Bonfire of One's Vanity

Bonfire of One's Vanity

 

 

black market savior

underground railroad revived

generations moving out of the 

blasted village

 

borders are embraced

arms reach out to accept

a crazy voice shouts over

explosions

 

I will find you

you will be back under my thumb

you will die in my world

there is nothing to return to

 

when life is just a few bricks left

in a smoldering world

a foreign land, a foreign language

a home feeling foreign

 

a reign

of terror

a country charred

to ashes

 

how can we go back to a 

disintegrated past?

How can we remember

who we are?

 

 

erin-cilberto

3/31/22

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

this is what genocide and culture destruction is ... so blatant is Putin ... he knew no one would stop him .. i pray your V3 is non-prophetic but what he wants .. he is taking ... lots of would of could ofs .. but truth be told .. is in pictures more than news ... he is in a pickle .. can't leave and loose face ... plans to have the capital in a couple days is certainly a failed attempt ... thought provoking title and pretty brilliant word play my friend .. and "black market savior" ... brilliant simply brilliant .. we in the US are floating on oil ... this administration is not conducive to producing it so we are back to the Biden/Obama years of $4 a gallon and that blitzkrieg took just a few weeks with a slashing pen. >;/ ... powerful time piece says i ...
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind and understanding review, E.
j.

[Patricia]

Very powerful piece of writing. Such a deep question in the ending. We just go on with wounds and scars and memories of family, friends and neighbors and rebuild, that is if that lunatic doesn’t start world war three. It just takes three nukes at once and this world is over for all. I don’t see that happening though, but who knows.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Well, he has already started it...just wonder who will end it.
thank you, Patricia,
j.

[andrew mitchell]

The West should be doing more to save lives and stop Russian soldiers raping women,executing Ukraine boys and men. Civilians killed their bodies burnt. Give them planes, you can't make peace with a war criminal. Nice write J.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

all you say is absolutely true, andrew,
j.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

This hard hitting poem really captures what is going on in Ukraine.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Cowboy.
j.

[Lisasview]

Ww, another wonderful heartfelt poem dear Jacob... You must be writing one a day.. I say this because I always check..
I think I may have now read all the poems you have submitted...not sure.
I believe people that go though tragedy do remember who they are.. Just think of all the horrible wars and how people united to start over...
Lisa

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Lisa....yes, I write in spurts actually...bunches at the same time...
I am so horrified at what this maniac is doing over there.
j.

[Lisasview]

Yes it is unbelievable...
You are most welcome.

[Marina]

This is the plight of all refugees fleeing war and persecution...Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and on and on. They take refuge in a foreign land and eventually return home to a land that looks foreign after its obliteration. It must be so hard to return and try and rebuild lives from the rubble. You can't burn their spirit in that bonfire, though. That is what will carry them through this war in Ukraine. I like the title and its reference to the Thomas Wolfe novel. A shame Putin doesn't fall into the bonfire that is hell and save us all the heartache. A relevant poem, Jacob. I sure hope this war ends soon. 💛

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, so many countries with wounded, bleeding landscape...so tragic.
Thank you, Marina,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

The refugees of Ukraine will return. They are proud people with a determined spirit. They will return and rebuild their lives. They have no intention of giving their land up, the men have stayed to fight tooth and nail. Better dead than live without freedom. This is a wonderful poem Jacob. I am full of admiration, just as I am for the citizens of Ukraine.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your caring review, Chris,
j.

[KWP]

Amazing words encapsulating so much or the torrent that just keeps swirling around us just now. To live as a free person seems too much to ask, but why should it be? To build a life, have it shattered and rebuild again takes the kind of human strength to remind us, it all comes back to love.

Jacob, one of your best X

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, KWP....wish this weren't a topic...should not be happening.
appreciate you,
j.

[John the Baptist]

Yes, Vlad the impaler does deeply miss the old USSR and can't understand why the Ukrainians don't. He's had his nose bloodied and is seemingly trying to catch his breath and regroup now. He may come on strong again, as Stalin did in 1939-1940 after the Finns humiliated him. Tyrants usually need a lot of convincing.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and history just keeps repeating itself.
thank you, John,
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

The spirit of independence is indomitable. Buildings can be rebuilt. Cities can be reconstructed. What can't be broken is the will of a people once they have tasted freedom. It's the people that will make all the difference, not the guns and tanks and bombs and missiles. In the end it will be the people and the will of the people. That's my belief, my hope and my prayer.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, they have such strong will...
I hope it is the will of the people....my prayer as well.
j.