an author outdated

an author outdated

 

I am the forbidden chapter

of the life you never finished

just a few more pages

could have given us the closure

we needed to move on

 

but you dog-eared a page

and left the book to gather dust

the cover art fading

like a photo just out of focus

years ago taken in the year of us

 

I wanted to keep writing

but the publisher upstairs

gave me a deadline 

I couldn't heed

the indeterminate ending 

 

I didn't need

so now the sequel

is a stack of confusion

page one lies in the typewriter

pinned to the carriage

 

that  has broken wheels

from a broken heart.

 

 

erin-cilberto

12/31/25

Reviews

[redd Brick Keshner]

That’s an ongoing fear, going the way of the dinosaurs… of being the producer of dog-eared poetry, jaded and outmoded and hoping against hope not to end that way🙏🏻🕊️

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate your understanding.
j.

[Belle]

Beautiful thought here,Jacob.
It captures how love can be interrupted by forces beyond our control,
leaving us living in the margin between what was and what might have been.
Thank you for sharing this!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind thoughts, Belle.
j.

[Davidgeo]

the phrase 'dog eared' is going to be forgotten as we stop reading paper.

you should still carry on with your broken things none the less. finish what you can while you can before you can't. dylan thomas would agree.

you always bring depth to this place Jacob. it is a timeless fact.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind words, David.
j.

[Thomas W Case]

I love the way you make heartbreak feel like a book left unfinished—every metaphor, from dog-eared pages to a typewriter with broken wheels, perfectly captures that mix of longing and frustration. The imagery lingers like ink on the fingers, and the sense of an incomplete story resonates deeply.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate this review very much, Thomas.
j.

[Lorry]

Well Jacob, if dog eared a page means folding the corner over, you have hit on my number one gripe of people doing that when they borrow a book. I even leave bookmarks in them so they don't.
That is closely followed with people who feel the need to break the spine of the book, which is closely followed by people who leave crumbs in the pages, or click the pages when turning. But enough about my OCD....
I have always felt that if I were to write an autobiography then the forbidden chapter would be very large indeed and would involve the bits of me that I am too fearful too admit, otherwise known as being too truthful. The bits that would make a sailor blush and give you anxiety dreams verging on nightmares. Yet even if I were to admit those things that bring me out in a sweat even thinking about them in my own head, then im sure once its been finalised id immediately begin on volume two. Because without a sequel aren't we admitting we have completed the journey on writing and have nothing left to Say?
You always take the obvious and word it in such a way that leaves us all thinking that we wish we had thought of that! 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Never a flaw being truthful.
Your reply encourages me...thank you for that.
Also, your reply reminds me of the movie Finding Forrester, when he says to Jamaal, "Oh Christ, you've dog-eared one of them. Show some respect for the author."

[BuzzyB]

I loved the fading images you created here. They bring to mind the sadness of human endaevours in love and life. The Publisher decides all. Perhaps, its best to come to terms with his terms. Beautifully penned.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, Publishers can really put a damper on autonomy in Poetry. Thank you.
j.

[John the Baptist]

What I get from this one is a disappointment with the way things have turned out. Once high ambitions have been thwarted. It sounds as though the "publisher upstairs" is the speaker's own very high standards that apparently haven't been realized. There seems to be much frustration, but I don't see final defeat yet.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I like this take...thank you, John. We are never good enough to suit ourselves.
j.

[Dr. YumnaKay]

Sometimes, you just leave a few chapters unread because you want a reason to come back to that book - or at least that's how I humour myself. Your words brought back memories of a friendship gone stale...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, YumnaKay.
j.

[Amanda Renee]

As an avid reader and someone who tries to answer the question from my students, "Ms., Why do so many of these new books have sequels"? Thank you for letting me get into the author's head and the inner thoughts of the book that was never read (at least that is how I interpreted it).

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for taking this where you did, Amanda.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

That opening line, is a heart stopper.
I am the forbidden chapter. Whether this applies to a relationship or the author’s work, it speaks to me of sadness. Endings can be painful, particularly when for some they come too soon. Poignantly penned dear j.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, Chris.
j.