empty bar stools

empty bar stools

 

 

sensible feelings

continents displace hearts

 

there are some familiar tones

in the music

 

but we can only dance in dreams

and kiss in spirit

 

why are the clouds gray there

and the sun is shining here

 

why do we scrape our emotions off of sidewalks

and antique shop shelves

 

why are these lines so disconnected

when allegorically we are dissuaded

 

to meld ourselves in contrast

when opposite feelings thrive

 

in dissent.

 

 

erin-cilberto

9/4/2020

Reviews

[Jimmy Yetts]

For two decades of my life, I sat on an empty barstool.
One day, I became sick unto death of being more a camera than a man.
So, I got up, re-lit my soul's pilot and got back to living,
Not what you're saying; what I couldn't help writing.
Obviously, Jacob, a thought-provoking poem.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

but yes, in a way...exactly what I am saying...
you find meanings, my friend.
And that is what I appreciate most about your reviews.
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

title and first three couplets put me there ... i have sat ..an empty bar stool a time or two .. such a lonely place .. just some jutebox music and maybe a buzz of alcoholic fuzz to console .. dimly lit .. no one else in the scene .. ;) these are troubling times and i think some long lasting consequences are going to start showing up ... our long distance connection have limited emotional satisfaction .. i love the turn i see in Vs 3&4 ... the questioning strikes a deep chord of pain ... why can't we meld our differences? I don't know jacob .. perhaps we place more importance on our views than we should .. a closed door only opens from the inside on this one .. great poem says i .. universal and relavent to some specifics says i!
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, Views..rather than compromise...
thank you for your insightful words, E.
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

;) .......................

[X]

..."Dance in dreams and kiss in spirit"--such torture when the heart desires to meld together as one...insightful write Jacob!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your words, Kira,
I was wonder why melancholy is so much easier to write than "happy."
j.

[X]

cos sorrow is is heavier--writing allows us to drain the sadness with words--its a cleansing...although I do enjoy writing happy too...

[Chris Shaw]

I see an ocean divide here, continents apart. Distance but not necessarily lack of feeling. No on the contrary. Two who are connected by a common thread despite the empty bar stools. I like this piece very much J.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, Chris.
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

Ah Cheers ... where nobody no more knows your name ... and when you finally walk through the door no one's going to say ... Norm!
Of course, that's not your name so it won't really matter, so you'll take your place between two empty stools
and order beers for your buddies Charlie and Dylan ... and you'll kibbitz ... trade words & phrases until lights out.
At least that's the bar this took me to.

Good one j.
Take care be safe.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you, Ted..i'll buy Dylan T. a beer, but not Charlie---he can go scratch!
I'll leave that stool for you, my friend. And then we can both get some insights from Dylan.
j.

[Ted Kniffen]

That would be a drink worth having.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

The title provoked an immediate picture in my head. There is something so sad about a bar with empty stools. Like it has lost its soul. In this allegorical piece it seems the two players who are attracted are two poets separated by distance; perhaps even an ocean?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I really like your interpretation of this, John...
thank you,
j.

[Fran Marie]

yes.. I can relate
as I'm sure many can
the created vacuum
is felt here..

that forlorn
feeling of loneliness
comes through
within this melancholy
write the wanton touch
of contact that can only
be found in dreams now
sad but beautifully penned

[jacob erin-cilberto]

your review is more poetic than the poem, Fran...
thank you so much,
j.

[Papaya]

Empty bar stools. Makes me think of people passed on that should be there beside you.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, absolutely, Ana,
thank you.
j.

[andrew mitchell]

The lockdown has brought about another climate change of the mind.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, it has at that, andrew...
j.

[Dave]

Jacob, my friend - it seems like the melancholy of being separated from our friends and those we love is getting to you.
Take care - Dave

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Hi Dave,
well I have found ways to keep in touch...I am keeping pretty good spirits...it's just a poem based on what is happening...but yes, there is a certain sadness for all of us with this mess.
thank you for your words,
j.

[Dave]

Sadly, I know just what you mean- hopefully it will be over soon. Meanwhile - take care - Dave