Eviction

Eviction

 

 

 

gusts of orange

an enemy leaving charred wood

January brick chimneys standing alone

home was where the heart resided

 

but now it simply

beats with black

residue

 

and the discourteous mover

the unwanted guest

clears the house

of feeling.

 

erin-cilberto

1/9/25 

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

Knowing your political leanings, I am guessing this is a poem about one President leaving the White House and a new one making it his home. Although, could be about the horrific fires in California....black residue! Whichever is your intent, this is a powerfully emotional write. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Lydi...inspired by the latter...such awful devastation...
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Jacob.. I have been listening to Elvis sing "In the Ghetto"...It seems there is no place to find shelter.. Our resources are stored with "Feelings" The Light breaks on a Cold Mourning for Souls in waiting. Amen.. Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"And his mama cries."

[Desert Knave]

I have found this month to be almost unbearable in how much chaos and hurt is everywhere. Much of the chaos is yet to come, with rent skyrocketing and insurance companies avoiding any responsibility ... oy ! I regress. Good write. ~Jim

[jacob erin-cilberto]

You don't regress, you just tell it like it is, Jim.
j.

[Light and ashes]

It's interesting, reading this, when we are about to move into a new house. That looks very much like what you described, but if you deserve to get kicked out, by breaking the rules and even stealing from the owner.
Then, it really isn't so much for a tragedy, it's just so, for the said subjective party.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I really like this angle of thought...thank you, light.
j.

[Light and ashes]

You are very welcome. Couldn't help it.

[redzone]

There is so much that could be said about this poem, Jacob. From, climate change, a society based on "drill baby drill", to the root cause of this devastating disaster, a system of capitalism-imperialism, that is threatening the world with extinction. I've seen the pictures of these charred, soot-covered, lone chimneys and your last line is so righteous (clears the house of feeling), as many of the people who have lost everything, testify to the empty feeling of where do I go? What will happen next? How can I take care of my loved ones?? It's that empty feeling of hopelessness. The deaths, the loss, and the devastation, all weighs heavily on everyone else as well.
-Curt

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I just talked with a friend of mine who lives in Florida. She has gone through 3 hurricanes and her house got hit especially hard from the last two. She has not been able to get back into it...being rebuilt room by room...and battling with the insurance companies...I feel so frustrated for her.
thank you, Curt,
j.

[redzone]

it's a natural disaster, complicated and confounded by an unjust social system. I feel for your friend and for your frustration.

[Poetic Beauty]

Charred house left with a burnt heart and nothing left standing

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, so sad,
j.

[Poetic Beauty]

It is a sinking feeling and a sad one for sure

[nj coleman]

...charred heart....beats black...unwanted....clears the house....feeling. Wow. This is excellent. Not one word wasted.
Seriously, I'm blown away...like the first time I heard the Beatles. This is the first I've read from you (just joined WC today). I'll be reading more...you set the bar high here. Wow.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind words, neil, and welcome to the Cafe.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

That first stanza is magnetic. It pulls the reader in to current affairs. The image spectacular. I can’t imagine the distress of everything you owned being torched. Completely overwhelming and yet some don’t live to see the aftermath. A catastrophe , a present day catastrophe. Nature at her most cruel. It gives, it takes. The images of animals and people caught up in this hell have been soul destroying. You say it so well j.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Amen to all you said Chris...a catastrophe for sure.
j.

[Lorry]

Sadly, on a much smaller scale I know how the people of California feel after losing everything I owned in a fire and relocating North to a new life and new job that although was in the same country, felt like a world apart from what I knew.
Now I'm 8 or 9 years down the line from that and can tell you that there is hope. If I can do it then most others can too.
There will be trauma along the way, when you remember something out of the blue and realise it is gone forever, but there too is hope of people helping people and banding together for the greater good of the community.
It will be a long journey but at the end of that ĵourney they will find peace snd stability.
My heart aches for the so many affected.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

People have bonded together to help and to survive...
Thank you for sharing, Lorry,
j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
The incredible trauma of losing your entire life but still alive creates rooms and rooms of regrets, memories, collections of interest, the art you've hung, the array of your furniture, the drawer where you kept silverware, the box of secret trinkets... no one can name them all, but years from now you will wonder where that thing you need has gone and then remember...
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

they will never be able to forget....thank you for your words, Vol,
j.

[Vol]

So sad... and a lot of those people are rich enough to own important art... now just ashes...