Passenger

Passenger

 

 

 

the luggage of incompatibility

carry on,

carry off

waiting at the turn style

as the bags under your eyes

go round in circles

 

and you find your heart has been misplaced

your emotions,

on the wrong plane

lost in the parallel eccentricity

 

she wants to love you

with no more than a purse of questions

a compact

and no return ticket from where she came

 

but even in a window seat

as you view the landscape of love

getting smaller

the risks shooting toward the clouds

 

rainbows put away in black boxes

the crash of reality expected

dreams told to fasten seat belts

 

but somehow a surprise landing

she holds you as you taxi to paradise

 

finding out you can still fly

first class

and not pay for that second suitcase

filled with non-taxable fear.

 

 

erin-cilberto

8/20/19

Reviews

[Lorry]

Your first line conjures up so many thoughts of all the luggage we carry with us without using, but as it expands it grows arms and legs and by the second verse it really mirrors reality by heading in another destination.
I have been a proponent of the phrase "its not the journey but who you journey with" always prefer flying alone with just a carry on bag. 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for sharing how you relate to this, Lorry...
j.

[Willoby]

LOVE this! Such a creative use of metaphor and hope!
Thank you for the smile!
W

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Willoby,
j.

[redzone]

incompatibility or diversity?? not just an 'opposites attract' thing, but a flight well taken and an unexpected but nice landing.. in other words, what first seems to be, turns into something far better.... this is a good feeling especially since many of our flights have crash landings, passengers all lost at sea....

great poem Jacob... enjoyed muchly....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Curt.
j.

[R.E. Ray]

Reads like what I rehearse every time I fly, imagining the plane crashing on takeoff and again when landing, the calm middle an acceptance of life as it is, out of our control, no easy opportunity to bail out... So, we pray for a euphoric experience that doesn’t kill us, our baggage light and where it’s supposed to land.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

your poetic reply is better than the poem itself...
you are a first class passenger.
thank you, R.E.
j.

[Perdition]

Plethora you are J...hard to figure out what to say about all these curves and paths you wind us down but they are very clever and steep and impressive ones indeed. In this "Passenger" I feel it all as a passenger myself...nothing lost in transit, nothing in translation ..just a voice that is definitely unique.. the "purse and compact and landscape..black box"..well like I said, "hard to figure out what to say about these .." Skillful write is what I can give in sincerity, and a tap of awe as well "non-taxable fear"...pounding the floor and snapping fingers..once again!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind review, Perdition,
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Really really clever love this one Jacob

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Julie.
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Good thing that surprise ending worked out and you didn't need to pay for the extra bag. One went in the overhead one beneath the seat and only a dollar for a pillow and ten dollars for a glass of wine to celebrate.
Most flights don't go this well.

A good write, j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

you are too funny...thanks for the words and the smile, Ted,
j.

[kentuck14]

Ahh . . . life as an extended metaphor! Nice work here J. Is there a name for your style in contemporary poetry? Not sure I've seen it elsewhere. Definitely unique.
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

just free verse, metaphorical....thank you for your kind words, Tom,
j.

[Fairy Khan]

Who knows what future holds in store!
Nice write. Your allegory in this one is great.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Fairy....
j.

[DAH]

This is one of the most exact writings of being a flight passenger that I have every read. All of it is simply spot on. This is masterful, really masterful, and the humor in the closing stanza is unique.

Bravo, jacob!
DAH

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, DAH,
j.

[DAH]

My pleasure, j.