Category Archives: Poetry

Past, Present, Future

What a weighty beast this animal regret,

Overshadowing the contemporary with antiquity,

For what purpose but to depress.

This concept of past, present, future inequity.

Each fleeting second paints our past,

Never ending, unavoidable, unchangeable

Causing distress and unhappiness if permitted.

Future bears no less weight,

Harboring angst in it’s face…unknown.

To what end, fear, hesitance, isolation.

No one can foretell what challenges lay ahead,

Destiny is what it will be,

Beyond mortal knowledge and control.

Remaining is present, here and now.

Over this deviant only, do we have influence,

Choice…free will, holds dominant sway.

Present is ours to sculpt into a masterpiece;

Then, in an unfathomable moment it fades into past

Never to be relived, redone, reconsidered.

Energies expended on present are well spent,

Are obtainable, conceivable, justifiable.

Past and future serve only to bleed us;

Sapping mind, body and spirit.

Let present feed the future

And bury the past.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Dawn Breaks – A Tanka

Dawn breaks black to blue

Stars fight the coming sunrise

A death match of sorts

Anxiety of night wanes

Relinquishing to the day

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Trouble Is Lurking – A Haiku

Image Credit: fellowshiproom.com

Image Credit: fellowshiproom.com

Trouble is lurking

Spying from every shadow

Plotting for the kill

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Frequently I Drift – A Tanka

Frequently I drift

Into my minds dark corners

Deep…hidden away

Where others cannot find me

Here I shield my hopes and dreams

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

What Drives Man

What drives man?

Greed, honor, sadness, love, anger, jealousy.

What drives man to madness?

The very same greed, honor, sadness, love, anger, jealousy.

Excuses for the evil that we do

Yet inexcusable by all accounts.

Innocence taken for causes only known to them.

Lives shattered!

Pain inflicted!

Sadness instilled!

No cause justifies their cowardice!

Their selfishness!

Their God complex!

These are criminals deserving of punishment,

Harsh and swift,

Showing no mercy,

For deeds done of their own free will.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Naivety – A Tanka

Maybe I’m naive

Always looking for the good

Instead of the bad

Pessimism taints the soul

Leaving it to die hollow

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Hatred and Violence

I sleep confident I’ve done my best,

Only to wake uncertain.

Insecure in myself,

Insecure in the craziness of this world,

The later feeds ravenously on the other;

Draining optimism as if water from a pond,

Leaving it dry, cracked — until it turns to dust.

Periodic lulls slowly renew my faith in man,

Spirits rise, the pond of optimism refills

Then in one spectacular moment it is gone,

Evaporating into the heavens,

By one stroke of ignorance or violence.

The reasons mystify;

Inexplicable to all but the perpetrators.

What’s to be gained?

Frivolous violence and hatred achieve nothing,

But to instill fear and hate in others otherwise uninclined.

This is not an accomplishment!

It is the perpetuation of discontent.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Look Into The Past – A Tanka

Look into the past

To see what your future holds

Living in pictures

You are one of your parents

This is inevitable

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

*Authors Note: I wrote this one not to necessarily imply that one’s personality is the same as one of your parents, but that your physical appearance, hand motions and/or speech patterns are likely to resemble those of at least one of your parents.  My wife told me the other day how much I stand, sit, motion with my hands (I’m Italian so that is inevitable) and how some of my physical traits are exactly like those of my father.  Sometimes I can even see it myself.  As I get older, these traits seem to become more exaggerated   Since I only see my parents about once per year, I guess it must be in our DNA.  It is likely that if you think about this you can see some of these things in yourselves.  Its just something that I found both humorous and fascinating.

Speckled With The Blood Of Lies

Speckled with the blood of lies,

Blindly consumed by your feigned sincerity.

You said you loved me,

Sealing it with a tender kiss,

Only to pierce my lip with your fangs.

The trickle,

Wet and metallic,

Oxidizing on my tongue

Nauseates me to the core.

Sickening,

Sweet,

Irony,

Descriptively you.

Pledging passion and fidelity

Then pillaging my love,

Disemboweling my trust,

Leaving a heartbroken corpse.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Sorrow Fills My Heart – A Haiku

Image Credit: bradenton.com

Image Credit: bradenton.com

Sorrow fills my heart

The brutality of man

Drains my mortal soul

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~