Monthly Archives: August 2012

The Gift of Simplicity

By D. R. DiFrancesco

The suns glare blinding in it sheer radiance,

Ricocheting off the snow white froth as it lays claim to another piece of shore,

Drawn back to it’s primordial beginnings,

Only to reemerge in it’s own time in some distant land.

 

The song of the gulls,

Circling and floating in anticipation of their next meal,

A beautiful natural thing to behold,

Lives boiled down to simplicity.

 

The snap of the blue claw crab,

Rouses me from my trance,

Unafraid, claws raised in defense of his little piece of turf,

Only to surrender it to return to the sea.

 

Could it be that there are lessons to be learned,

Wisdom in nature so often ignored,

Giving prominence to our petty and corrupt selves,

Hollowed out by our material love.

 

As high tide comes rushing in,

New shore from distant lands makes this beach it’s home,

I am beckoned to take leave,

Walking away with a gift greater than I dared ask for.

To Her With Love

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Do not look me in the eyes my love,

For my intentions are seldom pure as a dove.

In constant labor to prove my worth are I,

Lest I fall from your grace wither and die.

With a gentle stoke of my cheek you reassure me,

That I am all you ever hoped that I could be.

Still I fret that my offering is not enough,

Insecurity has aged me wrinkled rough.

Yet you look upon me as if youthful and spry,

With a devil-may-care twinkle in your eyes.

And that come hither smile you so oft display,

Leaves me breathless as always in night or day.

Unworthy am I to be held in esteem,

Yet with each day I awake to find this isn’t a dream.

Should this not be what love is about,

I ponder and pray that it’s never in doubt.

Maybe, my love, in all the world you’re unique,

To have fallen for this fool with all others you could seek.

If this somehow by irony be true,

No one else could I have cherished any more than you.

Lessons of Life

Looking forward,

Staring into the mirror of my life,

Returns a reflection of my past.

Like history,

My yesterdays keep repeating themselves,

Leaving me struggling to break free.

Hopes and dreams left partially fulfilled,

And regrets, of which there are many,

A constant battle to overcome.

Thankfully with age, I’m less likely to lament,

Especially over those things which I can not change,

Instead choosing to carve out a niche’ for the joyful things in life.

Should mistakes of the past be renewed,

Looking with eyes steeped in greater wisdom,

I endeavor to make this their last.

Still the realist that I am gets in the way,

Making the struggle monumental,

And the results muddled.

Yes…I am a flawed creature,

Free will engendered as both blessing and curse,

Yet I do not desire to change it.

We are given but one existence,

Is it destiny…luck…or divine intervention that lights our path,

For this, I have no answer, choosing instead to sit back and enjoy this wild ride.

Honor and Sacrifice

Army Command Sargent Major Kevin J. Griffin
Poem in memory of those killed Wednesday 8, August 2012
by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan
Army CSM Kevin J, Griffin
Air Force Major Walter D. Gray
Army Major Thomas E. Kennedy

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Another tour,

Another chance that I won’t go home,

A picture of my baby girl,

Another reminder of what I’ve left,

Another casualty of my sacrifice,

A lock of my loving wife’s hair,

Another night of restless sleep,

Another dream of holding her close,

Rockets screaming at 2 AM,

Another miss,

Another prayer thanking God,

I’m scared but I can’t allow it to show,

Another night of frayed nerves,

Another soldier can’t see my fear,

Too rattled to go back to sleep,

Another march dead tired,

Another struggle to push through the pain,

Today, the next of many, training our indigenous friends,

Another day of watching my back,

Another day working with people you can’t trust,

We didn’t see it coming,

Another blast,

Another vest laden suicide bomber,

I’m sorry,

There won’t be another day,

There won’t be another homecoming,

I won’t see my baby girl,

I won’t see my loving wife,

Just know that I love you,

And please…don’t ever forget me.

For the Love of Imperfection

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Dark of night casts no shadow upon you,

Your radiance like a shield rejects the approaching twilight,

Do you recognize your own brilliance?

A resounding no projects itself to the world.

From the first time I beheld you,

Captivated by an acumen cast by the maker himself,

Sharp and heated as a solar flare,

Scorched impressions left on everyone in it’s path.

Yet surviving within your universal turbulence is tenderness,

Soft and warm drawing in those most dear,

Contrary to your impetuous past,

You shine your bronze rays on all that surrounds you.

You are stellar and strong,

Divine in your organic beauty,

Any change would make you less than who you were meant to be,

Perfect in your humanly flawed design.

