Mad Scientists and Titanic Dreamers (a couple lines borrowed from Steppenwolf's "Monster")

Mad Scientists and Titanic Dreamers  (a couple lines borrowed from Steppenwolf's "Monster")

America, sweet land of 

fires, bullets, angry chants

political rants

America, the land I love

tears, poison rhetoric, rebellion

"America, where are you now?"

everywhere but here

we spread ourselves thin

being in

other places, using other spaces

as diversion

I am starving in my own grief

an empty lab

bursting with words

that suddenly vanish

"America, where are you now?

Don't you care about your sons and daughters?

America, we need you now"

to calm the churning waters

to come together

to listen to ourselves

the chants and rants

are capsizing us

Igor, collect the dead bodies

in congress and the senate

we have experiments to do

to unmake the lawless, reckless monster

we've become and

to build peace

body part by body part

country by country

state by state

poem by poem

erin-cilberto

1/11/2026

Reviews

[Desert Knave]

Beautiful write. It is so difficult for me to express my feelings through the anger (so close to hatred) that I've just let it go for a bit (a box full of bitter notes but few things posted). ~Jim

[jacob erin-cilberto]

a boxful of bitter notes...yes, me too.

[John the Baptist]

j., you long for another America, one that was once real but seems now to be drowning in bile. I think the other America is still salvageable, but certain influences have to be put in their place. We could start with Washington, D.C.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Do you think it is, John?
God, I hope so. We are so lost right now.

[Thomas W Case]

Your words strike like a lightning bolt—raw, unflinching, and haunted by both grief and hope.
This is America laid bare: chaotic, broken, yet still pulsing with the urgent need to rebuild.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Thomas. I am so beyond anger over the state of this country...such chaos at the top.
read moreThank you, Thomas. I am so beyond anger over the state of this country...such chaos at the top.
j.

[BuzzyB]

Oh this so emphatic! So heartfelt! If only a great country could focus on its people, their blessings and strengths! That would really make them great and greater again. And the lesser ones would thrive too. I love the drama you brought to this poem. Your words are so alive!

The poem title is captivating... Mad scientists...Sounds scary, my friend.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review of my poem, BB.
j.

[Green]

This is particularly relatable I feel for so many right now. I still think America is a great country and certainly the one I prefer to live in above all others but sometimes it just feels like nothing is going right. I wish we could all hear these words and just sit them with them for a moment.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your words, Green. I wish we were not in a situation with our country for which I feel the need to write these poems...but we are, and I do.
j.

[Relic]

There's always some upheaval that threatens to tear us apart. The problem is, America is a flag in tatters right now. There's always some injustice that rears its ugly head out of the water. We need more lifeboats. I see the violin players assembling. Nearer my god to thee is on the music sheets, but the people on board are chanting vile messages. This country keeps taking on water. Let's hope it gets better before it gets worse.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, the Violin players, so brave.
and the tattered flag like a tattered sail.
Thanks, Tim.
j.