the flickers bicker with reason

the flickers bicker with reason

dark mood blew out the lone candle

i type in the blackness

of the imagery i climb

like a rocky crag

it isn't pretty

but then,

neither am i

but experienced

in the streams of reverie

for the lost causes

once close to me

and the lovers and friends

who came to bad ends

and left me streaming,

not in the technical sense

but with tears over what made no sense

i am at an age to understand things

but my rationale says 

i have never gotten the equation 

to match on both sides

greater  than, less than

more confused than

a toddler still carrying the umbilical

around like an instrument

as bystanders throw quarters

into the crib of credence

nothing matters

that is misunderstood

there is an uncoupling of reason

just when awareness

shivers into being

and the snuffed candle

finds its heaven

in the dreams it never fulfilled.

erin-cilberto

8/24/22

Reviews

[Crowley]

I had to read this several times as I think I feel this way most the time even though I am getting on. I often wonder how so many people seem to get both sides of the equation or if that is manifest bullshit if you don't mind me saying. I think that we all have affinities for certain things and that those affinities define us somewhat in what comes in and what goes out and should never really equal anything. Someone who is technically proficient may lack in social prowess and someone who has mastered charm and good cheer may not have the mind for numbers. In this writing I feel that none of that really matters as there are days when none of it adds up and you feel like a hazy floating planet so far away from anything you could call life and the loneliness starts to eat you even though you have so much you would like to share. sorry for the novel, this one just hit my in a certain way and I am reading David Copperfield and find myself overexplaining everything in an English accent.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I quite appreciate your insights, Crowley,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Creedence Clearwater Revival comes to Mind… what do you surmise… gently, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Pat,
j.

[Stuart Munro]

If man hadn’t invented a form of light , Life was meant to be Dark , I Blame God ,if there is one 😂
First the Flint, then the candle , then the light bulb , that’s enough lol ,
Seriously tho Jacob , I really enjoyed your poem

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I really enjoy your reviews, Stuart...
thank you....
j.

[Stuart Munro]

Thanks J , if your going to write a review make it interesting lol

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Jacob… failure is a path of enlightenment where the Heavens were shaken with thunder and lightening and Madness remained a Constant. Poetry is a Savior who allows Compromise as a Disquisition. gently, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Compromise...wish there were more of that.
thank you, Pat,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

No one likes the light being extinguished. I prefer my candles lit rather than being snuffed out. Stuff happens, if you try looking for a reason for everything, it will drive you mad. I have come to accept that shite happens. Logic doesn't always work. Life can often be a bouquet of unfilled dreams. That is where my thoughts wandered J.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

your review is better than the poem, Chris,
thank you for your insights,
j.

[W. Barrett Munn]

I just read a submission guideline that wanted poems with “literary merit” defined as provoking joy, anger, introspection…to me it is one that leads to my own way of describing what is being said. In this you have succeeded ax I get your feelings and see them as I would present them and that is pretty neat.
W

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Winston,
j.

[Ken e Bujold]

The tribulations of time: wisdom is rarely the pursuit of youth, and as we age we discover if we're lucky, found a bit of wisdom, that no matter how hard we try we still can't (as you so elegantly write) get "the equation to match on both sides." I truly enjoy your work Jacob. There's always an undercurrent in it, an honest seeking for something

[jacob erin-cilberto]

If only I knew exactly what it is I was looking for.
thank you, Ken,
j.