Gone Is Gone

Image credit  - momastery.com

Image credit – momastery.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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Wasted away with reckless abandon

Abused and neglected as though nothing to lose

Elder years bestow the treasure most deeply cherished

For in youth we’re blind to the riches worth

Trusting the vein will flow eternal

“till tragedy or life doth rear it’s head

Once lost to gluttony its lost to eternity

No matter how hard we try to relive

Regret can destroy through foolishness folly

As we know not when we be called back home

Squander not the gift so limited and precious

Share freely with those you most dearly love

The value of time cannot be embellished

For fleeting moments once gone are gone

Committed

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your tired eyes look skyward

Begging for comfort without so much as a word

I reach out to you

Cradling you in an embrace born of affection

Expecting nothing in return

Your head resting on my chest

Can you feel my heart beat to your touch

Like a metronome keeping rhythm with your own

Exchanging words without speaking

I can hear your sadness and sense your pain

What can I do to relieve your tortured soul

Provide for you

Offer understanding without judgement

Reassure your lingering doubts

Hold tightly to your trembling hands

I will wade with you through the melancholy tide

You will not be left alone to drown

I am here to keep you afloat when you cannot swim

Don’t be afraid my love

For I will never leave your side

My commitment is eternal

Beneath the Shell

Credit - withthisfavor.com

Credit – withthisfavor.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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We look upon this world as an oyster

Rough, hard and jagged to the touch

Awash with the dirt and grit of life’s tribulations

It lies burrowed in the muck to hide from conflict

Still we claw and rake in the filth for the treasure it holds

Drawing it out from the safety of it’s dingy home

It’s shell is not easily unlocked

Clamped down tightly to protect itself from pain

Reluctantly the shell is pried open

Gradually and over time we are revealed

In a flood our surroundings rush in

Exposing virgin skin to the unfamiliar

Joy and excitement replace reluctance

What wonder is found in discovering your dreams

For beneath the newly uncovered flesh

Lies the pearl you have been longing for

Dismissing Destiny

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~

To face the truth

One must face what they fear most

What’s uncomfortable builds character

Strengthens every fiber of their being

You cannot grow physically or spiritually alone

Cradled in your convenient cocoon

To break out and take wing you must fall

Close your eyes

Step over the edge into the unknown

Destiny beckons you forward

Choosing to live life in a net of safety disappoints

Conceiving regret as it’s progeny

This is not living, it is merely existing

We are meant to do and become what we dream

No boundaries can contain you

Was not every great achievement born of an impossible vision

Laughed upon by those with no imagination

Dare to persevere

Do not let those of a narrow mind stifle you

Your greatness lies on the road just ahead

In this you can be assured

Image Credit - 19mindelevation91..com

Image Credit – 19mindelevation91..com

A Time to Listen

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~~~

What forms men’s opinions I do not know

Subtle things most likely I suppose

Surely it is not formed through confrontation

Argument only serves to harden in consternation

Guilty of anger as passion takes hold

Forcing ideals with a hammer so bold

Attempts to dissuade in this fashion oft fail

Portrayed as stolid, hearts and minds travail

Better left to the facts in a calm voice confirmed

Than to bully and batter into submitting discern

Higher virtue it is to listen then speak

Rather than dismiss out-of-hand without the appraisal they seek

To differ in perspective is what betters this world

Reforming what’s weak and hope no insults be hurled

Strive in debate to accept with a smile

That which at first painful may become amenable in a while

This struggle I face with contrary views

Serves to enlighten and enrich no matter which path I choose

A Good Friend

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 ~~~~~~~~

What passes for art, for art’s sake

Be it brush or pen or pottery, the medium, no difference does it make

Neither beauty nor disgust for the creation dissuade

From the quest to enrich, enlighten and persuade

Its been said that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder

This truth I envelop even more as I’ve grown older

What is crude or refined who’s to say what’s in taste

Rash judgements have been made at first glance and in haste

Powerful words and the mastery of the artists broad stroke

Portend to convey what the mind’s eye can invoke

Whether abstract or classical, our views may be divergent

Feelings resurrected and emotions rise most urgent

Thought provocation is the design of the muse

Masterfully manipulating all the senses that we use

To see and to hear things in a different light

Molded in a way that we hadn’t thought right

For better or for worse this is the artists intent

To affect you deep down though its this you strive to prevent

Whether its the beauty of a flower or sensations of unbridled love

What we hope to instill are the images and feelings gifted from above

Christmas Past

Christmas2

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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Tree lined streets draped in white lights

