March 10, 1929 – October 14, 2021
It has been a while since I posted. I am here again after the loss of my mother last Thursday afternoon, October 14th. She was 92 and passed peacefully in the home I shared with her for the past 31 years. After being her sole caretaker for many years, the last two plus with her bedbound and blind, a slight stroke took what strength she had left. It was just me and our five beloved kitties with her, an intimate and very private experience witnessing her last moments in a body that age had robbed of its vitality, and the freeing of her spirit that was still a beautiful, smiling young girl.
Once upon a time
I planned to be an artist
or celebrity.
A song I thought to write one day
and all the world with homage pay.
I longed to write a noble book,
but what I did–
was learn to cook.
For life with simple tasks is filled,
and I have done not what
I willed!
June M DiGiacomo
(From the last page of a journal of hers that I found)
Those who knew her at any point, will remember June’s “Mona Lisa smile”, sparkling hazel-blue eyes, and infectious engagement in a life to be celebrated rather than grieved over.
If you would like to know a little more about her (including her connection to Ernest Hemmingway), I have written her obituary and you can read it here.
Otherwise, at this time, as I slowly adjust to my life without her, I will let a poem I wrote many years ago and a few of her paintings remember her.
The secrets of your heart
are stacked against the wall,
canvases for your art
of hiding what you missed.
No mistaking your style,
a freedom out of hand
that kept you all the while
believing as you wished.
A world that long was yours
before it was revealed—
imagination soars
with courage its master.
Flowers filling a place
left bereft of your own,
a portrait in a vase
found by me, your daughter.
Landscapes take you afar,
cats and soup bring you home
to settle for who you are:
the author of this poem.
~ DM Denton
Donations in her memory may be made to one or the other or both of the following animal rescue organizations:
Second Chance Sheltering Network: Click on “Donate” in the upper right-hand corner. On second payment screen, please click “Write a note” to indicate that your donation is in memory of June M. DiGiacomo.
Wyoming County SPCA: Click “Donate”. Click on “Memorial Donation”. Click on “Memorial”, “In Loving Memory” to June M. DiGiacomo, “Human”. Please fill in “Send notification of donation to” with bardess@earthlink.net.
bardessdmdenton - author- artist 