My New Face

Posted on by jonicaggiano
Poem by Joni Caggiano – Painting by fun-j-lo (Unsplash)

faces are skin for viewing, not for judging
hiding one side of mine to forget the slaps it took
I ask us why is it so difficult for us to embrace our look

if my face was right, my thin body wrong
the sea’s entire palette of blue surrounded me
in my teenage years, something not many bothered to see

I will forget that face and the parallel pain
painting whatever I wish, like stunning flowers
dispensing with my circadian diary of youth’s cruel powers

long neck, crimson flowers, yellows and blue
this will be the happy face I see when I now reflect
while joyfully forgetting that old sorrow, pain, and cruel neglect

81 thoughts on “My New Face”

    1. Thank you Cassa for your gracious comment and your support. Beauty truly comes from the inside. I have met some incredibly beautiful women who I got to know and if the inside is not kind, compassionate and loving the beauty fades fast. Love you my friend. ❤️❤️❤️❤️Joni

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      1. You said it perfectly, beauty fades fast when the inside is in lack of kindness, compassion and love. Sending love 💚💞

  3. Beautiful words, full of power, encouragement and willpower, the ingredients for a happy, healthy life, once combined with love and forgiveness. Wishing you and your husband all the best, with love from Spain,
    FBC

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    1. Thank you so much Francisco for reading and your beautiful words and wise words. Forgiveness frees us. Hate or even strong dislike only takes pieces of the person away. It harms only ourselves. Wishing you and wife all the love and blessings from a very hot NC. It is time to go into your site again. One gets lost as all the beautiful work you do is overwhelming. I must say your videos where you create all the music and focus more on artists that are talented just not as well known fascinated me. There is so much educational material. You both stay very busy. I applaud you for your energy. Sending hugs ❤️🤗😘🥰🙏Joni

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    1. Thank you Akshita. Hope all is well my sweet friend. May you be blessed and I need to see what you have been up to on your blog. Sending much love to you and your loved ones. ❤️🤗😘🥰🌹Thank you so much for reading, it does touch my heart.

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    1. Hi my gracious friend and thank you for your kind words. I am glad you liked this piece as it is very personal. I was teased horrible in school for my ears which stuck out of my hair and how skinny I was. Dinner was not a place one wanted to be as it was frightening. I would hide my food around my plate or even panties to get out of the house. Anything to get away from my parents. Hope all is well with you Brad. I enjoy your work more each time I read it. I especially like your romantic ones lately. Sending love and a stream of appreciation my friend. Love you, Jonikins

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    1. Hi John, thank you for your sweet reblog. I hope all is well with you my kind friend. It is difficult to find things to do still for us but I hope that life is going well for you. I am sending extra hugs and love to you. ❤️🤗🥰😘 you are also in my prayers. Love Joni

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      2. Sending lots of love I wish things were easier for so many people. I think the world is a hard place to be especially for anyone alone. Know that I care and I love you and pray for you my friend. You have such a kind and loving heart. xoxoxo Joni

    1. Thank you so much for your comment and I am grateful you sensed that it was personal and thought that it was powerful. Hope all is well on the Rio Grande and with friends and all your loved ones. Sending hugs. Joni 🤗❤️🥰

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  8. We are all products of our upbringing for sure and many of the thoughts and feelings we have relate to those early years. Parents should never underestimate their influence on their children. The world is a judgy place, since social media and everyone seems ready to pounce on perceived imperfections/character flaws. I love your last verse, Joni. We all need to look at our good side/traits more often. Stay well and thanks for sharing. Hugs. Allan

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    1. Thank you for this very thoughtful and caring response Allan. Everything you said was so true and I appreciate your compassion. Also thank you for your lovely words about my poem. Growing up with two alcoholic parents was extremely hard. There were no role models for us. I am so grateful that I stopped the cycle and have a blessed relationship with my daughter whom has been incredibly successful as well. Thank you for the hugs also and blessings to you and all your loved ones Allan 🤗 hugs, Joni

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      1. Life is not about the problems we encounter, but about how we respond to them. You have more than risen to the challenge Joni. Glad to see you are now a role model for your family. Cheers. Allan

