The Dollar Menu

The Dollar Menu

 

 

 

5th floor

a dumb waiter

serving hamburgers

at a joint

on Sedgewick 

a familiar face from sixty years thence

 

menus for lunch 

at a house near the grade school

young friends 

goodbyes to strangers

5th floor

flying away

 

Santa came in through the fire escape

I waited under the tree

flying away 

in my dreams

on Sedgewick

a dumb waiter

 

the fries limp

from walking five flights

up

I wave to the street

goodbyes to strangers

and a familiar face from sixty years thence

 

my face

my dreams

my cold fries.

 

 

erin-cilberto

12/23/21

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

hmmmmmmmmmmmm! such a pleasant feeling i have in reading this jacob .. you lived on Sedgwick eh!? such a rich history says i! like the Bronx itself ... when we were kids, jacob, the world was so very different .. simpler, more innocent despite naysayers .. a dollar could buy a pretty good meal .. and all kinds of presents ... it wasn't happy holidays .. (such a limp fry term says i) .. it was Christ is born .. Merry Christmas! .. it seems our America today wants to ignore that blaring truth .. it a celebration of Almighty God becoming a man to show us His great abiding love for all mankind .. i love your poem .. so easy to be that boy watching the "spirit" grow as Christmas Day approaches .. good stuff as always my friend!
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, 1955, and I can still bring our old apartment up on Google Earth...amazing, since we lived in it in the fifties...it still is in really good shape.
we could see the glare of the lights in the sky when the Yanks had night games...were were 2.5 miles from the stadium...right along the Harlem river and the Major Deegan expressway...
Yes, I miss when it was just okay to say Merry Christmas...

thank you, E.
j.

[Einstein Noodle]

such history .. the brown stones last forever eh!? plenty of inspiration to draw from I would think .. Happy New Year! :)

[Sami Khalil]

Happy times for the poet with even the small offerings but with large child imaginings . Even the cold fries can trigger those etched memories.
May you be blessed in all.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind words, Sami,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Whoa... Christmas to me would be riding in a Sleigh through the Snow with my favorite Horses ... in my Dreams. In the Fifties... Christmas trees were real and affordable. This year, we have a "real" Table-top Balsam tree ... cut and sitting in Water... like the Good 'ol days. Your poem is very Nostalgic and I felt your Joy as a young Boy. Be Brave and listen for the sounds of Christmas Bells. tenderly, Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

we had thick, full balsa trees as well, and my dad had to get up on the top rung of the step ladder to put the star on top...high ceilings in our apartment building.
and our tree had the big lights...the dark blue, dark red, dark green etc....loved those lights.
and I think our trees cost about three dollars.
thank you, Pat,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Professor... growing up in the Fifties... Pennies were worth much more. Today... there is Credit and Debt... and then Death eventually. Now we may be required to only have Electric Cars. What "If the Lights go out in Georgia"... a Song that has more meaning than ever before. The commercial on TV these days is a Bottle of Capsules full of every fruit and vegetable. We need to Save our Planet... and grow our fruits and vegetables. I feel dizzy when I think of what our Grandchildren may have to over-turn== "Fresh Food verses "Capsules". So much "Change" in a Short Time. Thanks for "sharing", The Burden is "lighter". Hope and Healing for the New Year. truly, Pat

[.]

But those cold fries still taste as good as they did 60 years ago...even in your dreams. I guess Christmas always makes us look back on those we enjoyed in the past...the decorations, meals and whatever delights we found under the tree. Always strange that Santa still looks the same but we have changed markedly. He must have a snow cone maker of eternal youth hidden somewhere in the North Pole. This is a lovely reminiscing poem, Jacob. As long as the boy with the fries stays in memory, youth is eternal. Have a great Christmas, my friend. ⚘

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Maybe Santa is a vampire...
thank you for your kind words, Jamila,
and have a great Christmas yourself.
j.

[John the Baptist]

It is strange how the oldest memories can be triggered by ordinary events. The usual Christmas celebration has evidently brought to consciousness scenes from NYC 60 years past. I think Christmas brings nostalgia to many. These memories seem a lot more pleasant than those of a lot of people.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I loved this holiday as a kid.
I loved looking at all the decorations...the real trees, the real meaning of it all.
It is different now...funny, in NY in our apartment we had either 12 or 14 foot ceilings...we got tall trees and dad had to get up on a stepladder to put the angel on top.

Thank you John...
and I hope you have a peaceful and blessed holiday.
j.

[William Michael Reeves]

I don't believe Santa likes cold fries. Your poem reminded me of a song....there ain't no chimneys in the projects. I wish I knew what Sedgewick was. A place? Person?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Sedgwick Avenue...the street I lived on in the Bronx. Right near Yankee Stadium...2.5 miles.
and yes, no chimneys in the projects...
thank you, Bill,
j.