the flavor of Emily

the flavor of Emily

 

 

i'm imagining

Emily Dickinson with too much make-up

a tattoo of a book of poems 

on her left arm

her hair in vicious curls

 

sitting at her desk staring at a picture of Longfellow

wishful thinking

a queen in awe of her king

her quill moving at light speed

as her heart is racing

 

writing letters to her lovers

but first sending them to the colonel to proofread

just to make him feel he is pertinent to her life

 

i'm imagining

her imagining

the dead poets will rise again

passion will live on in her pen

long after she commits with tassels and coaches

to that funeral in her brain

 

i'm imagining

her looking out her window over the graveyard

praying for friends who passed from consumption

even though she believes not, in a real God

 

i'm imagining

her waiting for a date,

who will never arrive

 

i'm imagining

her writing another letter

to Whom it may concern

 

professing love

then signing it,

"sincerely yours,

         E. Dickinson"

 

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

10/5/19

Reviews

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'the flavor Emily'E
jacob erin-cilberto,
My goodness I get see a little of Emily Dickinson's life.
The opening is wonderful with your lines of
'I'm imagining Emily Dickinson with too much makeup,
a tattoo of poems on her left arm,
her hair in vicious curls.
This famous writer has stepped out of this poem a little more human to me now.
Longfellow must of been a contemporary of hers. I didn't know that- it'll be something fun to look up.
'Sitting at her desk staring at a picture of Longfellow.'
This was great to read and ponder that she was alive and felt and experienced many of
the same things we do.
She lived in a different time and you have shown it's reality here as well.
The mention of;
I'm imagining
her looking out her window over the graveyard
praying for friends who passed consumption
even thought she believes not, in a real God'
The signature at the end of your poem as Emily's was really a great closure too.
professing love then signing it.
'sincerely yours.
E. Dickinson'
Great historical piece.
Blessings,
Kathy

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Kathy....and i am glad you could get a bit of her flavor from this.
j.

[Kathy Van Kurin]

Jacob,
Yes and I did a little reading about her. Very cool may I say! Thanks again for a super piece.
Kathy

[Robert Trakofler]

did something just happen or is i losing my mind but this I think is the third thing i read about Emily dickinson. now i am feeling like an idiot i know so little about her i guess i should take this as a sign to read more of her. I do like Longfellow i have been to his house twice:) I love this I love to channel what others writers might think and write if they were still here it is a fun exercise to try and write in there voice

[jacob erin-cilberto]

what was that like, Longfellow's house?
I was 19 miles from Amherst once...but didn't have time to go there...my poet friend, Jim, was there and visited Emily's house...looked out her bedroom window over the graveyard...i envy him that...i would love to be there one day.
thank you, Bunny,
j.

[Robert Trakofler]

they converted into a museum I used to go to portland every year and I would visit it I probably have been there more than twice actually I will have to dig up some photos. much of it is preserved I did touch his writing table:)

[kentuck14]

Emily Dickinson remains an enigma after all these years . . . solitary, secretive, etc. No wonder many poems have been written about her . . . "Undressing Emily," and one whose title escapes me but begins with a description of her being carried in her coffin from home to a nearby cemetery. I would propose we members of WC write other Emily poems!! (Just a thot!) This reminds that I need to get back at reading her collected poems and study her dashes and thoughts. Reading her makes you want to be transported back in time, knock on her door, introduce yourself, and surprisingly invited in so you can interview her about her life and poetry . . . something like in the Paris Review! Hey I just created an idea there! (been a bit dry lately!) Thanks J for an imaginative piece. Think I'll print this out and ponder it some more. (I do appreciate your poems about well known poets!) Wow, what did I say to get 9 points! That system really gets me!!!
T
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insights, T.
Emily was an amazing poet...and wrote so well from the perspective of the dead, using apostrophe.
she was way ahead of her time...and better than most if not all the male poets of her time.
thank you again, T.
j.

[Mark Mendoza]

This is a veautiful and personal vision of someone perhaps seen in romantic light (all the more charming for this reason). Lovely j.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Mark,
j.

[R.E. Ray]

J., what I enjoy most about this poem is bringing life to someone most know only as a poet, a black and white picture in a school literature book. You make her real, including the doubts and insecurities she might have experienced, making her more like us than we might have otherwise imagined. She is who we want her to be, then and now. One of my favorites from you.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind review, R.E.
j.

[Green]

I have always enjoyed Emily Dickinson as a writer. She was probably one of the first ones who really got me interested in trying to do it myself. As such, I really enjoyed your description. It's like you can really see her there and feel her thoughts and emotions. I truly enjoyed reading this.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Green,
j.

[Chris Shaw]

Love that first stanza. Bringing Emily up to date. The vicious curls, too much makeup, with a tattoo, on her left arm, certainly brought her into our Beth:s decade. Your imagination worked so well here. It was fun to see you in Emily's shoes, thinking how she may well have thought. Particularly as she appeared to have led a really sheltered type of life. Oh for an imagination. What a tool for a poet to possess.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Chris,
j.

[Gee]

And it is the imagination in us all that gifts this site fayre of so many different flavours Jacob, a place that if away too long slowly draws us back in and sets the mind to thinking as to what next to pen.
I thought she might have been given an imagined piercing, something not to discreet, a nose ring perhaps :)
Enjoyed reading this Jacob, hope you are well.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Gee...ha ha, a nose ring..i like that.
j.

[Crowley]

I think this should be a movie. Holy hell, this is so full of wonderful images in sepia tone and I can imagine it to a tee. You really have a great way of setting a tone and crushing it. Loved this Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your very kind words, Crowley,
j.

[Chris]

We ARE the better for our "imaginings" and dreams.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

well we are certainly poets for them,
thank you, Chris.
j.