chasing flawed rainbows

chasing flawed rainbows

 

 

 

velvet lawns

perfect blades of satisfaction

the shutters with immaculate personification

houses alive with dollar-sign, stenciled windows

 

as if they were laughing at those peering

from the other side of influence

 

insulated from slum-soaked gutters

and the chipped paint of poor patches

of duct taped abodes

with scattered fenders

lying in the dandelion strewn yards

of make-do residents

 

they turn the other way

as they drive their BMW's 

along the borders

 

thankful for their 

velvet lawns

perfect blades of satisfaction

 

and pristine neighborhood

where the lines are drawn

in street signs,

street names

Cadillac back yards

where their perfect children

play,

totally inoculated to keep them safe

 

from the other side of influence.

while dirty hands, scraped knees

and indigent hearts

just a few miles away

 

appreciate having any kind of roof

over their heads

breathe the perfectly imperfect air

of the real life

 

they own.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

8/24/19

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

"Of the real life they own" is the hard truth! Though it requires mentioning again and again to my children, now 23 and 25, extravagant houses and luxury cars are most often signs of debt... not wealth. Yes, while those on the "other side of town" may have less, they often own more (or at least owe less), mostly because they're denied credit extended to those most likely to pay the giant banks more interest. Interesting reference to rainbows here. I think we'd find any empty pot on each end, or pots stuffed with past due notices.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i learned the hard way....buy only what you can afford to pay for now...live less extravagantly and you will owe less...
and now...i feel comfortable with what i have...and own it all...no debt.
thank you for your understanding review, R.E.
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Jacob... a well spoken story of real life... when will we understand
the injustice of the heart around the world. Now ""would be leaders" use
injustice as a political tool. truly, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, they do, Pat....yes they do..
thank you,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

you are welcome... the Circle of understanding...
p.

[Lorry]

And the meek are still being told the cheque is in the post.
As if life doesn't come with enough labels, it also comes with invisible lines and barriers putting us further into smaller and smaller boxes, judgement by postcode/ zip code.
The haves blind to the havenots, until one of us escapes our box and is deemed worthy of their time. I think I'll stay in my box rather than be deemed worthy from the most unworthy.
You do get used to the dirty hands and scraped knees, eventually. 😀

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, Lorry.
j.

[andrew mitchell]

There will always be the haves and the have nots but the way we are treating Earth currently, we are all becoming together as the have nots. What was that Indian proverb....only when the last tree has been chopped down, the water all but dried up, and animals and plants all gone, will white man realise you cant eat money!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, andrew.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

A story of the haves and have nots and sadly the situation appears to be getting worse. Our homeless situation here is appalling. Governments aren't building houses and yet they encourage high immigration. You can't do that without building homes, schools and hospitals. Should have been a politician. There are some right dumbos in politics these days. In it for the wrong reasons. You Must help the vulnerable. That tells what type of society we live in. A topical write Jacob.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind and understanding review, Chris.
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

One thing about growing up poor...which I did...is that we have an appreciation for what money can bring, but we can survive if we don't have it. Maybe it was the way we were brought up...some days you went to bed hungry, but it didn't kill you.
Yes, more should be done to address the people caught in poverty...as has been said "give me a hand up, not a hand-out".
Unfortunately government control works best giving hand-outs.

Good one, j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your understanding words...Ted...yes, it's like that.
j.

[redzone]

and sometimes that divide is only 1 block away.... and this divide is growing as more and more find themselves in that 'make-do' neighborhood, while many have already given up hope of ever having 'velvet lawns'....

what irks me is that (it's something I learned back in the day, and once learned you can't unlearn) is that our velvet lawns and pristine homes is based on the poverty of most of humanity.... as the saying goes, "we live in Tony Soprano's house but don't want to know where the wealth comes from"....

love your poetry Jacob, you know how to write, and write with consciousness.... something there isn't enough of these days...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind review, Curt...and your understanding...
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

The haves and the have nots. You portray the pristine streets of middle class America so well in this as they ignore the plight of the homeless and the poor. I guess the question is whose responsibility is it to deal with poverty and inequality?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

not sure there is a middle class left....here we seem to have two sides...opposite ends of the spectrum.
thank you for your words, John,
j.

[Jade]

just the way some people know, and some have a hard road while others want their paved. Wonderful intriguing write. Love this

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Jade.
and hope you are feeling better and gaining strength...so glad to see you here again.
j.