Shine like so many stars in the heavens

Shop windows with edges frosted

Frame the season in all it’s glory

~~

Boys, with their noses pressed to the glass

Breath leaving an innocent fog obscuring their vision

Electric trains guarded by toy soldiers

Smiling wide eyed observers left speechless with anticipation

~~

Little girls drawn to sparkling blue eyes of dolls that cry Mama

Bathing them in hugs and kisses

Joy of the holiday blushing their cheeks

The sweet innocence of the child

~~

Santa Clause greets his loyal believers with a knowing grin

Rosy red cheeks and a beard of snow his calling card

Ho Ho Ho echos above the noise of the crowd

Signaling the approach of Christmas day.

~~

Sidewalks filled with holiday shoppers

The joyous sound of carolers fills the frosty air

Good cheer is the calling of the day

Were it only that these feelings would last throughout the year

~~

Reminiscing on past Christmas’ brings such happiness

With simpler times came fewer expectations

The latest toy or game was less important

Instead family, friends and the true meaning of Christmas became the greatest gifts of all

Cherish the Time

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~

Treasure the time had with those you have lost

For we can never know when it will end

Will we be here tomorrow

Will we see the sunrise

Will we see the sunset

Only God in Heaven knows our fate

Draw close, those you hold so dear

Hug them and kiss them and tell them that you love them

For regrets are most damaging to the soul

The past is in the past

Time gone, is gone never to return

Let good memories be of comfort to you

We pray that sadness will not be your constant companion

Live on for them

Thrive for them

Keep their spirit alive through you

Know that they are with you, watching over you

Smiling upon you in everything that you do

Take solace in knowing that they love you

For one day your spirits will reunite in the heavens

A Senseless Loss (Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy)

cn

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~

To rationalize this cycle of unfettered hate

Would only lend credence to the insane

The innocence of children left to a horrible fate

Snuffed out by a killer’s reasons arcane

~~

We weep for them, for what we have lost

A future taken in an instant never to grow up

Never to have know them, an insurmountable cost

Terrible and tragic their loss we never can make up

~~

We light our candles and say a prayer

Hoping their Maker greets them with open arms

For all we can do is stand united and show them that we care

While trying to figure out how to protect others from Satan’s harm

~~

Who could have known or perhaps have foretold

What tragedy would await these children so pure

Our own  we’ll pull close and tightly hold

To be confident they safe I am sure

~~

Thou shalt not kill a commandment most true

May this murderer burn in eternal hell

For you’ve taken from us so much more than you knew

In a moment of silence we toll the bell

~~

We stand with the mothers and fathers who weep

Tears that cannot bring their babies home

Never again to lay them down to sleep

Their hearts laid bare, broken and alone

~~

What more can I do but say sorry and grieve

For a loss no one can ever justify

I drop to my knees and beg their souls to take leave

And with mourning and sadness say goodbye

The Love of Fear

Credit - denverlibrary.org

Credit – denverlibrary.org

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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Fading light settles in

A prelude to the eerie silence of night

Shadows cast their nets over daylights reign

Capturing the throne under cover of darkness

What games are in play

When evil lurks in the minds eye

Clear as sight, solid and treacherous

We fear that which we can imagine

Imagination resurrects the childhood stories and legends told

By Shelly and Stoker and the Brothers Grimm

Feeding the monsters and demons they preach

What odd fellows we are

Envisioning the worst in man and nature

Vividly foretold in ancient myth

In recesses deep and subconscious

We live to love what terrorizes the soul

Extracting joy from what scares us most

A strange conundrum of human nature is this

Void of logic and common sense

That what frightens us should serve to entertainment us