Loves Embrace – (Haiku)

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Grasping at my soul

Frost of love gone cold haunts me

Every waking hour

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Love like summer’s heat

Burns deeply with passing time

Capturing the heart

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Screaming out in pain

Wallowing in tears of lose

Praying you return

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Your gentle fragrance

It’s bouquet embraces me

Softened with a kiss

Torment Under the Big Top

By D. R. DiFrancesco

The circus arrived many years ago,

Staking claim to hallowed ground that was not their own,

Jugglers, acrobats, circus clowns fragmenting your mind,

Side shows of a freakish nature.

Your thoughts being tossed,

Like so many rainbow colored balls,

Blurred and spinning round and round,

Distorting the line between what’s real and what’s fantasy.

Unsure of who you are,

Whirling dervish’s do cartwheels upsetting your equilibrium,

Stumbling and falling you struggle to regain composure,

Putting on a show for the horde.

You paint on your happy face,

Trying to shut out the worry with jokes, laughter and slight of hand,

Insecurity and despondency boo at you from the  crowd,

While secretly you crave the drugs that keep you sane.

Yet the show must go on,

Since life doesn’t stand still for you,

Under your big top of antidepressants,

You cope as best you can.

Each day brings a new performance,

Crowds of onlookers hoping for a fall,

But you won’t give them the satisfaction,

Instead you maintain your balance on the tightrope that is your existence.

Offbeat Beauty

Manitou Springs, CO from above

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Rugged peaks staring like watchmen,

Looking for any hint of normalcy,

A little quirky,

Bohemian,

Rastafarian, Hippie,

A little different,

Definitely leaning to the left.

Facades of stone, turquoise, melon and sunflower,

Offbeat and off the beaten track,

Caribbean blue bathtub a resident of the sidewalk,

Strange and wonderful.

Impromptu concert in the park,

Just a girl and a guitar,

Playing for loose change or applause.

Cobblestone sidewalks,

Catering to backpack laden travelers,

Dogs of all persuasions for companions,

Destination unknown.

Music store…instruments handmade,

Pottery store…pottery handmade,

Ice cream store…ice cream homemade,

Candles, jewelry, various sundries,

What ever will we do without a Walmart.

Mineral springs,

Bubbly and metallic,

Ancient cure for what ails you,

Free for the taking if you can stand it.

Another way of life,

Laid back but not lazy,

Preppies and beatniks equally at home,

In this timeless town that time forgot.

Awestruck by the four walls,

Snow covered peaks,

With Pike as their master,

Manitou Springs will not be forgotten.

Downtown Manitou Springs Colorado

Forgotten Warriors

Rock covered armored vehicle
Afghanistan
Children and adult villages pelt
the vehicles with rocks as they pass

By D. R. DiFrancesco

I don’t pretend to know the feelings of war,

I’ve never served,

Instead living the joy and sorrow,

Loneliness and homesickness through my son.

 

Here I sit in my easy chair,

TV tuned to CNN,

Disgusted that there is no coverage,

Do they even remember we are at war?

 

I remember every waking hour of the day,

Passing my sons empty room,

Left as a constant reminder that he’s far from home,

Living in squalor, among Camel Spiders and Taliban.

 

He wrote,

Finally I realize…

Everything here wants to kill us,

My eyes welled up with tears.

 

He’s his own man now,

No longer can his mother and I protect him,

Our trust must be placed in his training,

Relying on his bravery and strength.

 

This makes it no easier,

Weeks pass with no word,

Sadness and worry are all consuming,

Struggling to maintain sanity.

 

Then a brief call or message online,

All is well, could you send me a few things,

I need new boots, snacks, vitamins,

My God its hot here.

 

For just a few moments there is happiness,

Content that for now he is safe,

Then he is gone again,

No word for weeks.

 

Sitting in my easy chair,

Still no coverage on TV,

Certain that they have forgotten.

Praying for the next call.

 

Don’t worry,

I’m safe and doing well.

 

PLEASE DON”T FORGET OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN

OR ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WORLD

Impersonally Yours

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Simple pleasures,

Too often ignored.

Sunsets,

A gentle rain,

The beauty of a newborn,

All wasted on the modern world.

Facebook,

Twitter,

Video games,

Smartphones,

E-mail,

We are trapped in a virtual world.

Never truly disconnected,

Dinner conversation is replaced by tweeting,

Facebook friend counts are more important than eye contact.

Do we even remember putting pen to paper?

Talking face-to-face with an old friend,

Asking each other “How was your day?”,

I’m not sure that we do.

Tracking loved ones by GPS,

Texting while driving,

Driving while tweeting,

All the makings of a digital death wish.

Welcome to the 21st century,

Where new is not necessarily better,

And life has emerged impersonal!