Wood and Rope
Second entry to Villanelle of Regrets Challenge and works I’ve read below.
The day I lost myself was on a flight.
I did not bring you gold and so no hope.
Was that why you kept yourself from the light?
~📿🪢📿~
Do you still seek the wind with all your might?
Has your dear mother's mood taught you to cope?
The day I lost myself was on a flight.
~📿🪢📿~
Do you hold all those moments now so tight?
There was the swing I made from wood and rope.
Was that why you kept yourself from the light?
🧮🪵🪵🧮
I see our past appear before my sight,
I am not far across the grassy slope.
The day I lost myself was on a flight.
~🪢📿🪢~
I wonder if you watched me when I write?
You ran to me just like a swift deer's lope.
Was that why you kept yourself from the light?
~📿🪢📿~
Time soon undid the bond we held so tight
Did your confusion make your young heart grope?
The day I lost myself was on a flight,
Was that why you kept yourself from the light?
~Caitlin Charlton ~
A/N: My cousin was my childhood best friend—I honestly treated her like a sister. Eventually, though, we drifted apart. This poem is about what that felt like.
About the Creator
Caitlin Charlton
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More stories from Caitlin Charlton and writers in Poets and other communities.
Trouble at the Tea Leafing Café
The rain had started right around the time that Annie was buttering her second thick slice of homemade toast for breakfast, and hadn’t paused since. Not that anyone could tell. The windows of the café were fogged over, and with every seat filled with happy customers munching on fresh baked pastries or steaming bowls of the delicious soup of the day, it was hardly surprising. Annie looked around the room, finally taking a moment to breathe after the lunch time rush. Her old life already felt like a bad memory, a part of her history, always, but just that. History.
By Hannah Moore3 days ago in Fiction
Comments (26)
Loved your poem and congratulations on a well-deserved placement!
*When you thought you commented on a story, but now wonder if you're losing your marbles* So sorry I'm late! I feel sad for your loss...I too know that drift. It felt for me like a death while someone still lived and breathed. I hope writing the poem was cathartic and offered some healing. It is very subtle and very moving. So, for writing a stellar poem leaderboard-worthy, CONGRATS BIG TIME! 🎉🤗🎉
Congratulations! Definitely brimful of longing and regret.
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Returning to congratulate you, Caitlin, on your win❣💖😊
Congratulations on placing, Caitlin. So happy for you!
Hats off, Caitlin! You nailed the villanelle. I gave up after trying for days, I felt like I was about to go mad from it. I really love the flow of it, and how emotional it is. You're really talented 💖
Really love the rhythm and emotion of this 🙂
Some stellar rhyming and flow, Caitlyn.
The emotion is so beautifully conveyed. You did such a great job with this piece. 👏👏👏👏
Wooohooooo congratulations on your Leaderboard placement! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Congrats Caitlin on your placement on the leaderboard. You did a marvelous job with this poem!
Fantastic work, Caitlin, and congratulations on making the leadership board!💖
You’ve captured the pain of drifting apart with such poetic restraint. Every refrain lands softly and powerfully.
There’s so much heart in these lines. You captured the ache of memory and unanswered questions with such grace.
A wonderful villanelle, Caitlin! Good luck in the challenge.
I love that you crafted a swing for you both to play on. It’s the details that make your poems come to life for me! Beautifully made, lovely Caitlin!
I'm so sorry that you guys drifted apart 🥺 Sometimes, life just happens and we can't do anything about it. Your poem was so poignant, emotional, and beautifully written. Sending you lots of love and hugs ❤️
Dealing with a bond like that fading away is tough, and you captured that feeling perfectly. I like how the repeating lines give it a sad, haunted feeling, especially "The day I lost myself was on a flight." It makes the whole piece very memorable. Great villanelle!
You made her a swing? What a sweetheart you are. I loved your poem, and good luck!!
Poignant & Beautifully-penned! 💕
I love this. So fresh!
Oh, you hit me with an emotional piece here, it feels quiet, with a simple "why" The repetition of 'flight' takes you further away with each line There is a moment where it feels like you are grasping, but you let go of the rope on the swing and watched as she flew away Childhood bonds are ones we will never forget, our childhood, though small in the grand scheme of things, is a large part of our shaping and creating who we are when we exit the next to enter the word. Beautifully written, dear Caitlin, your poem is ever engaging, as always 🖤🖤🖤
Our past and the connections broken by time and distance sometimes seem tantalizingly near, don’t they? Your evocation of the breaking of that bond is especially powerful - ‘The day I lost myself was on a flight.’ It connects your sense of self to the sisterly bond you enjoyed with your cousin. A connection so strong that the poem suggests you cannot lose one without losing the other. Your poem is both lovely and elegiac, Caitlin. Good luck on the challenge!
Such beauty in your words, Caitlin. The way you wrap up beauty in the tragic moments is truly a gift to read. And I see that little emoji art in there. Nicely done! Good luck in this challenge!!!