      2. What a very kind thing to say Allan. This really means a lot to me my friend. Thank you so much for such a sweet kindness. Love ❤️ Joni

  9. Magnificent poem….I love the last verse….”long neck, crimson flowers, yellows and blue
    this will be the happy face I see when I now reflect
    while joyfully forgetting that old sorrow, pain, and cruel neglect”….much love & light to you, dear Joni ✨❤️

    Reply

    1. Oh thank you Navin for reading this piece. I am thrilled you liked it. Your poetry is getting tone so gorgeous. Love to you and light as well my friend. Hugs 🤗 Joni

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      2. My pleasure Navin, sending light and love to you my friend. Also a warm hug as I miss hugging people a lot. Love xoxoxo Joni

  10. Oh Joni, how much I relate to your beautiful words – our body holds all our experiences, no matter how much we try to hide. Our relationship with our body and appearance is so often shaped by those experiences. I particularly love these lines:

    the sea’s entire palette of blue surrounded me
    in my teenage years, something not many bothered to see

    This is so beautiful… but hurts too.
    I see you my friend and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to do so through your delicate and exquisitely beautiful verse.

    Wishing you a beautiful day xxooxxoo

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    1. Rachel thank you for always touching my heart with your words. It is such a blessing to be read by another woman who knows the meaning behind the words. Violation is violation and it has a lasting effect on us. God bless you sweet soul. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me it means so much. We are like spiritual sisters because we understand one another. Love you Rachel. Your dear friend, Joni ❤️🤗😘🥰🦋🦋

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  11. Reblogged this on Time Traveler on the road of Life and commented:
    How wonderful that you now see the beautiful you! Your poetry is moving and makes me see things in it that make me happy and a little sad for you memories. You are one of those people that are beautiful inside and out. I tried to sign up to follow you again, but it again said my email is invalid, probably worked anyway. I had to uninstall MS Word 2019 Pro and re-install it again and it kinda mucked up a few things. I have been working all week on it. Sending love and hugs to you!

    Reply

    1. What a super kind thing to say my friend. You just made my evening very special. Don’t worry about the follow, I have had problems with all kinds of stuff this. You sweet words mean a lot to me and have really touched my heart. Sending lots of love and hugs always, Joni

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    1. Thank you dear Button. I am glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for both reading and commenting. Sending so much love and always followed by many hugs.
      Love honeybun 🤗😘❤️🥰🦋

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    1. Ben you are such a sweetheart and I bet an amazing family man too.
      It is sort of metaphorical as although we were certainly beat so we would not think to be bad, not because we were, it is more about the scars of the serious abuse. Thank you so much for reading and your comment. You have such a kind heart Ben. Love to you and your family. ❤️🤗😘

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    1. Thank you my friend. I appreciate your taking the time to read and comment. It means so much as you are so busy. Wishing you an amazing weekend also. Sending coffee ice cream and a great cup of coffee an great jazz to enjoy it. Sending you love. ❤️🤗😘🥰😘☕️☕️☕️

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  16. this is soooo beautifully reflective Joni of how we should all aspire to live. Never turning the other cheek but remembering to let go of our pain and embrace and love ourselves right where we are❣️❣️

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    1. Thank you dear Cindy I am so glad you liked it. Forgiveness and love for ourselves and those who hurt us I believe is key to wellness. It is also key to my faith. I would definitely want to be a client of your if I was in CA. I love you sweetheart. ❤️❤️

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      1. I so much did Joni and I couldn’t agree with you more! Oh wouldn’t that be fun! It would be my pleasure. I love the idea of it. Love you so!! 💖 Happy Saturday❣️

  18. Another wonderful and insightful poem, dear Joni! I love how you have chosen the image you have of yourself, it is beautiful, and you are an amazing, beautiful, and talented woman! Thank you for being you, and for your love and friendship! 🥰

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    1. Thank you sweet Tiffany. I appreciate you and your love and support so much. Yes, I think we are all too self critical and I loved the bright colors around the face, it was a happy face. I do so appreciate your friendship too Tiffany. Sending you love ❤️ hugs 🤗 and my gratitude. Joni

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    1. Thank you I am so hoping to spend time reading lots of other people’s work soon. Our dog had surgery and keeps trying to pull her stitches out. I am literally watching her all day long like a little seven lb person. Sending love and hugs to you my friend. ❤️❤️❤️❤️Joni

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  22. Dear Joni,

    Having read your poem as well as all the comments in your post, I am now in a good position and mindset to empathize with you and understand what you have been through.

