Lonely Employment

Posted on by jonicaggiano
Poem by Joni Caggiano on 10.10.20 – photograph by Iwona Castiello d’Antonia (Unsplash)



you ride your bike, crying down the hard dirt road
your morning spent killing flies
their price, a penny a carcass
handing me my money through the soul of their drunken hollow
you wonder, would they spend a penny for me
I buy hot balls in a brown paper bag with my pennies
they torture my tongue, geographical as it was
it seems I am a rarity for the military doctors
I stick paintbrush handles up my nose
and bubble gum when its sugar is gone
anemic, they threaten me with blood transfusions
sounds interesting to me; I ride home with my torture
now I kill flies on the outside of the door
of the red-brick house, with my bedroom with its cold red floor
You will collect copper-colored prizes
but not for a while, as they will be sick
lonely employment for the sober

42 thoughts on “Lonely Employment”

    1. Good morning beautiful Button, my goodness you were burning the midnight oil my sweet friend. I am so glad you liked this piece.

      “It is a masterpiece.”

      Thank you for your lovely comment. It means so much. Thank you for all the love and of course I am sending some right back. I hope you are getting some rest now and fast asleep. Love you xoxoxo 💕❤️❤️💖🤗😘 honeybun

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      1. Good afternoon my dearest honeybun. I should avoid all- nighters, yet…. Anyway back to your poem. It’s so powerful and so well executed. I am in awe.
        More love to you and more power to you. Go girl!
        xoxoxo….

      2. Oh thank you my dear sweet and beautiful Button. I hope you received my last two comments. I actually checked to make sure I saw the one I wrote on your beautiful new poem. Your comment this morning on my new piece was the first one and it touched my heart. I responded right away. I know sometimes you don’t get all your comments. Thank you for this lovely second comment. I have decided to branch out a bit and write what is difficult for some to read. I owe my friends that much. I don’t like to stir or hurt people who have dealt with their abuse and pain and had wonderful lives. There are still many living the nightmare. I must speak for them too.

        However we all have pain, struggles and injustice in our lives no matter what the cause and we have to cry the tears and move forward. It is my faith I give the credit too as well as my survival and of course to God.

        I love the new poems you are writing for your next book for many of the same reasons. I see great depth and emotion for love of all things of course but I also see much deeper issues in your writings. Issues that touch the tender, giving and loving individual that you are. You strive for love, peace, harmony and great compassion and I see it in your published book and your new pieces. Now don’t be cross as I know you don’t like too much of a fuss made about you or your work but I shall not be quiet my friend. People should know the gift God has blessed you with. Also the great heart you have so full of love for others.

        We are both so blessed also to continue to meet more amazing talented people every day and learn from all of them.

        Thank you honeybun from the bottom of my heart. Love to you always. 😘🤗💕❤️

      3. Good evening my dearest honeybun. Thank you again for your kind words. Branching out is always good. It helps us. It helps others too.
        “We are both so blessed also to continue to meet more amazing talented people every day and learn from all of them.” That is so true hon. I feel blessed too.
        Wishing you a lovely evening.
        Love you
        G (Button)

      4. It is so wonderful to hear from you dear Button. Always my pleasure my friend. I am so glad we are both blessed. I keep you in my prayers. Thank you for the kind wishes Button. I am branching out and taking your advice about applying to more magazines as well.

        Wishing you all the love, happiness and blessings my dearest Button.
        Love you
        J (honeybun)

  2. This is stunning poignant moving poetry. The images tug at the warm heart, dripping emotions into my soul. You are amazing and very gifted, my friend. Thank you for sharing your heart in such sublime poetry. Much love and blessings to you, Joni❤❤👍😊

    Reply

    1. Oh thank you dear Suzette. Your support and gracious words mean so much.

      “This is stunning poignant moving poetry. The images tug at the warm heart, dripping emotions into my soul.”

      High praise from such an amazing poet.

      Have a blessed weekend Suzette and a great Sabbath. Sending love ❤️ hugs 🤗 and blessings. Joni

      I

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    1. You are very kind. You make me smile Tiffany and I appreciate your support so much. I don’t see myself that way at all. When I write truth it sometimes is hard for people to read but I have decided to write more truth because I owe it to those who relate and those who want to understand. I am blessed by my faith and convinced I survived only because of God’s Grace and a couple of miracles in my life as a child and adult as well. I think I write my best work when God guides my pen.
      Your friendship means so much as does everyone who I know and love on line. Thank you sweetie. Have an amazing day. Love ❤️ ya Joni

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  4. Wow what descriptive poetry that is so moving and powerful Joni.
    You are so incredibly gifted with your words that stir the soul.. it did mine.
    Have a wonderful Sunday and lots of love to you! ❤️ Cindy

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Cindy I am so touched by your loving and gracious words my friend. They mean so much to me. I am blessed by your support and feel touched by your connection. Thank you Cindy we just finished our on-line service. It will be a blessed Sabbath and I pray you have an amazing Sunday as well. Love ya Joni 😘🤗💕❤️🙏

      Reply

      1. You are so welcome Joni!!! You are so deserving and welcome! It is my honor to read your beautiful poetry and respond! I too feel blessed by your kind heart and words in mutual respect and admiration!
        Oh happy Sabbath to you! Love ya as well. 💕❤️💕💕

    1. Thank you dear Anna. It does but I can’t hope that someone else reads it and realizes it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with them. It isn’t their fault and they can have a good life. Look at all that you have achieved my dear friend. You are such an inspiration. I am so grateful to know you and blessed to call you friend. Sending lots of love your way and many hugs and prayers too. Much love, 💕❤️💖Joni

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    1. Thank you for your kind words dear friend. They mean a lot to me. I am truly blessed in that God was always close by and I survived and became a more empathetic, intuitive and grateful person as a result of my childhood. I started writing very early in life as it was a release for me. Thank you so much for reading. I had a lot of wonderful teachers and I loved school because it was a safe environment. I have such respect for all teachers and professors.

