even this one can't be used again

even this one can't be used again

i am recycling

my life

to mint new poems

but they are stale

and raw

putrid with the stench

of overused metaphor

maybe recycling is a bad idea

since the first life

isn't worth the words

that made it breathe.

erin-cilberto

12/12/24

Reviews

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

I sense frustration here. Quite a lot

My fave lines are

“putrid with the stench
of overused metaphor”

this is brilliant

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you very much, Julie,
j.

[poison&kerosene]

Jacob, I find that these times are so jarring and universally painful that there are few words to illustrate how we feel. I find it both comforting and sad that it is not an isolated experience.

I have been reading your writing for years and this one is different. I can feel the frustration, like quiet quitting life.

Thank you for sharing your words when many of us are speechless.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your very kind review, poison....
funny, I write about feeling stale in my words, and you encourage me with your comment about it being different.
Thanks, and yes, these are such painful times...too painful.
j.

[Robert Trakofler]

LOL I always find recycled stuff in my new poems and not intentionally either for me its because I got a bad memory so one thing I can say from these experiences is it least I'm consistent in my potential correctness?!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

maybe as we get our age, we are only potential..
thanks, brother bunny,
j.

[andrew mitchell]

It’s like playing a record it’s surprising what you pick up that you hadn’t before.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

totally agree, andrew,
j.

[MCS]

I've missed reading you. I'm struggling with this myself. These times we are in adds to this feeling of disconnect.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

You are so right about the times we live in adding to the feeling of disconnect...
Good to see you again, MCS.....been a while.

[MCS]

Thank you my friend, its good to be back.

[redzone]

ditto Pryde's comment. Metaphors flow from life and imagination. We might be getting older, but we ain't dead yet! Are we??!! Hello. Hello, Jacob, you in there?? I can hear you breathing, so get your arse in gear, we got more and newer metaphors to find. ;0)

Teasing aside, sometimes I think we do feel like we are just repeating ourselves. It's at times like these where we dig deeper into life's realities and find new approaches to writing. Maybe it's in reading more, or trying a different style of writing, or wearing loud and multicolored socks (I'll bet your students would love to see that), or start singing in public at inappropriate times, or, or, or....

Thinking about your poem Jacob has made me want to wear those cool socks and sing in public. THANKS!!! er...
-Curt

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Please take a video of that if you do it, Curt...
Thank you for your comments on this piece,
j.

[Pryde Foltz]

Oh please ... you are one of the finest poets I have ever read. But I do understand that feeling that one has repeated herself. Best to learn something new and co-opt its jargon:)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

It is so hard to say what has not been said before. Thank you for your kind comment, Pryde,
j.

[Pryde Foltz]

Perhaps sometimes we can be happy to just see it and say it in a new way:)

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Jacob.. Life is not made of Breathless moments, but of Moments that take your Breath away... author unknown. Aging is a Time to become an Architect of a Sky Scraper that sees the World above where fighter Pilots Dream. gently, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

time to build new poems...but maybe the old architecture still works okay.
thanks, Pat,

[Patricia Wedel]

Old Cathedrals have Gothic Gargoyles who observe the Rose Gardens from a great distance where Hearts become One. softly, Pat

[Chris Shaw]

Are you running out of metaphors j? Recycling can be good, but it seems to me that you are beating your work up again. You are always interesting to read and your metaphors allow your readers to travel to many places.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

guess it gets feeling old...you are encouraging with your words, Chris,
j.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

i am currently struggling to write new work, and it feels like im repeating myself over and over. so i get this. i get this feeling of being spent and not having anything original to say. most of my posts are actually poems i wrote years ago. but i believe the world offers infinite inspiration and i hope you find yours soon.

Ern.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Ern,]
j.