Musings

Curated writings from Joseph Castagno

Month: July 2017

The Silver Lady of the Wood

July 31, 2017

…Robed in their crystalline coats of white the mighty firs rise around me, silent sentinels keeping watch until the girl with the golden eyes returns. The downy flakes are falling again deepening the already impenetrable silence. Unsure why I find myself standing still; drinking in the cold air the only sound my own heart rhythmically keeping time. The mist of my breath disappears into the coming twilight and the grey deepens around me. As I draw in the silence I sense the faint elusive traces of hardwood smoke, knowing the crackle of the hearth awaits I set out again. Leaving the moment behind a melancholy wistfulness envelops me and I wonder if I will come again to the silver lady of the wood and her silent sanctuary…

The Girl with the Golden Eyes…

July 31, 2017

…The sun slowly begins its journey West sinking low on the horizon casting long shadows over the scarlet sumac and illuminates the late blooming golden rod in its final bow. In the indigo twilight, a crescent moon rises and a soft breeze with just a touch of fall’s impending breath rustles the hollow cornhusks their tasseled heads bow in submission. The maples along the ridgeline valiantly resisting the inevitable change while the imperious firs silently watch on. Its there I catch a glimpse of the girl with golden eyes saying her wistful goodbyes…

Memories of Mom…

July 31, 2017

A few years ago, I reached the age where I had accumulated more years without my Mother than with her. I lost her when I was a mere 24 not yet old enough to realize how much I was going to need her, nor how much I would end up missing her. At that young age she was still “mom”, you know the “mom” we love but still chafe under as young adults. It isn’t that I took my Mother for granted, I didn’t she taught us that lesson well enough, but I had no idea how much I would miss her and how many times I would need her counsel, her teaching, her understanding, and maybe more than anything those irreplaceable tender moments of a mother’s comfort. Read more ›

LIVING…

July 30, 2017

…As you stand there naked and alone in the dark of your own truth, the facade of your personality and ego stripped from you while the scintillating shards of every experience you’ve ever had pierce you again and again do you feel it? Do you grasp it? Does the overwhelming beauty, horror, joy, and sadness of this life overwhelm you? Does it drive you to your knees, do you look to the heavens searching for an answer some explanation a reason for it all? Are you crying out for more, for just another moment, for one last breath? If not then it’s time you started living my friend…

Emerald Eyes

July 30, 2017

I can’t look away, I can’t break free
For your emerald eyes have captured me

As that sweet smile plays across your face
I have forgotten everything else in this space

What kindred spirits are we
Sand, surf and of course teriyaki

So my pretty Irish girl
You’ve given my heart a whirl

I can’t look away, I can’t break free
For your emerald eyes have captured me

My Wife

July 29, 2017

My Wife

The sparkle of powdery blue eyes
A whimsical smile escapes

The softest touch
And a playful spirit

Caring, nurturing, committed
Grace born from experience

Tested, tried, and triumphant
Partner, playmate, friend

The sparkle of powdery blue eyes
A whimsical smile escapes

I love you…

Broken From the Start

July 29, 2017

Broken from the start I gave you my heart
All I had to give; I gave it all
A new start, a new life, you my wife

A promise made, a vow to keep
The past never to be repeated
Another chance, a new beginning

Was it really so long ago
Now I don’t know where to go
How did we get here from there

Doomed to repeat it all
How do you make the final call
Honey didn’t we have it all?

Broken from the start I gave you my heart...

You didn’t know…

July 28, 2017

You were runnin fast… did you know it couldn’t last
What would you say… would it have changed your day

Its fucked up, but you didn’t know… it was your time to go
Yeah its fucked up but you didn’t know…

Played your last game… last flash of fame
Dancin to the beat… man that thing looked sweet

Its fucked up, but you didn’t know… it was your time to go
Yeah its fucked up, but you didn’t know…

Get your last kiss… your last wish
As that ‘stang starts to roll… its your final curtain call

Its fucked up, but you didn’t know… it was your time to go
Yeah its fucked up, but you didn’t know…

They say you were drinkin… what were you thinkin
So are ya feelin bad… lyin on that slab

Its fucked up, but you didn’t know… it was your time to go
Yeah its fucked up, but you didn’t know…

Hey you didn’t know… it was your time to go
Yeah it was your time to go

Author’s Note:
I wrote this while my children were still in high school – a young man they knew believed to fervently in his own immortality – life’s lessons are harsh and unforgiving, he died one night losing control of his car – driving to fast – drinking – indulging in his invincibility… 

Dreamland

July 28, 2017

While in slumbers peaceful embrace
What dreamlands do you trace?

Your happiness there is true
Do you often take me with you?

With a wistful smile on your face
What dreamlands do you trace?

TJ Jackson

July 28, 2017

… The hot white light of the spots illuminates the swirls of smoke as the heat overwhelms the whir and wobble of the small metal fan bolted to the top of the scarred and battered upright piano on the left side of the small stage. Stage is probably too generous, someone long ago had built a small platform out of 4X4s and plywood that the band somehow managed to fit on.  The outside of the piano looks like it has been rescued from some local salvage yard, but inside its polished, tuned and maintained as lovingly as any concert hall Steinway, certainly not what you would expect on the “bar stage” at Danni’s Drop Inn. The name was a holdover from another time, there never had been an Inn and locals had always just called it Danni’s, never had been a Danni either for that matter, but that’s another story. Read more ›