Structures

Structures

 

 

i am from the barren concrete

of the city

five-years old 

looking up at God

i could not see the tops

of our skyscraper village

of stone ghosts

towering overhead

 

i got older but the ghosts never disappeared

they looked down at me from the edges

of a life I am living 70 years later

my suitcases packed and shipped

i find solace in memory

i see woods outside

replacing the stone faces

 

from polluted concaves

to real caves

and real air

i can breathe

without coughing

leaves that change color

instead of brick that is static

 

part of me loves that city

part of me despises that city

regardless, it will always be my blood.

 

 

erin-cilberto

1/15/25

Reviews

[Lorry]

I was as they say in Scotland, Clyde built, just like the ships that were built on these very shores.
We grew up in less enlightened times where every building was black with industry and soot... and then they got the idea to brighten it up and we realised the buildings true colour was sandstone. It was like someone had put in a skylight on the city that took a while for our eyes to adjust to.
But now im a rural wee soul and yes I miss stakeout deliveries and the like, but the outdoors that isnt choc a block full of concrete has won over my heart and I find city life is even better when viewed as a memory and not the reality of trudging those concrete pavements. The earth under my feet might get cold in winter but never as painful on my joinylts as sidewalks. 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I agree, when viewed as a memory...when I see tv shows or movies set in NY...it brings me back even though I do not want to go back, because I love the woods in Illinois where my residence is now.
Thank you for the stories you always give that show how you relate to what I write.
j.

[Vol]

Jacob,
Dang, man, I hated it when I lived in a subdivision outside a great city. I flew into Dallas a bit ago, and looked down on endless neighborhoods of half-million-dollar houses two feet apart, all with the same slate gray roofs. Actually, I do miss the chance of going downtown to criticize and judge the denezins, take notes on their absurd foibles as fodder for poems. I love my isolation and solitude... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lkx4hpDcKI
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

so many of the burbs outside of Chicago....just like your video...all the same, only some different colors.
A horse of s different color is still a horse, or house.

[Ken Simm.]

Excellent choice of words to tell this intriguing story. Its Sci Fi feel really comes to the fore as do the almost autobiographical elements.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Ken...appreciate that you saw those elements.
j.