved me when I thought of those struggles and the finding it difficult to let go.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Chris,
j.

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

“I have far too many cliffhangers
in my heart's closet
nothing fit right,
goodwill was an option”

Metaphorically brilliant. Old, ill-fitting memories, like never-worn clothes hanging in the closets of one’s mind . How your mind packs into a straight-jacket for emotional safety…until you can walk away from the edge… “I have far too many cliffhangers
in my heart's closet”- wrenching words evoke powerful struggles, but then redirect toward hope. J., your soliloquy touched me deeply. Wonderful write.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Annette...How are you doing?

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Hanging in there j. Hope u r safe, well & enjoying summer:))

[Vertigo Cat1111]

Ah, you just never fail to exceed and impress me with your poetry. The first stanza just wowed me. I absolutely adore that line and you have a such a nice way of storytelling through this one. It just clicks and works. Complex emotions, brilliantly rhyming and story and metaphors... ah, another wonderful piece from a great poet. I relate to so many of your words and I enjoy reading your work so thoroughly. Thank you again.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I really appreciate your kind review, Vertigo.
j.