Monthly Archives: January 2013

Buying the Farm

FarmRuined

No more will fields of cotton or corn stalks wave

Where winds of progress sow their seed

Generations weep the sweat they gave

Betrayed by faceless corruption and greed

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Agrarian ways sold to the highest bidder

Weakened by a nations diminished resolve

Ill effects they fail to consider

Of a livelihood they so nonchalantly dissolve

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Our sustenance awarded to foreign lands

No thought given to our founding traditions

So many necessities taken out of our hands

Forcing this debtor nation into submission

~~

John Deere once green sits plagued with rust

Barns and silos like monuments sit vacant

Conglomerate farmers betraying our trust

Their harvests destined for the seafront

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Farms and fields are no longer held sacred

Mere property to be bartered, bought and sold

Paid not to plant so many acres left arid

There is more money in building homes we are told

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We’ve sold off our future for a profit it seems

Self-sufficiency a thing of the past

Our founders would tremble at the love of excess we deem

Prized more highly than that which will last

~~

The road on which we travel is a perilous one its true

Its course for our own sake we must alter

Lack of fortitude to do what we know we must do

To a second place status we will falter

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Mistress of the Sea

Barnegat Lighthouse - New Jersey - USA

Barnegat Lighthouse – New Jersey – USA

An elegant lady stands a silent watch

Never taking rest or wavering in her duties

Decades of battering by nor’easter, ice and tropical gale are for naught

She may be worn and tired, but she remains strong in her resolve

Wind swept torrents are no match for her refinement

An A-line of red and white graces her elegant stony figure

Utilitarian in dress and form make her no less lovely

Many a man has looked upon her with starstruck affection

Standing tall, her crown highlights her magnificence

With eyes crystal clear and bright, she was born to see the unseen

Beholden to her unwavering radiance are those forever in her debt

She has comforted countless souls lost in nights hollow embrace

Surely treachery amongst the shoals would spell certain doom

Taking their hands, she leads them to certain safety

Welcoming ports embrace them by her blessing

Returning them back to family and loved ones unscathed

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Lady San Estrella

Dark and exposed after eons under the sculptor’s chisel

Laid naked to the elements and the seasons

Sharp, jagged and formidable, few dare confront you

Either out of fear or rightful respect

~~

A few fools dare scale your rocky crags in quest of your treasures

Cutting deep into your subterranean veins

Drawing out your blood and secrets through violent means

Leaving hollows only to be left abandoned once bled dry

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Still this does not detract from the adoration of your admirers

The saguaros raise their arms to the sky in praise

Brave faced monolith, you offer comfort in spite of the desecration

Providing shelter to those that dwell under your protection

~~

Your strength and bravery are none diminished

Inspite of the riches stolen from your purse you hold your head high

Taking revenge on those with careless intentions

Showing no remorse in light of the pains you’ve endured

~~

It could be said that nature has been cruel to you

Yet you have not taken this to heart

Your life can not be counted in mere mortal years

Since you have outlived those that laid claim to your precious abundance

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Our prayer is that your future holds you in appreciation and respect

No more to cut and scar your rough hewn beauty

You are a wonder to behold

To be looked upon with reverence as the creator intended

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Brokenhearted

When passions fail tears bathe the wounded soul

Drowning the pain so freely inflicted

Hurt is temporary by design so be unyielding

Willing arms are outstretched to comfort you

You will not be abandoned for I am with you always

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No words need spoken

Your silence speaks the volumes of emotion enveloping you

My heart is torn and bleeding in your agony

Tearing at me like shards of shattered glass

Razor sharp and unrelenting in intensity

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Healing seems impossible amongst the ruin of betrayal

But you must have the courage to trust again

Take my hands and give me all of your sorrow

This is what my love and friendship tender

Without condition or reservation

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Know that you are adored by those around you

