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. :)

[redzone]

I am always amazed by your poetry, Jacob. You pack so many interpretations into a poem with metaphors speeding right along with that train ride. I read your poem as a love story, one where the love got away, was lost. A story of how sometimes we can't see the trees from the forest until we stop to look and then realize the forest is just made up of a single type of tree, and ordinary. This realization often hurts and haunts us for the rest of our lives because it started out as special, unique, full of promise, and beautiful. But then, this train ride has also shaped the person we have become. I know for me at least, getting on that train was an act I will never regret. The crash at the end of the line, well, that's another story.

Loved your poem, Jacob. -Curt

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for all of your kind words, Curt.
Look forward to your new book...I hope several on WC will look forward to getting a copy. It is good stuff.
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

Hi J.
It seems like you were thrown out of the Baptist church for your sensual "sins".... I believe this is mockery of religion in a broad sense..."of illegitimate concept"...."Life took a train going to a failsafe" I think this could be a dream as well... love the metaphors "the rolling church".....
Warmly, B

[jacob erin-cilberto]

well no, but I got slapped really hard in the face by a girlfriend who was Baptist...just a disagreement over something about the bible.
the slap caught me by surprise...I can still feel it and it happened 54 years ago.
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

Always a pleasure J...
Warmly, B