What Stays

I believe in the pause between her breaths — before anything moves, and the silence breaks...

Photo by Kelly Moon on Unsplash

What Stays

Not in the start.
Not in the blaze
or the fall.
Not in the name
they nailed to a cross
and called father.
My father was never there.
Only the story,
the threat,
the bargain:
kneel, and be saved.
 
I believe in the land—
in what holds fast
with no thought of mercy.
Field gone to chicory.
Stone that hoards heat
like memory,
long past dark.
 
I believe in these hands.
What they’ve clawed
from dirt.
What they’ve buried.
How they return
with nothing but ache—
blistered, blunt,
still reaching.
And again—
slick with blood,
cord still pulsing—
what I lifted 
before the first cry
split the silence.
 
I believe in the woman
who does not ask,
but turns to me
as if gravity
had something to do with love. 
The hollow of her back—
my palm fits there,
it is enough.
 
And when we lie still,
the ceiling split 
with winter light,
I believe in the pause
between her breaths—
before anything moves,
and the silence breaks.
 
Not the start.
Only this:
what does not rise,
what does not beg,
what does not forgive.
What stays— 
when the fire burns 
everything, 
but this.
 

---

---

Luciano Conte, born in Formia, Italy, roots himself in tactile arts like film photography, painting, bread baking, and house building. He writes in order to probe those persistent, buried forces that shape us from beneath the surface. For him, silence is not absence but presence: a pause that resonates the loudest, like the pause in a conversation that carries more weight than words. He speaks his lines aloud while writing, tying rhythm to breath, making language a living, physical act where sound and sense fuse, just as photography captures light and shadow. He urges readers to read his work aloud to unlock layers that silent reading misses, letting the cadence shape the experience in the same way as kneading dough or laying foundation stones, where each gesture is deliberate and consequential.

---

If you enjoyed this post, hit the ♡ to let us know.

If it gave you any thoughts, please leave a comment.

If you think others would enjoy it, hit re-stack or share:

If you’d like to read more:

And if you’d like to help create more Juke, upgrade to a paid subscription (same button above). Otherwise, you can always help with a one-time donation via Paypal or Venmo.