Category Archives: Poetry

Recapturing Innocence

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~

I found a place,

Deep inside me,

Warm and comforting,

Something I thought I’d lost.

~

So many years ago,

Innocence shielded me,

Harbored my emotions,

Enveloped me in the simplicity of youth.

~

Age changed,

I let my gentility drift off,

Replacing it with cynicism,

Spoiling the wonder of me.

~

The world didn’t change,

It is still just as wondrous,

Instead it was me that was corrupted,

My skepticism and pessimism changed my view.

~

Looking for the worst,

My fellow man could not be trusted,

Conniving and deceitful by nature,

I lost sight of the decent.

~

My perception flawed,

Skewed by life experience,

Taken as the standard bearer,

Distorting my future interactions.

~

Mistrust instills bitterness,

Fear of the worst is all consuming,

Depression and anxiety take root,

Trapping ugliness inside.

~

Tired of the sadness,

No longer recognizable,

It was not me in the mirror,

Rather a shell of who I was.

~

With eyes wide,

I looked deep,

Straining to find the innocent me,

Drawn to tears by the time I’d lost.

~

There is joy in letting go,

Finding good in what surrounds me,

Purging the cynic and skeptic,

Anchors that weighed me down.

~

I have found that place,

Pleasing to my body and soul,

Lost so many years ago,

To the ravages of maturity.

Image credit: citizenshift.org

Love Eternal

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Love, a sweet and fragile thing,

So often taken for granted,

Or tossed aside as insignificant.

~~

Only a heart blackened,

Burned and broken,

Could commit such a tragedy.

~~

Choosing to pass alone,

Lonely and cold,

Into the eternal night.

~~

Foolish choices,

Made by selfish men,

In the name of earthly gain.

~~

For what purpose,

Material possessions are finite,

Discarded on our last day.

~~

But is not love eternal,

Gifted freely from one to another,

Melding with our very souls.

~~

What a poor man is he,

Confined to his worldly goods,

While silence fills his rooms.

~~

Does not love will us to go on,

Strengthening our resolve,

Even in times of affliction.

~~

If this were this not the case,

I long ago would have ceased,

Suffocated by life’s despair.

~~

Choosing love instead is most natural,

Engraved into our very being,

‘Til death do us part.

Buffett’s Life – Haiku

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Cool ocean breezes

Pinã Colada in hand

Love in the tropics

~~

Coconut oil

Kettle drums and bongos play

This is the good life

~~

Warm sand between toes

Caribbean blue waters

Heaven here on earth

River’s Run

By D. R. DiFrancesco

The river wails in excitement as it reaches the precipice

Morphing into an effervescent shower of God’s tears

Crashing helplessly on the rocks below

The river never trembles

Never hesitates

Never endeavors to postpone it’s end

Instead it marches headlong into the unrevealed

On to a destiny known only to the maker

What a wonderous life it must lead

Concerned not with it’s fate

Content that it has traveled the determined path

Only to be reborn as a bountiful gift from Heaven

The Cruelest Loss

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Words can be kind but you prefered cruel

Thrown like a javelin

Piercing my still beating heart

What angry motives you display

Spewed like a child pouting and juvenile

But you are not a child

Those years are long past

Yet you refused to show restraint

Did I wound you

If so, I beg your pardon, for this was not my intention

Malice is not in my nature

You know this better than anyone

Can you ever forgive me my ignorance

For I know not where I erred

Clairvoyance has always eluded me

As does the cause of our rift

I’ve tried repeatedly to make amends

But my cries go unanswered

We have been confidants for a lifetime

Oh how it pains me that we cannot ford this divide

Yet my hope blossoms

That the hurt can be soothed

Reuniting us once more

Mind Games

Sorrowing Old Man – Vincent Van Gogh – 1890

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Drifting away,

Drowning in a sea of desperation,

Grasping for a life ring of sanity,

Just out of my reach.

~

I look within,

A swirling cyclonic mess embodies me,

Unrefined shapes and forms,

Seeking to undermine me at every turn.

~

This Impenetrable darkness,

That neither sun nor joy can imbue,

Why have I been cursed with this plague,

Delivering pain to the four winds of my soul.

~

Overwhelming sadness clutches me to her bosom,

Offering me nothing but anguish,

Have I not been tormented enough,

Stripped and laid bare to the elements.

~

God and science offer no comfort,

For the troubled mind worships it’s own demons,

I have prayed to exercise them,

Yet found the only panacea is time.

~

With night, slumber offers me respite,

Time for healing,

Calm for the erratic mind,

Hope for a clearer perspective at dawn.

A Friend in Need

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Squatting down in ragged jeans,

Trembling hands counting out small change,

Pennies, nickels and dimes his life’s savings,

Mumbling to himself,

Wondering if he had enough for a drink.

Scorching sun on the molten sidewalk,

His weathered face toughened to leather,

Aged far beyond his years,

What is his story,

People pass by ignoring his existence.

Cold water,

Sweat dripping from my fingertips,

Waiting to pay for my pleasure,

Mind drifting back to the poor man on the sidewalk,

What fate lies ahead for him.

He asked for nothing,

He should not have to ask for anything,

Should we not care without request,

Tears welled up in my eyes,

This could be me.

Food and drink,

Such a small price for a brother in need,

This could never be enough, still it was all I could do,

“Here you go friend”, as the pittance was offered,

“Thank you kindly”, his humble reply.

The Optimist – Haiku

Glass half full

~~

In trust we find peace,

Rushing in optimism,

So to bathe in joy.

 ~~

A song in the heart,

Shared with those longing for love,

Betters our world.

~~

Be not critical,

For it suites the pessimist,

Leaving them sour.

*image from ctya.org

Making of a Man

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 ~

You embody courage,

Something I never truly had,

Setting foot into uncharted waters,

Leaving the familiar behind,

Jumping headlong into another world.

 ~

You embody honor,

Something that I couldn’t teach you,

Living by a code,

One that must have been etched in your soul,

Immortalizing those that came before you,

 ~

You embody faith,

Something I should have instilled in you,

But I was not strong enough,

Yet you epitomize it in spite of me,

By entrusting your life to those around you.

 ~

You embody integrity,

Something I never knew how to give,

Still it was born into you,

A birthright gifted to those most deserving,

To be shared with those most in need.

 ~

You embody love,

Something I was never good at showing,

Your compassion and sensitivity,

Given freely to those in want,

From a heart that’s kind.

 ~

You embody all of these things,

Something I could never do,

Courage, honor, faith, integrity and love,

They made you the man you are,

And readies you for the man you will become.

Road to a Perfect Union

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 A casual glance,

Sending whispers of love and lust,

Eyes averting eyes,

Embarrassed at the thought of capture.

An innocent smile,

Sunlights glimmer off ivory mirror,

Seductive and sensual,

Beckoning an invitation.

A brush of skin,

Accidental yet intentional,

Goosebumps cascading,

Erupting hot and lascivious.

A pounding heart,

Rhythmically offering itself,

Longing to be cradled,

In the impetuous throes of passion.

A tender kiss,

Long and warm on silky lips,

Without so much as a word,

Two become one.