She Could Not Go But Dare Not Stay

Poem by Joni Caggiano – Photography by Kaboompics.com




wasted librettos float through white sheets hung out yesteryear to dry
her pain begins behind dour cheeks and strikes notes off pages
lonely tears no longer owning a tributary are sent away to lament and die

on her way home, she passes a graveyard for spellbound weeping willows
porcelain pores ache to be heard, open still awaiting his touches
lemongrass and musk smells fill the silent room as she lay across pillows

candles melted, wax leaving lines of memories on their bedside table, gone
breathing in traces of the last time their sacred love was shared
blowing dust off his old turntable, now naked she drank, playing their song

gazing out the windows she no longer recognized, she felt she was in a play
must I wait to die before I see my husband sit there again, laughing
studying the melancholy room, she knew she could not go, and yet, she could not stay

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49 thoughts on “She Could Not Go But Dare Not Stay

  1. Lovely in form, rhyme, and beautiful wording! Profound and yet delivered in a dreamy diatribe that draws the reader in. And the closing is powerful, leaving a mark on the reader after the words are done. Well written, Jonikins!

    1. Wow, Brad you just made my day dear friend. Coming from the master of poetic form your comment is truly touching my heart. I so appreciate your support, kindness and readership.

      โ€œLovely in form, rhyme, and beautiful wording!โ€

      I needed a boost today Brad and your lovely words just did the trick my friend. Thank you again Brad. Hope all is well with you.
      Sending you lots of extra love and enough lovely scents in silk pockets tied with rose ribbon to keep your house smelling very beautifully for the next year. ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿงšโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿงšโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ˜˜
      Love,
      Jonikins

    1. Thank you my kind friend. I do appreciate your kind reblog. I have met some wonderful new poets from your reblog that I have really enjoyed and now follow. So thank you for being included amongst that talented group.
      Hope your day is full of kindness and love my dear friend. I hope you are still being safe as things are pretty nuts still in the United States.
      Love,
      Joni ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹

    1. Hello my friend it is so nice to hear from you. Thank you kinge for your very sweet words. Yes I am well and pray you and your family are all well too.
      Thank you for your gracious support.
      Love,
      Joni ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹

    1. Thank you Captain! I am so glad you liked it my friend. Thank you for reading and your kind comment. It is very appreciated.
      Hope you have an amazing day filled with love. ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธJoni

    1. Thank you so kindly Tiffany. You are a sweetheart and I appreciate your sweet words. Sending you love, hugs and happy thoughts and dreams my dear friend.
      Love,
      Joni
      ๐Ÿ˜˜๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐Ÿงšโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹

  2. Hi Joni,
    You have written well, and you describe with intensity a setting that can be taken in very divergent manners. This is definitely a talent, to leave the reader an option of choosing his or her preferred reference point. That option allows the level of recovery achieved to determine that reference point. Talented indeed! Blessings, Joni!

    1. Thank you so much for reading and your very gracious words my friend.

      โ€œThis is definitely a talent, to leave the reader an option of choosing his or her preferred reference point.โ€

      Thank you again for your gracious statements about this piece and for reading. Love and blessings to you my friend and to all those you hold in your heart. โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’•Joni

      1. Thank You! You are also very talented in the ability to praise with sincerity the work of others. Blessings, Joni!

      2. You are so welcome. I couldnโ€™t find you on line and luckily my husband helped me so I could follow. Blessings to you my friend. Sending love also. โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’•Joni

  3. Such incredibly beautiful poetry, Joni. The emotions and imagery you can evoke in your writing is truly remarkable to me. The opening line โ€œwasted librettos float through white sheetsโ€œ is incredible ๐Ÿ’—

    1. Thank you so much Katy for all your kind words. You are such a sweetheart and such an amazing talent that your words are really appreciated and your support is too. I know your time is precious. Hopefully you are busy teaching others how to sing with lots of lessons. If it were not for COVID would you ever consider traveling with a professional theater group as a singer? Love โค๏ธ Joni

    1. Thank you so much for your gracious words of support my friend. I am so glad you enjoyed this piece. Have a amazing weekend. Love and hugs to you and yours. ๐Ÿฆ‹Joni

    1. Well Anna thank you from the deepest part of my heart and the feelings that I have always worn so easily visible on my sleeves. That is a very kind compliment and gracious as are you.
      Love you dear Anna. ๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹

