jacob-erin-cilberto

Spy

cryptic feelings
messages from hell
come from above a worn out torso
age creeps into a jungle of misgivings
i see you somewhere falling out of reach
but can't decode--
i'm in dispassioned mode,
so i put the note aside
decried into depression
out of concession, shut the windows to my thoughts
tightly,
nightly,

the body weeps
for what it can not reap
but the mind still sows
seeds of what it could know
if given half a chance
to dance
with the devil in pale daylight

cryptic feelings
scrawled on uninvited walls
failure in blood, graffiti
written for a fall,
time's a wastin'
and i would like to be tastin'
a menu of delightful dreams
if only we could sleep together as
undercover agents

working for the same side
of love.

A Pampas State of Mind

assumptions like blades of grass
on a plain going south,
so neatly cut
satisfied mower meanders through dead dandelions
raking in the fresh smell of limp thoughts
occasioned to a purpose, then sliced away from objective,

like an intransitive verb
i reek with the aroma of ego
the predicate adjective refers back to me
like the silence i feel in the room
when others view my yard with disdain.
and i imagine it's envy.

Checking the Queen in the Empty Seat

sitting in the devil's parlor
smoking morals down to my knuckles
playing five card stud with black angels
but i get all red cards, and feel flushed
apples for snacks but they appear eden old
and i have a serpent's tongue
when i spit into the wind
and lay down my hand
upon a breast that feels warm and sticky
with the perspiration of a joker
who's wild and has spiked my drink
with the clarity
that i am no longer an invited guest
to the game.

ken gilbert aka jacob "fog" erin-cilberto teaches English at

John A. Community college in Carterville, Illinios--

his work has appeared in magazines and poetry journals since 1970- His ninth book of poetry, titled "the Black Album" was released in early June--He also teaches poetry workshops for the Heartland Writers Guild and Southern Illinois Writers Guild and performs his poetry in a duet with world renown clarinetist, Eric Mandat. Their duet appears on line at www.opal-online.org. He lives in Carbondale, Illinois with his wife, poet and short story writer Laura DeMali Gilbert.

jacob erin-cilberto's poetry can be read on