the flickers bicker with reason

the flickers bicker with reason

 

 

dark mood blew out the lone candle

i type in the blackness

of the imagery i climb

like a rocky crag

 

it isn't pretty

but then,

neither am i

but experienced

 

in the streams of reverie

for the lost causes

once close to me

and the lovers and friends

 

who came to bad ends

and left me streaming,

not in the technical sense

but with tears over what made no sense

 

i am at an age to understand things

but my rationale says 

i have never gotten the equation 

to match on both sides

 

greater than, less than

more confused than

a toddler still carrying the umbilical

around like an instrument

 

as bystanders throw quarters

into the crib of credence

nothing matters

that is misunderstood

 

there is an uncoupling of reason

just when awareness

shivers into being

and the snuffed candle

 

finds its heaven

in the dreams it never fulfilled.

 

 

erin-cilberto

8/24/22

Reviews

[Nima.Hope]

These are wise words written by an experienced man and it can be felt through every word of this poem.
We always dream and human is a factory of dreams. If a person stops dreaming, surely he/she has become a walking dead. Jacob, I want to ask you a question: Do you believe in Karma and this phrase that says" world will give justice to everyone"?
Thank you for this nice piece of poetry.
Nima

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, I do believe in Karma...
thank you for your kind review, Karma.,

j.

[Coyote Poetry]

We learn Jacob. Dreams are just dreams.
"finds its heaven
in the dreams it never fulfilled."
I remember old dreams and I know. They become myth and tale. i enjoyed the poetry my kind friend.
Coyote

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, my friend,
j.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome Jacob.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

"It is better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness." "The noble minded are calm and steady." Confucius from The Analects "Alert and healthy natures remember that the sun rose clear." Thoreau

These are the sort of quotes this post brought forward in my psyche. Not all logic can be reconciled with meaning nor all meaning reconciled with logic. In the poem "Snake" by D.H. Lawrence he tries to point this out with a laudable effort. He knows the snake to be a deadly threat but feels a sort of remorse at driving it away. What we must do by duty is often at odds with what we believe to be right. What we believe to be right can not always be defended with logic and reason. And just because a thing is understood does not make it any the more or less dangerous. The understanding may make us not act haphazardly in consideration but there are few guarantees in life or the living of it. There is no promise in life at all except death and we each must pay that particular piper. I like what Solomon said in the book Ecclesiastes 12:12, "Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh." So even if one had all the answers, it is doubtless one could write them down and even if one wrote them down, who would want to read them? But we may test all things as they come and grasp and hold on to what we can that seems good to us. Perhaps that is the best any of us can do. And in that good, we may find a bit of peace for our souls; for our minds, our bodies and our hearts.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

What you say in your review is so accurate...duty is too often at odds with what we believe...
thank you for the wisdom imparted in your response.
j.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

going deep into darkness here. I find this an exploration of the dark side we all bury seep.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for the read and words, Dale,
j.

[Tom]

The enigma of life so marvelousl, metaphorically personified, kudos Jacob,


' greater than, less than

more confused than

a toddler still carrying the umbilical

around like an instrument '

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Tom,
j.

[John the Baptist]

Dark one here. Has the sound of one looking back on times past and friends/lovers lost one way or the other. A lot of apparently senseless losses that defy understanding. Of course the night will cover all in the end, and what was fulfilled and what was not will merge. Who knows, maybe understanding will come with it.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, John,
j.

[duff]

"i type in the blackness
of the imagery i climb"

Inspired by this line alone. Awesome Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, duff,
j.

[red93]

Very interesting JE-C and this Piece is in a great tradition of American Free Verse - I hear several resonances from the Beats possibly without actual direct echoes - very liberating to hear you cut loose like this.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate your kind words, red,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Jacob... as a Candle flickers... the light and fragrance soothes a heart that knows no end... but will gather the moments spent. A bouquet of Rose Lillies and miniature pale green Carnations to celebrate another Autumn.... the colors of a Life-time of Love. tenderly, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Pat,
j.