the day after

the day after

 

yesterday i was thankful

today i am remorseful, vengeful

pitiful

leftover regret

undigested

 

kicked the stuffing out of

my heart

 

and left me 

dressing the wound

with a grimace

but no solace

 

no dessert

deserved

or feelings 

preserved

 

dinner ended

you ended

 

and we ran out of napkins

to wipe the tears

off our lips.

 

 

 

erin-cilberto

11/30/19

Reviews

[Cassie]

I so much relate to this, loved it

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for finding this in the heap...i appreciate you, Cassie....
j.

[gram linski]

it's like the last meal of the disenchanted, another fine write with some great lines, eating our own misery for nourishment,

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, gram,
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Love this metaphor you are the wizard of these

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Julie...
j.

[kentuck14]

To the Bard of Carbondale:
Wonderful set of images you give us here my friend! Love as a dinner party . . . so much is shared of ourselves over eating a meal together. But my thoughts harken back to a previous poem of yours . . . "I Believe." Adam and Eve shared a piece of fruit together that lead to a parting of their true selves . . . which always leads to an incomplete union . . . even in the best of times. Something of this I tried to share in my poem, "A Short History of Failure." Another great poem you have shared with us!!! You always give us something to contemplate . . . love it!!
T

[jacob erin-cilberto]

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

[John the Baptist]

No doubt about it, getting dumped does suck, although it sounds like both parties suffered. Makes one wonder if celibate monks know something the rest of us don't know. The telling showed admirable restraint, but the pain is understood.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and monks know about restraint, don't they my friend?
thank you,
j.

[David Klay]

You create such heartfelt visuals in this one. The last stanza is so perfect. Amazing, yet again, Jacob.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, David.
j.

[Carola]

yes sometimes hurts linger on.
i've come to a late realisation that if you can retrain your brain to 'not care' then it doesn't get to you.
it's funny how all these hurts resurrect & come to surface at family events.... unless you have a family rule of 'no reflections or brooding allowed' & only talk about other things.
cheerio carola

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your insightful words, Carola,
j.

[alanwgraham]

This is a fine wee poem Jacob and very true to life. I like that it is simple yet subtle. Your poem catches and describes a scenario that most of us will have experienced. Emotions get tangled and amplified until tears or worse get spilled. You have some lovely touches -' no desserts deserved' and 'ran out of napkins'.
Cheers,
Alan

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Alan,
j.

[Pete]

clever analogy how you entwined lost love with thanksgiving dinner. there's always next year and new love. tears are water under a bridge but thank god for gravy boats ... :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, those gravy boats...nice metaphor there, Pete...thank you for the smile....
j.

[DIVYA]

Most dinners seem to end with indigestion nowadays. So there’s little to be thankful about. Expecting dessert is too much, I’d be grateful simply to end the meal without an overdose of regret and remorse.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i really like your metaphorical response, DIVYA...thanks for that.
j.