for another poet

for another poet

 

 

she lit the burner on the stove

but there was no pilot

to fly her to that place

readers want to know

from someone who has been there before

and knows the worst

 

her ticket is not redeemable

nor refundable

and her window seat

merely allows a perfect view

 

of the blackness within.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

8/27/22

Reviews

[William Michael Reeves]

I wasn't sure, but based on your reply to Fabian's review I figured you were writing about her. So I just read four of her poems. Heavy stuff. The line 'stupid iris, always has to take everything in' might stick with me forever. And the last line I read was, 'I eat men like air!' Yikes! Suicide is not likely painless, but sure brings on many changes.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your review, Bill,
j.

[John the Baptist]

There is definitely no refund when your head is in the oven long enough. Neither is there any return. For this particular poet, the within was particularly dark.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your thoughts, John,
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Plath tried suicide by automobile before she gassed herself. I guess if you're determined enough though, eventually, you'll get the job done.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

She tried to drown first, and then she took a bunch of pills and crawled into a crawlspace in her grandparents' basement...as well.
But I think she thought she would be saved again when she was finally successful...she was writing her best work...and felt she was an artist at commintting suicide and coming back to write about it.
She said "Dying is an art, like everything else."

[Fabian G. Franklin]

She was mentally ill and needed help.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

she wrote so many letters to her mother that indicated the state she was in....but her mother was too much like her and too close to Sylvia to be objective enough to get her help...
and once Sylvia did get institutionalized...she just felt beyond therapy...
so sad, such a talent.
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

And to commit the act with her children in the house like that goes beyond disturbing. I read somewhere that she put wet towels under their door to keep the gas from getting to them. Gives me the creeps.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, that is exactly what she did....and it is certainly creepy.
then the woman Ted had his affair with...killed herself the same way as Sylvia...but had Ted's and her daughter with her...the daughter was four.
An awful lot of creepy.

[Katrina Mckeown]

It is soul destroying to think of a person suffering so much turmoil the only relief to them is to end it all. 😢 I know of two people who have lived with the tragedy of such a heartbreak.
I’m sorry for yours and everyone’s loss.
Katrina

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Katrina,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Such beautiful words to remember the talent lost to suicide. I thought of both Plath and Sexton here. Women unable to cope with the overwhelming darkness which encompassed their living. All suicides are tragic. They all could have been prevented. Such a touching write J.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, Chris,
j.

[red93]

Beautiful words clearly expressed JE-C. If I am not being intrusive who is the subject ?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Various subjects. thank you for your words, red,
j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

first trigger, Sylvia Plath.

[red93]

Oh yes very apposite - another damaged Soul fed into the Oxbridge Machine with both terrible and - in terms of the Poetry she produced - sublime consequences.

[Nima.Hope]

It's very heart breaking when it comes to suicide. I always ask that if the purpose of life wasn't the fact that human has come to fight and try to solve the problems, what was it?
World has many beautiful things to see, why they always see sadness?
By the way, the simile you used here to indirectly describe suicide was very perfect. Nicely done sir.
Best wishes
Nima

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind review, Nima,
j.

[Ken e Bujold]

nice verse Jacob. well crafted, superbly placed diction no pilot/place/readers want

As an aside:
My own take on famous suicides, poets pop stars, and assorted others in this day of instant fame, is that I can't help but wonder if don't glorify the act a little too much. I've had the misfortune of losing 3 friends in such a manner and what I remember so clearly each time is the overpowering sense that no matte how hard or long I thought about it, I wasn't going to find a truly satisfying answer. I yearn for a time when we won't have to go through such trials, though I know that that is simply a dream

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I know that feeling, having lost a couple friends to suicide...
so tough for those left behind....As Sexton said, "suicides have their own language"---
thank you for your kind review,
j.