Away

Away

 

 

commiserating with the bum on the corner

we share his fading Jim Beam thoughts

toss quarters into drawn boxes on the sidewalk

 

he owns,

his turf

his eyes dance as someone flips him a coin

 

he says he will work for food

but I tease and tell him I know better

he just wants a new bottle,

"It's his bag, man"

and it's in his bag, man

 

he could be quarters richer

but those whiskey thoughts

haunt his future

procure his present

color his past

 

with whatever got him to this block

this corner

this lot in life

 

on which his condemned house

condemned marriage

condemned mirage

of a utopia

 

all gone

all sipped

all slipped

 

away.

 

 

erin-cilberto

3/13/24

Reviews

[andrew mitchell]

Lose your job, you lose your house, marriage breaks up and you find yourself on the street with only a drink to dull the pain, the isolation, the desolation, and the loss of a whole life and no future it's tragic for some., very sad. An awful twist of fate.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I would rather have Dylan's "Simple Twist of Fate"---
thank you andrew,

j.

[Poetic Beauty]

Ahh drinking your life away literally one bottle at a time until there is nothing left but whiskey thoughts and bourbon dreams. And even those will fade into nothing as life slips away.

How people get there is not an easy tale for each is different and each has its own twists.

This thought is descriptive and paints a scene. I can see a person talking and sitting next to a bum as he chats sipping on his brown paper bottle.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind review, P.B.
j.

[Chris Shaw]

We do not know why some find themselves on the streets. It can be for a myriad of different reasons. There but for the grace of God go I, my Dad would say. They deserve compassion. No one chooses to live on the streets. A roof over your head is a basic need. The alcohol, I guess numbs the pain for a short while. Addictions though are such a curse. They need help.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Numbing the pain....the handouts go to that quite often.
thank you, Chris,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

Rehabilitating the Addicted would be beneficial… instead of Electing a President every Four years. Millions of dollars are spent on very Healthy and wealthy Candidates who would not consider our People as our Constitution provides (by not having Guidelines and Records of Immigrants integrated into our System. We hopefully would never Elect a President who was addicted to drugs or alcohol… something to Consider. Pat

[jacob erin-cilberto]

That would be a disaster wouldn't it, Pat...yes, not a good idea to elect one.
j.

[emmajoygreen]

There are not tragedies out or hidden on the street, there are human beings who somehow lost the way. Your words are a list of what happens that you, dear sir, have bothered to express in language that - like it or not, is a prayer for his befuddled sorrow. Thank you, jacob.

'he could be quarters richer
but those whiskey thoughts
haunt his future
procure his present
color his past'

He, like many others, swim in alcoholic tears

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I appreciate your words, em,
swimming in those tears...or drowning in them.

[emmajoygreen]

Our world is full to the brim of people swimming against or drowning in some vicious tide or another. Is heartbreaking.

[hiren]

Man if is weak and toy in hands of woman, that woman will ruin kingdoms, best example is nagamma in palnadu.. Even houses damage because of woman playful acts and coward man. What she will do to me, even she tries to kill me, i know how to take action on her, with all proofs, i am not scared let her face me, you dont be crookedly weak. It will damage you.
Sleep well, you hav your work, focus on it these bullshit games people do for fun dorsnt caringvtheir own parents, others and how she woould be responsible for anything.
If man cries then it is the last step he can be capable for not facing fear.


Jessy jacob.

[Betty Hermelee]

When we see a homeless person, we always wonder how that came to be…. Mostly they really prefer booze to food and they can’t seem to move out of their ow shadows, very sad…and multiplies…
Warmly, B

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Yes, they cannot move out of their own shadow...and that is so sad.
j.

[Betty Hermelee]

You’re very welcome J.
Warmly B

[John the Baptist]

"All sipped away." An apt way to describe the effects of alcohol abuse. Unchecked, it can cause all manner of physical and mental damage. The subject of this poem needs help badly, but it's doubtful he will seek it.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

He won't ...almost assuredly, he won't.

[hiren]

Hi Jacob, people do make a difference in life with traditional way of dealing relationship, god ties the knot, to stay together, we dont value it and breaks it, throws it. And people cry for it, who really value the relationship. Everything happens for a reason, its the mistake that haunts you and makes you feel that, what have i done, why did it happen, but the people who really need you are always with you no matter whether they come late in life. But Square, where you have fallen apart, you are standing up with a huge impact who didnt understand your worth. Never mind, a tear or two will drop that shows how much you cared for them, and what you did so much. All the best for everything! You are not alone.

You dont even care a s**t, to reply back

-jessy jacob.

[Vol]

Jacob,
Nicely imaged... The quarters in a chalked out square on the sidewalk... Sometimes I think it is not the choices people make but the fact that once made, they are not satisfied with what they thought would make them happy... This fellow seems to be carrying on just fine, though, get's his booze and some peanut butter crackers, too. If he chose to go home with you neither would be happy.
Vol
Vol

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your kind review, Vol,
j.