Session

Session

do we write better

in the madness

of youth

or the dementia

of old age

when cataracts

block the keys

and the mind reacts

sullenly

to the touch of bony 

fingers

i gently nudge you awake

as you write in my dreams.

erin-cilberto

11/18/2020

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I did not write much at all thru-out the madness of my youth, but now I definitely get a ton of "old growth" advantage from reading the youthful madness shared at the cafe. Friends a mere decade older than me are giving it up due to uncontrollable fingers & gauzy eyeballs. I can barely walk, but I thank God every single day that my fingers & eyes are still frisky & willing! Very thought-provoking! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

And you are most frisky and relevant with your writing dear friend----
Thank you for sharing on this piece,
j.

[Light and ashes]

Hmmmm... interesting. I think it's a matter of perspective. Thank you for the read.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I do agree, Light.
thank you,
j.

[Light and ashes]

You're welcome :) always a pleasure.

[Ted Kniffen]

Does the Muse age along with us? I don't know if old age is something we should resent ... better old than dead Sounds right.
The hands may be arthritic and the mind a little slow on the uptake ... but what we write now is hard to compare to the poetry we wrote in our youth. The circumstances and our reaction to them are certainly
different.
We are not the same people we were back then. We have changed, not only in appearance but the inner us looks back as an old man, although the younger us stares back now and then.

Good one j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, Ted.
I am reminded of Dylan's "my back pages"---
"I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now"---
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

There is no reason to be an old fart or age like our parents ... nothing wrong with anyone asking when are we going to grow up.

[Lydia Shutter]

This poem hits me hard, Jacob. My poetry style has changed through the years, but was it better then or now? Hard to tell. Yes, the eyesight fades and the arthritis makes typing an almost masochistic act, but we write. I believe it keeps us going...dementia is far away! Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I can't imagine it could have been better than, as good as it is now, Lydi....
but yes on the masochistic act of producing our art.
Writing probably does help stave off the dementia...for sure.
j.

[Lorry]

Beautiful pondering of the whys and where's and when's of how the muse dances as our seasons change, from the energy and certainty of youth, to the here and now which brings wisdom, from the everything in between beginning and end.
I didn't start writing until my late twenties, but found so much to have an opinion on. The first few years I wrote every day, but now, I find more thought helps before picking up the pen or typing, not taking notes, just fermenting what may be written. That way it evolves more effortlessly, as your mind will kep reminding you of what will be written. The rest, to me at least, is understood about as much as the internal workingsofthephone I am typing this on.
No matter what comes out, it always amazes me that I made something exist out of nothing.. and my brain doesn't even correct me or want any thanks.
So in summation, wishy thinking and magic is my answer to the puzzle, but as for the age debate, I'm 52 going on seven. Does that help? 😊

[jacob erin-cilberto]

And I am 70 going on seven, I never grew up...I hope my writing did. i wrote a couple poems in grade school, but I too, wrote my first real poems, crappy ones at that, in 1970---I was 20 and got crushed in a relationship...so the writing jumpstarted itself.
I wrote every day pretty much, but more now than ever. I don't have much choice...like Frank O'Hara wrote...is how I do...they come in bunches, all at once...flow out...I mess with them as they are coming....and then once I am finished with a session...I just move on, seldom going back to any poem....maybe once in awhile.
we all have our own approaches and that makes poetry so interesting.
thank you for sharing,
j.

[Lorry]

I read my old stuff each year, usually January and discard a lot of the ones that don't resonate any longer, but even that takes less time now. Lost most of everything I ever wrote, as well as everything else in a fire a couple years ago and now only have last few notepads and some stuff I kept at my Mums. Sort of like enforced extreme editing 😊
Only good thing was moving house was so much easier when house burnt to ground. No removal van required. Sometimes I think of something, start writing and then think "oh! I think I've written this before 😊

[jacob erin-cilberto]

That is really tough, losing your writing in a fire...

And I also relate to that, "think I wrote this before" situation...been there and done that several times.

[Lorry]

Ah, deja deja vu 😆

[Chris Shaw]

I never wrote a poem till I was forty. There were many things I didn't contemplate till later in life. I like to think there is wisdom in maturity. I look back at my rose days. They were pretty, to look at. I wish I had made more of them, but I didn't. The best wine has been allowed to mature. I have no fear of aging. That' s where I drifted Jacob. I am comfortable with my life. Thank you for that journey. We are all on our own journey.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Your "rose days"---I like that...
Yes, our early poems can be so full of love and flowers and sunshine...and then life hits us in the face, and the pen.
thank you, Chris,
j.

[Arundass TP]

Old age is comfortable for all; is it for the aged? Good imagination.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Arundass...
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Oh is aging a thing to celebrate, is it a joy? Are we more productive, more useful in our youth or as we mature and age? This is a million dollar question. Perspective is everything, situation and circumstances rule the day. For some of us our best may seem behind us, however if we are still in there and have cause in our veins, we fight on. A master poet is not born but like fine wine matures if the cork is turned a quarter turn often but still it may sour and become senile in time.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I really like this reply...thank you, John, for your understanding input.
j.