    Your highly touching poem has the hallmark of someone who has come of age and is finally blossoming through acceptance, wisdom and internal fortitude.

    I hereby send you a gift to resonate with the central message of your poem as follows:

    https://soundeagle.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/be-brave-be-bold-be-beautiful-be-you.jpg

    Yours sincerely,
    SoundEagle

    Reply

    1. Oh thank you that is so very thoughtful and kind. Also, thank you for reading my work. I truly appreciate it. I will be visiting more often. While I was watching your post and listening I could not help but wonder how many weeks it took to put that one post together. Have you ever displayed a rendition of a piece with the visually in a gallery? Have an amazing weekend and thank you again. Love ❤️ Joni

      Reply

      1. Dear Joni,

        Thank you for your compliment on and appreciation of my posts, which, as you can see, have been composed with quality and longevity in mind.

        Many years ago, I did put on some musical performances involving computer animations, recitals, singing and/or dancing. One of the pieces used was loosely based on my song published at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/till-eternity/

        Happy June to you very soon!

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

      2. I would have thought this type of performance would be in big demand today? I will definitely give this a listen and get back to you. I think that is incredible that you were also a dancer. Wow I am always amazed at how multitalented some people are. Blessings my friend. I will let you know what I think. Sending hugs, I have missed hugging those I care for but I hope that will end soon. We southerners are big huggers. ❤️🤗🤗🤗🥰

      3. Dear Joni,

        The dancer happened to be a friend of mine by the name of Wendy. I had enough to occupy myself in the organizations, logistics and rehearsals of my compositions for those recitals and performances.

      4. Well that makes sense. However, now a days the talents that people have and utilize blow me out of the water. I bet that was a fun time where your creativity ran wild. Hugs, Joni

      5. Dear Joni,

        Since you intend to frequent my blog more often, I would like to inform you that most or all items on my blog are current and updated, as I regularly improve existing posts and pages. In any case, you probably already have a reasonable inkling of the quality and/or unusual nature of what you have seen on my blog during your recent visits so far. I would like to reassure you that since the contents of my blog are multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, you will sooner or later find something very much to your cup of tea. In other words, you are welcome to explore and comment on more posts and pages of my blog to satisfy your curiosity or intellect to your heart’s content, perhaps even surprising me with your humour, viewpoints, insights or epiphanies from time to time, bearing in mind to
        Be brave
        Be bold
        Be beautiful
        Be you

        If you like, visit my “About” page and “User Guide” page to familiarize yourself with my blog, which by virtue of its multidisciplinary nature and topics, is multifaceted in its features and presentations. These two pages will greatly help you to utilize the plethora of features to maximize your experience and enjoyment when you visit my complex blog/website.

        The “About” page is easy to find. The “User Guide” is available to you at https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/about/user-guide/

        Please enjoy your journey!

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle 🦅ೋღஜஇ

      6. Dear Joni,

        I love that you love hugging. When you visit my “About” page, you will see several stylized renditions of the words “HUGS·FOR·YOU”!

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle🦅 Hugging you

      9. Oh a challenge I like that. I would do this now but I am working on a 9:00 am publication. I will count and let you know. Hugs-For-You, my friend. 🤗

  23. Pingback: My New Face – Love & Love Alone

  24. This is so beautiful! And so timely in a world where we are trying to encourage everyone to be comfortable in their own skin and love themselves for who they are. Great piece ❤️

    Reply

    1. Wouldn’t that be a blessing if that were to actually happen. Well we both love and respect each other for just whom we are. Hugs, love and thank you. Joni

      Reply

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