Somewhere that feels like Nowhere

Somewhere that feels like Nowhere

 

 

I am just seven,

clinging to my family

like a sloth to a tree

but they are not moving me slowly

 

I am whisked away in a cold plane

set down in some detention camp

my toys are back home

wherever that was once

 

my feelings were left back in the baggage 

section of the detached vehicle

that dropped me at this disheveled nest

 

I am a bird with no wings

my beak is a muzzled mouth

trying to pray

 

I would rather fall from this nest

if home is a canceled reservation

no worm dangled in front of me

can make me smile again.

 

erin-cilberto

7/9/25

Reviews

[Betty Hermelee]

Wow! J this is very heavy… seems like you were almost a neglected child; and my work in the past brings back horrible memories of this kind of behavior…. You certainly survived it, but with what scars! Is this really you? Poor j … you fought it well and look at you now! 😊
Warmly B🙏

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Oh no...not personal...more about what is going on with kids being separated from their families with the new methods of border control.
but yes, it fits with many children who might have gone through a similar situation.
I had good parents, luckily.
thanks for your thoughts, Betty.
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

Whew!! Yes and that is so horrible...i really feel for those families...Thankfully it's not you!
read moreWhew!! Yes and that is so horrible...i really feel for those families...Thankfully it's not you!
Warmly, B

[Mauricio Montoya]

Whoa! Bro this write is deep, nothing can hold back what one will never say, but did read , I will say this, lol, a bird with no wings, but excellent write, we will fly again.
Thank you for sharing.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind words, Mauricio.
j.

[Mauricio Montoya]

Thank you for dropping by.

[redzone]

So much to say about this poem, about what our society has become, but the main thing I was to say is
T H A N K Y O U!!!! Thank you for writing this gripping poem. Thank you for being you, caring, honest and looking behind the curtain and revealing what is there!!!

Curt

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind remarks, Curt...I am just the conduit for the words.
j.

[Glen Weimann]

Jacob Hi. Anyone with compassion should read this, or perhaps the political leaders who have such places (sadly far too many and closer to home than we might like to hear). It's deeply sincere, and of course, there is no happy ending. Not a criticism of your fine work, but the challenge it sets to other writers to convey this message, this call for an end, in even more simple vocabulary that a 7 year old child in such awful circumstances might use. It might be very harrowing to do, though. Best, Glen/Nigel

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, Glen.
j.

[.]

This is a truly terrifying story, told with incredibly powerful words. I had goosebumps and read every part with renewed breathe. I recently went to Bosnia and Herzegovina and someone there told me about being taken captive as a child in 90s and this poem reminded me of that. These words will always weigh heavily on anyone's story, no matter who's writing them. And thank you for writing this; very few writers can do that.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you very much for your kind words, but what hurts in this reply is to know that person had to go through this back then.
j.

[.]

I am so sorry...

[Desert Knave]

This immediately made me think of the internment camps in this country and George Takei's passionate fight to make sure that their impact remains unforgotten. Nicely done, Poet. ~Jim

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your words, Jim.
j.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Children are being exploited and being forced into labor like the marijuana grow operation where 14 children were just rescued from in California along with habitual felony child predators in the midst. But the governor of California is defending keeping those kids on the farm picking dope. It's a screwed up world for certain.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, it certainly is...and comes from both sides of the political spectrum...who cares anymore about us.
thank you, Fabian,
j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
Those poor children? Yanked from home, trekked overland through jungle and desert to America, then, since they came without permission, ripped from their new home to be sent back... What a world! What a world!
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

A pitiful world indeed...pitiful.
thank you, Vol,
j.

[Davidgeo]

The last stanza is impactful.

"i would rather fall from this nest
if home is a cancelled reservation"

You'd make a good soldier. (i still spend a lot of time with active duty, most do not approve... it's the older veterans living in their fantasy and the opportunistic dude bro social media influencers that makes the military look like s**t... most actual real life non scum bag combat vets side with people like Mark Miley)... I think it's all going to go down over the epstein "non" list... because yes they are that stupid.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your insights...and sharing these thoughts, David.
j.

[Kady R.]

This reminds me of the story of Anne Frank. How devastating it could be to be taken from home and head to a detention camp. The storys of every person heading to a detention camp is just heartbreaking!! 😌😌😌

"I am a bird with no wings, my beak is a muzzled mouth" reminds me of how most of the people that went into detention camps had no voice. It's just heartbreaking.

Thanks for sharing such a heartfelt poem. It's a reminder that many are less fortunate.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your words, Kady...Anne was so brave.
j.