uncertainty

uncertainty

 

 

i am in the middle of

the nowhere-est state of mind

the capital is burning

like the ideas that are tinder

to nothing

poems that never get off the ground

except in smoky waves 

of forgotten lines

never learned in the first place

 

a place in the sky reserved

as they float upwards

and I think of you

How much I loved you

and then crossed the border

into my nowhere-est state of mind

 

pretty scenery

but no words to describe it

maybe if I memorize some Creeley

I could describe flowers "like this one

like that one, like..."

the nowhere-est state of mind

boggling synonyms that aren't like

anything ever written or coaxed into a Thesaurus

 

yes, I loved you

in the beginning, in the middle

and now at the end of my 

state of mind

 

where poems are still illegal

but sold on the black market

of imagination.

 

 

erin-cilberto

9/24/2023

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

Uncertainty is not a happy place to be. It is stressful and I felt unease reading through these lines. This poem speaks to me about poetry and the dissatisfaction we can all get with our own work. No need for you to worry there J. You are at the top of your game.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for the kind words, Chris,
j.

[D. Mansfield]

Pain just oozes from this very personal write. I am sorry for your pain, in this life it is yours only to endure and that is one of the hardest things this life brings us. Good luck Jacob

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, D.
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I guess sometimes for some the line 'poems that never get off the ground' is true. But jacob you are prolific in producing perfect poetry. Even this in expressing pain and loss is delivered in a poetic masterpiece. Your mastery of words simply has me in awe.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, John,
j.

[1809 Black Plague Decem..]

oh wow, Cilberto,
Terrible, to experience such,
the world is not perfect, sometimes we get in trouble,
or we step on uncomfortable zones.
I like this poem a lot. It speaks to me,
I must say, the last 3 stanzas are so bea;utifully said,
oh I loved it; so much, great appacionato, ---Maynard,

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind words, Maynard,
j.

[1809 Black Plague December]

You are most welcome, Cilberto

[DIVYA]

"the nowhere-est state of mind" ~ A brilliantly coined phrase that poets so often find themselves in. In the nowhere-est state of mind, there are things so beautiful, they defy description because as you rightly say, no words can describe it. Yet sometimes, love fades at the borders of this state, its a country like no other!

I loved the line ~

"poems that never get off the ground
except in smoky waves
of forgotten lines"

Always something so delightful from you!

[jacob erin-cilberto]

You are always so encouraging to me, Divya,
thank you,
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

For some reason when I read this the song that came to me was billy Joel’s New York state of mind line in one of his songs
I found myself hum it after I read yours
It was only 639 am so that’s saying how much your write was not ! a no where state of mind ! I loved this one Jacob

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you, Julie....I do wish to be somewhere with the old state of mind.
j.

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

I don’t think our mind changes
All that much or our soul we are the same it’s just the outlook changes or the realities of life change

[W. Barrett Munn]

with, “boggling synonyms that aren’t like anything”, you have discovered
a truly gifted and high end slant to this enchanting poem

Winston

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your words, Winston.
j.

[redzone]

I like that ending Jacob.. "where poems are illegal but sold on the black market of the imagination"... I had an adventure in that black market once, but that's another story, for another time... but I have seen your poems in that market, floating around, some hiding behind shrubs or under those tables selling words found in a Thesaurus... let me tell you, that market should be illegal cause it's damn expensive (headaches and anaxiety) to gather the words needed to be arranged in a poem... anyway, I digress... you title this poem "uncertain", and yet somehow in your "nowhere-est state of mind", there is the clarity of a poem drenched in metaphor and still in love!!! in which case, I would recommend go for it, if it is not too late!!! ;0)

any chance you might give me directions to that nowhere-est state... my pen seems to be lost...

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I will write the directions down for you, Curt, I am not sure you can get there from here.
Thanks for your words,
j.

[Kelly Scheppers]

"...the nowhere-est state of mind
boggling synonyms that aren't like
anything ever written or coaxed into a Thesaurus".

You are the paradigm of such a book, Jacob. I so admire.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind words, Kelly,
j.

[Soren]

Jacob another poem that is so identifiable. Yoou have a way of expression that carries the reader along but at the same time not only pulls at the heart but pokes at the mind. My favorite stanza :
"where poems are still illegal
but sold on the black market
of imagination."

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you so much, Soren,
j.