      Have an amazing week my friend. Love ❤️ Joni

      Reply

    1. Thank you John. I certainly do appreciate and am humbled by your support as well as anyone who takes the time to read my work. I hope you have an amazing day my friend. Love and hugs 🤗💕🤗💕❤️Joni

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  8. That is the battle, so eloquently pronounced Joni! Sweetness comes through even with a bitter sweet challenges. I actually biked to work because I wanted to. I carried work and home on the handle bars. There was a little cycle drama at both places.. Thank you for sharing the journey of test. Sending you applauds of loving cheers. 💗☕️☕️💗🌺🍃

    Reply

    1. I truly hope you were able to have some joy as a child. We are all tested, have our hardship but I wish children didn’t have to often grow up so fast. Thank you for taking the time to read as I know you are an extremely busy person. It means a lot. Love y’all ❤️Joni

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind comments and encouragement Katy. I am delighted you enjoyed it. Not the easiest thing to read but my blog is an ACOA blog. Sending moon flowers for tonight. Love ❤️ Joni

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      1. Ah….it’s relatable. And believe me….although my blog is seen as very joyful, I can’t tell You how many times I’m challenged or truly going through something difficult. I paint and post honestly what I’m feeling….sometimes even feeling a bit raw and embarrassed…and somehow, surprisingly to me, developed this reputation as such a happy blogger! For whatever reason…when I express what I’m feeling through my painting/words…it reads joyful to others even when it does not to me. This was truly mysterious to me for a long time….but I love it and….Ok! Kindof fun that that’s how it lands. I have no problem with that whatsoever…or with anyone else’s process on their blogs. All the forms of expression/colour are healing to someone somewhere and we must express as we are led do!!! Your work/process is so lovley! ❤️❤️❤️

      2. Wow Katy I am so glad you shared that with me. Thank you my friend. This is truly surprising to me. Now I will be pondering this for a while. This poem was basically wrote about exactly what happened on many a hot day spent in our tiny brick house on a drunken weekend day. I can almost feel the power of that bike underneath me as I am driving away from the house on a dirt road that led to a very tiny general store.

        I am curious now and also a bit sad that somehow I had this Pollyanna life on the island I could almost see for you. I certainly pictured it. Well I always read your work more than once. I will try and do so with a blank slate next time. Everyone has pain in their life. You certainly don’t have to be happy for anyone. You should write exactly what you feel and if our translation is somehow happy then that must be what God wants us to see. Your artwork really is exciting to me because most of the time it feels like pure joy. I did wonder about the blue lady as it was almost as though she was a beautiful woman who was being overshadowed.
        Thank you for this sweet and trusting share. Your very talented in your writing and artwork. Gifted my friend. I love you Katy 💕 Joni 🦋🦋

      3. Oh, You’re so sweet! I’m just like anyone else…we’ve all got a story! I AM a pretty joyful person…but like everyone else; all the colours run in me. And gosh, I think we unwittingly ALL do that….picture what we think a person is…we can’t help it! I catch myself doing it now and again and pretty much always, I’m wrong. 🤣 I think that’s part of being human! 😅 And I’m truly in a fine place. You are ABSOLUTELY invited to look at my art with any kind of slate at all!!! It’s a WONDERFUL, sweet gift that people find my work joyful! How fun! It wasn’t my intention but I’ll happily take it!!! I didn’t/don’t have a through-line or theme for my art. There is no intellect behind any of it..or my writing. I just LOVE to paint and write. Honestly. Times I have a plan, once I start painting….the painting does what it wants. So there TRULY is no deep seated message or pain hidden there. I don’t feel misunderstood and I am 100% myself in my art and on my blog. Just, being on the planet; some days I’m pissed off, or cranky, or bitchy or tired…and my blog is a game for me. I post 2 new pieces of digital art a week…(my fine art takes me much longer to paint and gets posted when completed). Most often I am slamming it out at the last minute….so whatever mood I’m in can’t help but be behind it/in it/through it. As You well know, it just is that way for all of us artists of every medium! But without fail, no matter how stinky I may have been feeling, someone will say it really cheered them up! It’s such a fun, sweet gift and has been a FANTASTIC lesson on perspective!!! I love it falling where it may! Art is so subjective and lives a life of its own….which is brilliant! And the blue lady was seriously only blue because I am a freak for the moonlight and realized I’d never painted anyone backlit. I wanted to give her a background and just ended up pouring it all over her! 😅 Thank You more than I can say for Your sweetness and kind words. And Thank You for Your blog and Your trust in everyone! There are an astounding number of loving, crazy talented expressionists on this planet! I’m always telling my beautiful man about everyone and if we ever win the lottery, I’m going to be buying some serious art and writing in blogland!!! 💖 Sending You a Huge hug and tons of Love!!! Love You too! 🤗💖😊

      4. Dear Katy,
        Thank you so much for this long and kind explanation which is very helpful. I do understand what you were talking about and it helps me to understand you and your work more deeply. I too am amazed at the amount of talent that is on the blog at any given time. Thank you for this my friend. I hope you have a tremendously wonderful day and rest of the week. Sending virtual hugs like crazy via my many talented fairy friends. Love y’all bunches. Joni. (I am delighted to hear you have a wonderful man). I always worry about people being alone these days. 😘🤗💕🧚‍♀️🧚‍♀️

      5. Too long! 🤣 And Thank You for all of YOUR kindness!!! Sending virtual hugs and much Love like crazy right back to You!!! 🤗❤️🧚🏽💖😊!

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