Your loss and heartbreak is shared with compassion

Drawing out that which tortures your spirit

Leaving you consoled and warm

Able to experience love again

~~ By D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Circle of Fools

Tightropes walk to the edge of ruin

Foresight focused on the next coronation

Selfish air about you floats

Ignoring the subjects by whom you’re appointed

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Millions seek your help after natures disaster

WIth backs turned and blinders on you drift away

Crying our duty has been faithfully done

Shameful and disgraceful are your exploits

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You led us to this precipice as arrogant fools will do

Tug-o-war played with lives of no consequence

Calls to work go unheeded in deafened halls

Leaving the masses pondering their fate

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Pointing fingers and placing blame like two year olds do

Holding your breath until your face turns blue

Shouting foul to the constituency

Hoping for some semblance of sympathy

~~

Feigning sincerity is not your passion

Ploys thrown about for the cameras leave us hollow

Begging for guidance and utopia in a barren wasteland

Sadly hope falls just out of reach

~~

Choosing to live or eat should not be in question

As human beings should these not be our unalienable right

Many of you say no all for the saving of a dollar

While claiming vociferously that we are a Christian nation

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Bloody and battered we hope for change

Praying diplomacy and common decency once again rears it’s head

Instead replacing cordiality with dissension

We are left drowning in a torrent of despair

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Harbor not ill will towards those who have entrusted

Compromise in our eyes is not an unclean word

Stubbornness and procrastination will lead to certain demise

Catapulting a once great dominion into irreparable ruin

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Nature’s Beauty – Haiku

Image credit - firstpeople.us

Image credit – firstpeople.us

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~

Light as a feather

Wind dances through the treetops

Summoning the Gods

~~~~~

The moon overhead

Keeps watch over it’s subjects

While they soundly sleep

~~~~~

Winding rivers flow

Steadily toward open sea

Free from all constraint

~~~~~

Mountains majesty

Big Horns rule the rocky crags

Where others fear tread

Elder Embrace

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~

Black hair gone thin and gray

Creases like dry riverbeds map the landscape

Winding effortlessly south

Either due to age or gravity or both

Dark olive skin, soft tautness lost to the years

Tired eyes struggle to catch the light of day

Once clear as crystals now foggy and uncertain

Reminiscent of the mist that envelops San Diego Bay

Memories of youthful virility invoked smiles and stories

Tales etched with vivid language

Language and reference not correct in todays world

Friends and acquaintances identified by race, creed and color

Shocked and amazed erupting in uncomfortable laughter

A likely product of the prejudice thrown at your feet

First breath drawn at the turn of the last century

Born of a race not so easily accepted

Unkind names and slurs labeling an entire lineage

Times had changed leaving you behind

Floundering as if in seizure

Living in an era that was foreign

Still there was no shame, no offense or ill intention

No defense levied for your words and actions

None was needed, none was desired

Age and time granted societal clemency

Few were left who lived the history

Fewer still survive to remember

Relegation to the page is approaching with haste

Embrace them while the opportunity affords

Cherish the time shared and knowledge imparted

Passing it down to the generations that follow

Another Years Pass

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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Another page in a life has turned

To look back on what might have been

For hopes and dreams we fought and yearned

Have passed us by sight unseen.

~~

Resolutions born to steer our path

Put forth with the best and greatest intention

Champagne and music and social laugh

In hopes of better days we’ve mentioned.

~~

To morph our heart and soul required

Without we waste our solemn vows

A change of course to which we’ve aspired

Time grows shorter when failures allow.

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Renew the mind and the body will follow

Our spirit thrives when visions align

Life will fill and no longer be hollow

When sadness and regrets fade and resign

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Look toward the new year as an offer to grow

In spite of what you’ve let dissuade you

Strength and determination must be what you show

To face those that would trample imagination held true

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Trust your heart and your dreams will flower

No new years pass or resolution will save them

Endowed at birth with the universal power

To design your future while burying failures condemned.

~~

This strength you’ve had all this life that you’ve lived

Wound and ingrained into your very soul

Have courage to pursue all your passions not passive

For these are the things that make living life whole.