Dollars for Dreams

Dollars for Dreams

A Poem by jacob erin-cilberto

Dollars for Dreams

 

come back to my apartment

she pleaded,

love me

no exchange of cash

 

I want to feel something other

than the droning of neon lights

outside a seedy hotel window

and a door closing in the middle of the night

 

that walk home is so long

when unfulfilled connotes 

the experience.

she wants to give away her heart

 

not reserve it each time she is intimate

she wants the risk of it shattering

so she can feel alive

not watch the clock with each embrace

 

She has enough savings to try it

Patience might be standing on the ledge

 

if she jumps into her real desire

will he be there to catch her?

save her from a cold, concrete ending?

 

broken dreams invite curious onlookers

they seem to love, thrive on tragedy

and maybe she is the show tonight.

 

 

erin-cilberto

2/25/2024

© 2024 jacob erin-cilberto


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Reviews

There is a familiarity here. A sadness filled with hope and fear.
Creatively done! Thank you for sharing your world.
A

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

9 Months Ago

Thank you for visiting it, Seriana,
j.
(broken dreams invite curious onlookers they seem to love, thrive on tragedy and maybe she is the show tonight) And she takes the final, tragic bow. This one is pure Jacob magic my friend. ~Sharon

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

Thank you for your kind review, Sharon.
j.
I can remember, as a younger and less confident woman, my desire for genuine love and intimacy, and thinking that I could fill this desire with what were just empty encounters. My own fears of potential heartbreak were my biggest hurdles. Good writers. Spoke to me, about me even.

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

Those empty encounters can often sate the physical need, but the heart definitely gets no front seat.. read more
Unless we have experienced this kind of loneliness and emptiness how can we possibly judge this craving for affection even if it is the wrong kind of loving ..

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

I second that emotion, Stella....how can we?
Stella Armour

10 Months Ago

We can’t possibly understand what has happened before to cause this unhappy need for such physica.. read more
'come back to my apartment
she pleaded,
love me
no exchange of cash

I want to feel something other
than the droning of neon lights
outside a seedy hotel window
and a door closing in the middle of the night'

And how do those who pay her feel when they jump in their cars and drive home to.. ?

Love and sex are enemies in some people's minds. After all, people who never drink tea have little idea of its taste or the way it feeds body and courage? The same applies to what could be called the metaphorical inability to see truth over quickies in famed back seat glory, viewing it as okay! There are children, mothers, parents and roofs over people's heads paid for by so-called dirty money. Try listening to helplines or talking via certain care-giving services.

No sure how the writer feels about the ever-surviving profession. Do men think differently than women, or - ? You, sir, have a way of writing that sets the mind alight in what can remain a dark place in spite of debate.

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

Live and let live...people have their reasons...judgement isn't wise...those are my thoughts...we su.. read more
Truly brilliant. I love the humanity of this poem.

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

Thank you, Thomas,
j.
How sad to give yourself away like that because you are so desperate for warmth and affection. The she in your poem and others like her I won’t judge. They deserve much better. Whether they get it will be down to them. No one can make the changes for them. You give them a voice j.

Chris

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

yes, much better...they do.
thank you, Chris,
j.
dear Jacob… when I was Young, I wanted to help Rehabilitate young girls who found themselves at Risk. Now I understand how Evil is everywhere and shooting Stars can leave Scars. Your Poetry is Thunder and Lightening on a Stormy Night. softly, Pat

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

"Shooting stars can leave scars"
Amen to that.
powerful! really appreciate the humanity in your poem's perspective .. well done sir! you give voice to the side of prostitutes that doesn't get explored much .. ending leaves us with the question .. as we, "curious onlookers" watch from our cold distances .. mighty fine stuff sir!!
E.

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

Thank you, E. for your words,
j.
Wow! A need for being wanted, cared for put to the limit. The build up is amazing as is the metaphor as well. Very emotional and impactful calling attention to that basic human need of attachment, belonging, being wanted and cared for.

Posted 10 Months Ago


jacob erin-cilberto

10 Months Ago

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

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Added on March 1, 2024
Last Updated on March 2, 2024

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..

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