Iron Will

Iron Will

rail splitter baptism

directional mishap

life took a train

going to a failsafe

the escape was minimal

and then your face

looked out the window

of the Pullman

and I was pulled in

by the scenery

of your beauty

got a ticket

and ran away with you

as the conductor

did a confirmation of our 

boarding pass

and we spoke in dreams

of plans

and love

family and successful endeavors

And then we woke

to find ourselves 

thrown out of the rolling church

of illegitimate concept

we were given

last rites

of passage

walking along the tracks

amazed at how the scenery

on closer look

was quite ordinary

erin-cilberto

8/20/25

Reviews

[DIVYA]

A runaway love...All was beautiful when it began...and then the unceremonious expulsion....very sobering. Strangely, we find- what looked so great then doesn't do so after the chastisement by life and we wonder why we were swept away. The fault is ours - we just don't want to give up our fantasies.
So many nuances here, so many delightful twists...Your poetry is unmatched, dear Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

You are too kind. Anyway, Hank wrote this and most of my other poems, she is my ghost cat writer! :))))
Thank you Divya....
"Chastisement by life" great phrasing there.

[DIVYA]

You'll just have to let me borrow her then. 😁
Thank you, in advance!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

She's see likes you and remembers when she met you, so she will do it for free...haha.

[DIVYA]

Great to know she's in her elements! She's always missed. :)

[Katrina Mckeown]

The imagery makes this a most delightful read … brings back memories of young love and the trip it takes us on .

[Mauricio Montoya]

At one I was rail tramp, I rode trains but ride wasn't a window but the of a box car but you did bring back momerres, great flow and imagery makes a good read.
Thank you for sharing.

[FGFRANKLIN]

Everything always looks better from a train. I enjoyed the ride along. WC is screwed and I have very limited access so while it's running a few seconds I thought I'd attempt a review. F.

[.]

Wow! What else can I say?! After I finished reading the poem for the third time, I let out a loud wow! I became one of the characters of this story, and you allowed it! With your wonderfully vivid words! It was worth to take the trip for sure... Only thing i didn't like about this poem is that ended with the word 'ordinary'... well, I don't know about the scenery but this poem is definitely NOT ordinary!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Beren, your words mean a lot.
j.

[Lorry]

It is strange Jacob that when you take the smiling face and romance out of a scene you notice the graffiti and wobbly seats more in a situation like this.
I once took a lady to France foe lunch and seeing some sights, which was the most romantic thing I've ever done. But take the lady out of the equation and every time I see the Eiffel tower now I just think it's a tragic waste of Meccano, which I think is called an Erector set in the states, which is so not an apt name for it! 😃

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I never had an Erector set...wasn't engineer minded...but was a bit of a hopeless romantic.

[Beccy]

From contemplation and hope to the full blown roller coaster of love, this is quite beautifully penned. But for me the last stanza says it all; ordinary of course being the safest, though perhaps not the most desirable, journey to make.

As a last resort of course, there is always the emergency brake handle.

Beccy.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

To play it safe or take chances in life...always the question, Beccy.
Thank you for your visit and words,
j.

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

By the way, superbly written!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Marvin.
j.

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

Jacob,

sadly the very things which excite and enthrall us in youth, all too often, turn out to be just plain Jane ordinary ... Very true to life read, here ...

[Ted Kniffen]

I was one of those fortunate few who rode to the east coast on a steam train ... I was much younger of course ... my Granddad worked for the New York Central for a long time as a section chief.

I rode that trainwreck for love more than a few times ... through the curves and down the straights headed for the station.

The conductor punched my ticket to be with my one love for 38 yrs now.

Still a good trip.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Good for that conductor to have punched that ticket.
I never rode the NY Central, but I did ride the subway a lot when I was a little kid.
thanks for your visit, Ted.
j.