Used Lanterns is the first collection of poetry by Jacob Erin-Cilberto I have had the chance to read. The collection displays quite a range in subject and style, and none disappoint. I find myself drawn most to his love poems. He has a way of gliding and guiding the reader softly into the romance of the poem.

A 1957 Love Poem is a physical, visual, tactile poem, scented and singing. He follows this up with A 2010 Love Poem in which the playfulness of words in a modern age of texting, the connection and disconnection of words are brought into clear focus. Forget dating services, just order at the counter is about trying to find love in our electronic age and Knuckles is a reminder there can be passion and strong emotion behind the word play lovers create when dancing together through Internet or printed page.

Any writer might love the word play of the punctuations in Dress Up, Hand Me Downs while Claim Adjusters Holiday assesses the damage of loving.
Specimen addresses those of us who are endlessly twittering and posting on face book, gathering unseen friends.
Sometimes whimsical, sometimes hard-hitting, his poems cover quite a range of territory, marking the path he and we make through the geography of our lives.

My favorite poem in this collection is I'm you, I'm me, I'm us. I will leave you with a glimpse which is just part of the reason this poem is my favorite in this collection. The poet writes …

"careful in the shower
I may try to slip you a poem
in here, anything goes…"
( )