and we write of them, still

 

 

and we write of them, still

 

 

 

there have been Plaths and Sextons

Berrymans and Jarrells....

none filled with barrels

of metrical laughter

 

these tortured artists

ran out of reasons to breathe words

found highways, garages, bullets and ovens

and as poetic spirits

of a coven

joined hands in death

and left their pens on empty desks

silent typewriters

silent pens

and odds and ends

 

unfinished and unwritten 

catacombs of writing gathering dust

in decomposing minds

 

if only we could Lazarus them back to life

what would they write now?

lines of regrets

for the lines 

unfulfilled

unpunctuated ?

 

or about lives 

unfulfilled

 

and dead end pens

that were destined

for posthumous notoriety

and postscripts 

 

becoming footnotes

in some research paper

paying due respect

as if they all would turn over in their graves

 

and give the fledgling doctoral student

a thumbs up

for the acknowledgment

 

that was really just 

                                an afterthought...

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

10/9/17

Reviews

[Dionysian Gnostic]

There's talent here now. I'm a fan of the beat generation poets and Bukowski's gritty insight but I enjoy many contemporary poets and want to know what people are writing about right now. I get you though I don't think that poets of the past are diminished by their posthumous recognition but rather immortalized in a sense. I like your style. This web site is lucky to have your contributions.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words....

j.

[barleygirl]

The writing life is now well-described in terms that encompass the centuries! I never thought about the totality of it like this. I can always depend on you to take a fresh perspective! *wink! wink!* Fondly, Margie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i wonder what they would write now?
with the world as is...
thank you, Margie.
j.

[Paul Bell]

I don't know if writing was more in depth back then.
Mainly due to less distractions. But I think the first poem ever written, was definitely some guy getting dumped.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

most likely true, Paul...
thanks for your insight...
j.

[Cassie]

I think that if you know you have talent, you should keep on keeping on even if all odds are against you. It would be bad growing old having done nothing with your talent...very thought provoking this poem is.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful reply, Cassie.

j.

[andrew mitchell]

Arr! A writers dream or a writers nightmare. To revive past poets could be their downfall in today,s climate change. Could they adapt to rules less strict? A poem to ponder!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i think many of the Beats would have no problem...they violated the old rules much too often...for some...i appreciated that they did.
thank you, andrew.
j.

[marilyn 1225]

brilliant love the last part especially

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Marilyn....
you are kind.
j.

[Ranger Kessel]

I wish i had your skill. You are a master i have been stuck on a rut with rhyming and run on sentences for while. Things work themselves out though.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, they do, Ranger...and they will....you'll get through that.
thanks for the kind words,read moreyes, they do, Ranger...and they will....you'll get through that.
thanks for the kind words,
j.

[marilyn 1225]

sad when fertile minds and souls die prematurely on purpose I like the phrase breathe words profound poem for sure and yet.... truth

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, marilyn.
j.

[h d e rushin]

in found Plath at the base library at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. I was only there to see the pretty Philipino Librarians who wore tight black skirts, with the reddest lipstick, with their long black hair cascading over their slight shoulders. Plath was the afterthought. But I read a few lines in her posthumous "Crossing the Water" and it took my breath away. There are poetic currents that move at hypersonic speed thru the human soul. It can't be reasoned with.
I have thought the same thoughts my friend. What would Plath at 86 have to say of this world? How much communication's protocol governing the exchange of poesy would it take to shake this world out of it's bellicose blood pleasure? I read somewhere that we should never really meet our hero's. I think what that means is that we might find them exactly like ourselves........Wonderful poem my friend....dana

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for sharing your story, and for your insights...i wonder also.

thank you, dana

j.

[Jimmy Yetts]

Regarding those of us who've somehow managed to stumble forward, almost none will ever be, even, "an afterthought."
But then, one way or another, greatness often crushes human beings; many of whom despair of ever having possessed it--and if they do believe they're gifted, wear themselves out trying to live up to that gift.
Outstanding piece of work!