retire meant

retire meant

genius

I read other poets

and hallucinate myself

writing like they

I inhabit a page

paying meager rent

and fixing up a few images

that need repair

but When I see houses

they build with their carefully chosen

expression

their carpenter's thesaurus

I wonder when my lights will go out

as creativity no longer can pay the bills

with my blue collar words

simplistic, mundane applications

the genre has no compensation

for a mind gone cold

when the worn out bones

of poetry start to crack

genius

teases

then eases me

into assisted phrasing.

erin-cilberto

5/5/23

Reviews

[Soren]

So well expressed. I too have walked this walk. But it is not in the carefully constructed structure of a poem that its secret lies. It is in its heart that pumps the emotions into words and circulates vitality to all the organs giving life to this lump of clay. They say that a poem should be measured on two axis it's structure and its impact and it is in that impact that I place my view of art, the rest is just beauty.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I love this definition....Yes...Impact....the rest is window dressing.
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

I have always thought of you as poetic genius, Jacob; and I love the way that you write, so different from my own. We each have something unique to offer; that when blended together at the Writers' Cafe, creates the most fantastic menu from which to choose.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Linda,
j.

[J.P.]

Wonderful writing. The words will spill like blood as long as your heart pumps. Keep going. Good stuff.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, J.P..
j.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

aging is the most difficult thing we face everyday

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and it just won't go away will it, Dale?
Just won't---
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Creativity rarely pays the bills. Thinking about all those artists whose work now fetches a fortune and yet they lived on breadcrumbs. The pages you inhabit have many admiring visitors dear J.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

You just made me smile, Chris...I was thinking of calling the electric company and telling them I have an idea for a Sonnet and ask if I can get something off of my bill, if I write it.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Jacob... we love your "worn out Jeans" with holes in the Knees
from praying and proposing... just trying to be clever... any way, it is
lovely to know you have a Heart of Gold and are recovering like a
Bumble Bee in Clover. softly, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thanks to a strong heart...I managed with all those clogged arteries...but feeling much better now.
thank you, Pat,
j.

[Coyote Poetry]

Retirement is hard. Must run good budget. I do okay. I have no desire to travel no-more. My garden, my writing/reading and grandchildren. Is enough. Hello Jacob and thank you for sharing the amazing poetry and your thoughts.
Coyote

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Coyote...i bet you are a great granddad with lots of enthralling stories for those grandkids.
j.

[Light and ashes]

You are to me, and many others on here..a genius.
I love your words, and I know I am not alone in that.

Please do not beat yourself up.
Most artists make a meager living..as I'm sure you well know. Art is a hard road to walk, at least finicially. You have a fan base, at least on here, and it has been well earned and paved by great literary expressions and your overall fine work.
Your mind may be tired, but it still works quite well, I assure you.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Light...
Oh, I keep chugging along....and will as long as there is a breath in me.
j.

[Light and ashes]

Bless you, jacob. Please do.

[Light and ashes]

Take care. Be well. Keep trying.