    1. Thank you dearest Button. I appreciate your kind words my friend and your reading. Wishing you the best on your amazing piece on SpillWords. It is one of our favorites. Of course it is so deserving of our vote. I went into your site as soon as I saw it, to make sure you did. I know how busy you are. Love โค๏ธ you dearest Button.
      (J) Honeybun

    1. Sometimes I wonder if people know just how much their kind comments mean. Thank you Samreen for your kindness and taking time to read and provide this very thoughtful comment.
      I am glad you liked the last line, I did too. Sometimes we get blessed and those just pop into our heads.
      Sending love and blessings to you and your loved ones my friend. ๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹Joni

      1. It’s a pleasure Joni โค๏ธ and I so agree with you, kind comments are so delightful, even I feel happy throughout the day that at least someone there is appreciating your thoughts. And I so appreciate yours. ๐Ÿ˜Š
        Sending love and wishes back at you โค๏ธ๐Ÿค—๐ŸŒท Take care and have a wonderful week ahead.

    1. Thank you my friend for your kind comment. Haunting is what I was going for so thank you sweet Katy. Trying to write this morning. It is cold and wet now for a couple of days. I enjoy the change in weather but have to get myself in the mood to write. Sending you lots of love, inspiration and blessings to both you and your sweetheart. ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐Ÿ˜˜PS your dragon flew over last night and took away all the fallen leaves. I told him, after his sweet hug, that I enjoyed the leaves so he brought ours back along with all the others from our neighbors. Give him kisses for me. Love โค๏ธ Joni

      1. ๐Ÿคฃ!!! Laughing because we never rake! We love the fall leaves as well!!! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ And my pleasure!!! I wish You a wonderful writing time. Sometimes I enjoy the staring-off-empty-headed moments as much as the ones that flow. And that’s a good thing, I reckon….as they can be far more plentiful for me at times!!! ๐Ÿคฃ I will definitely kiss the dragon for You and am happy he cooperated! Sending Huge Hugs Your way!!! ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–

      2. Thank you, you are adorable you know and have a wild sense of humor and great imagination – I guess that is why we put pen to paper. Love yโ€™all ๐Ÿฆ‹๐Ÿค—๐Ÿงš๐Ÿป๐Ÿ’• thanks for kissing the dragon ๐Ÿ‰

      3. Love You too and I gotta quote my sweet man here: “You’re talkin’ ’bout Yourself, now!” ๐Ÿค—โค๏ธ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ˜Š

      4. That is very kind and thoughtful, thank you. We can be twins then. Sending hugs, love and blessings today. You have a sweet man arenโ€™t we so blessed. If we are going to be locked up inside I canโ€™t think of any other human I would rather be with. You two can ride your dragons ๐Ÿ‰ and touch the moon ๐ŸŒ™ tonight. Love yโ€™all bunches โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿค—๐Ÿฆ‹Joni

  4. A beautiful, painful write Joni. The sorrow in loss is well written. I love your inscriptions that outline the true nature of emotions, but in a shadow of questions and affirmations that are companions for consolations. My dreams are like this one. I journey walks through my own emotions. Thank you for sharing another brilliant write, my friend and I wish you an awesome and blessed day! Big warm hugs to you Joni! XO))๐Ÿ’—((XO

    1. Thank you so much for your gracious and kind words. You lifted them today. Having a blue day everyone has them. I appreciate you very much. Thanks my dear friend. Love ya ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿ’•โค๏ธ๐ŸŒ™โ˜•๏ธโ˜•๏ธJoni

  5. I so enjoy reading all the comments on each of your poems Joni. What a beautiful community of writers. So much love & respect for each other, it lifts my heart up. I also love the fairies that transport flowers & gifts across the miles.

    1. Thank you my dearest friend. It has been such a blessing to be part of this wonderfully supportive community dear Janette. Yet you were such a strong support of my writing before I ever started writing poetry in this blog. You have been such a blessing and I hope you know it my friend. Thank you for reading all my work and the comments. I am sending you blessings wrapped in red paper which stands for the passion in your heart. Fairies ๐Ÿงšโ€โ™€๏ธ ๐Ÿงš๐Ÿป๐Ÿงš๐Ÿปwho will bring you diamonds wrapped in blue satin for you will feed the hungry with the money. You will have a visit from a unicorn which will take you and your dear man for a ride and you may feel the warmth as it radiates from heaven and the angels that guard the gates heaven. I love you Janette. Thanks for always believing in me. ๐Ÿงšโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ˜˜your dear friend Joni

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