How it is...

How it is...

 

 

 

New York streets are just different

the vibe is city-er than most

the concrete harder, but shines with graffiti poems

when the Moon peeks through the high-rise skies

and the skyscraper's eyes

 

the walk and the talk are like no other

attitude waits at the crosswalk

with glares and stares

and solemn oaths to find country

the thoughts shuffle along

echoing to themselves

 

conversations solo

striding into Soho

and Greenwich Village

to pillage inspiration

to write, spite or take flight

in elevator shoes

spreading the blues

with cigarette butts smoked to the burn of fingers

hopscotch minds pontificate

to a crowd not listening

 

they all have their own reasons for being there

for finding solace in the bottom of a bottle of ilk

and circumstance

 

New York streets are just different

even the silence is wary

the alleys fear themselves

as the dark night, the somber night

is a razor's edge of insanity

 

but when the daylight once again

shows its brilliant face

illuminated skies cry tears of joy

 

and the bustling rovers

with red faces and carefree incentive

come over...

as the street games

begin again.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

6/29/19 

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

How true...the Big Apple is different than all other cities I have been lucky enough to experience. The people, the atmosphere, the aura. The streets can be scary at night, but somehow there seems to be safety in numbers. I liked the rhythm of this write....it had the beat of a throng of people moving through the streets. The scattered rhyme was so effective. Lydi**

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Lydi,
j.

[PaintedBirdy]

loved this. i immediately thought of de Certeau's chapter Walking In the city. and was there a maugham reference? :) bro, your writing is tops legit.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

no reference purposely...but thank you for relating...glad you could feel the walk.
j.

[PaintedBirdy]

oh, if you haven't read Walking In the City, I highly recommend it. like more than anything. i'm not trained in english but i was trained in rhetoric, which i always believed was related, and this chapter is iconic in the field. it's really good.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

will check it out when i can...thanks Mondaine...
j.

[PaintedBirdy]

welcome! thanks for sharing!

[Ted Kniffen]

Your poem evokes a scene that is at once troubling and beautiful. I have never visited and yet thanks to the movies I feel as though I have been there, quite possibly the most filmed city in the world. Plus, just finished reading a 400 year history of the city by Steven H. Jaffe...fascinating to learn how the city developed.

A wonderful description that places the reader in the middle of Washington Square Park and takes tem on a great tour.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Ted,
j.

[Cherrie Palmer]

You always but such a personal, and energetic spin on a topic, and in a natural way.
I have never wanted to roam around in NY City, but I would love to take a boat ride past The Statute of Liberty, straight to Ellis Island (I always have).

[jacob erin-cilberto]

that boat ride is pretty cool...i think we took a Ferry..from what i remember...

thank you for your words, my friend,
j.

[Sneh]

Creative concept Jacob....
"hopscotch minds pontificate
to a crowd not listening"
I liked this and a must venture to the streets of New York :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind comment, Sneh,
j.

[MsJewel]

You are so creative Jacob. I'm in awe of your word choice. Fabulous place to visit - New York. Glad I don't live there. The dark alleys scare me too. :) Julie

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Hi Julie,
yes, to visit...my almost nine years there were not the happiest...i like country, pastures instead of those alleys.
but part of me is glad to have experienced it in my youth...my dad worked in the Chrysler Building...and i got to go there on Bring a Brat to work day....he also worked a few times in the Empire State building and i got to go there.
but i like maples, not skyscrapers...
thanks for your visit and kind words, my friend
j.

[Gee]

Top read Jacob. Much to busy a place for me, I like calm, quiet, safe !!
Great piece of writing, loved it :))
Good morning, hope all is well in the United States of Farce :))

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I was spoiled by the summers and Octobers spent up in Vermont...i like farms and cows and quiet.
read moreI was spoiled by the summers and Octobers spent up in Vermont...i like farms and cows and quiet.
even as a kid i knew i wanted to get away from NY...great place to visit...but i am glad to live in a rural area here in Southern Illinois...beautiful here...but then it's Illinois...with its corrupt politics, high taxes, and so many people leaving every year...thank you for your words Gee.
j.

[Neville]

I am not a city person but because I want to cram as much in as possible, they are inevitable.. I have only had a few days in New York so far, far too short a time, and so plan to return some time in the future and although hardly qualified to pass judgement, I would say you nailed it here..... Thoroughly enjoyed jacob.

Neville

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Neville,
j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I am not a city person either ...even in my youth when i lived in Bronx...i didn't like it...we spent those six weeks every summer up in Ryegate, Vt...and it was beautiful...farms, pastures...mountains...that was what i loved and still do.

[Neville]

maybe we should form a cult...

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You really do describe well the sights and sounds of New York as you inject some detail of that metropolis into this great verse with wonderful word play. Cities are not my favourite places but they do have unique identities and characteristics. Tyr Hanoi lol!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, they are not mine either...thank you, John.
j.

[Chris]

Nailed the 'tude and vibe pretty well - depending on street and place.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Chris...
j.