Invincible youth
Passes in the blink of an eye
Inevitable
As it always has with age
Though not always with wisdom
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Category Archives: Poetry
‘Tis More Dangerous Than Any Weapon Created By Man
‘Tis more dangerous than any weapon created by man,
Born of spirit and Heaven’s hand.
Free to be opened and enjoyed like fine wine,
Or corked up and saved for another time.
In anger it rages and wishes to impart harm,
Praying before action that reason sounds alarm.
Planning and scheming are some of what it does best,
Running through scenarios, putting them to the test.
At times acting irrational as in the case of lust or love,
Acting without thinking giving primal urge a shove.
Evil when plagued with illness deprived of right or wrong,
Difficult to cure lasting the whole life long.
It’s never been more dangerous than when behind a wall of brick,
Ignorance and jealousy and hatred make it sick.
Closing off one’s mind is a terrible and awful waste,
Something that should be frowned upon as a sheer and utter disgrace.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Prompt: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Photo Challenge #16 – “Portrait”
Gabriel Neffke
Patriotic (Acrostic)
Purveyors of hate
Attempt to intimidate those of unlike minds–
Turning to violence and angry rhetoric to force their points-of-view.
Reality eludes them as they long for their diluted utopia.
I do not despise my country nor my brothers,
Only those despots among us that desire to bastardize it in their image.
They and they alone are treasonous,
Ignorant and insidious,
Corrupting all that is good in the name of the flag.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Pedaling Madly
Pedaling madly
Skating on rain-soaked pavement
Cobblestone death trap
\
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Authors Note: This haiku is in honor of today’s stage of the Tour de France, stage 5 in the very rainy north of France. Defending champion Chris Froome pulled out of the race after falling twice on the rain slicked roads today after falling once before in a previous stage.
You can get the idea of how dangerous this stage was from this slideshow from the official Tour de France 2014 website.
So Much Seems Misguided In This World
So much seems misguided in this world
Though perhaps it is me that is misguided, I do not know.
Is it wrong to expect more from us as a people,
To give with an open heart,
To love without consideration of race, creed or color?
Touting the sacredness of our religions,
Our freedom to worship as we please,
We are stifled,
Narrow of mind,
Driven to discriminate in the name of our God.
We preach against other free peoples,
Demanding their conformity to our world view,
Threatening hellish consequences for disobedience.
This is not freedom–
Shackled by our religions, it is we are enslaved!
Find one among us that is not simply trying to survive,
Doing the best they can in these uncertain times.
Does your Holier-Than-Thou attitude raise you above them?
Does belittling your brothers and sisters bring you closer to God?
Does freedom and equality apply to only those with whom you are in consensus?
It does not you hypocrites;
Your religion is distorted and not of God!
You are not ordained to be judge and jury
Carrying out sentence on your brethren!
Take heed of your own shortcomings,
As I am certain there are many
And this world shall be a better place.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A Playful Nibble (Tanka)
A playful nibble
The lightest flicker of tongue
Erogenous dance
~
No music is required
In this sensual samba
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
O’ One of Pure Heart
O’ one of pure heart,
Surely it must be enveloped in resin
Otherwise how can it not break.
Thine voice sings the beauty of angels,
Thine face art most ravishing,
Still how many times hast thou fallen prey to artiface,
How many times hast thou succumbed to frisson in the face of night?
Drawn, art thou to that which promises thee harm
Excluding nothing from thy circuitous journey.
To castigate thee would serve no purpose;
Nay, it would serve only to drive thee to be taciturn.
In this I fear that thou wouldst be lost to me forever.
Therefore I am destined to love thee just as thou art;
Embracing thy peculiarities and thy uniqueness
As endearing and part of thy mesmerizing charm.
O’ one of purest heart,
I shall love thee forever and ever.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Prompt: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Wordle #16
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Wordle #16
A Weathered Key
A weathered key turned in a worn out lock;
Rusty hinges creak as the lid is gingerly raised,
Aged dust drawn as if by vacuum fills the musty air,
Like so many travellers on their worldly journey.
This steamer trunk long forgotten;
Adorned with France, Belgium, Canada, Japan…
Reminders of its travels and the sights it has seen.
Memories of good times,
Memories of some not so good,
Memories of long nights,
Smoke filled taverns,
Exotic women,
Exhilaration in the unknown,
Glorious sunsets,
Distant shores,
Warm breezes,
Tearful goodbyes,
This musty old trunk, like my mind
Covets memories of days-gone-by.
Perhaps they too are weathered and worn,
Adorned with tattered tags of my life’s travels,
And relegated to a dingy attic,
But they are mine and mine alone
To cherish all the days of my life.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Tis This Hell On Earth (Tanka)
Tis this hell on earth
The scorching sun, desert sand
Bleaching toughest bone
Helios hath no equal
This alone is his domain
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
With Irony I Look Back On July The Fourth
With irony I look back on July the fourth,
Commemorating separation from the British Crown.
Decrying aristocrats and their gorging worth
And the treatment of their subjects trampling down.
Open your eyes and look at us now,
Governed and judged by aristocrats galore.
Expected to beg, grovel and bow
Just as we did to King George before.
Over two hundred years we’ve learned nothing it’s clear
As again we submit to the court and its king.
Giving away what we should have held dear
For the promise of a golden ring.
This golden ring offered in hopes to divide
The right from the left I am sure
Confusing the masses with promises to provide
Answers to our problems through their cure.
But the cure is poisoned by their quest for greater wealth,
On the backs of those who can least afford.
Tricking them to believe by their dishonest stealth,
That there’s nothing but truth in their word.
Illusion and trickery is the game of the day,
Substance something long ago past.
Diverting ones blame is the partisan way,
Spewing venom as long as it lasts.
If truth does not sell then they coat it in lies,
Said long enough they’re bound to believe.
People are gullible say their political spies,
They’ll swallow whatever we conceive.
Free press is now gone in lieu of partisan hacks,
Towing their hate-filled party lines.
Convincing the audience that they’re watching their backs,
While raking in millions all the time.
With sadness I watch our republic disappear
Under the weight of corruption and greed.
Leaving the powerless amongst us I fear
To scratch and claw for all that they need.
Convinced they’re a burden and a waste of our time
Pretending that they don’t exist.
From their pit of despair alone they’re left to climb,
Should they fail it’s unlikely they’ll be missed.
America has lost the humanity it once had,
Trading it for profit and conceit.
Where helping one another was more than a fad,
It was a facet of what made us complete.
Deception is all part of the elites master plan
Pitting each man against his brother.
Feeding the masses as much fear as they can,
Blaming the cause on another.
Unless we take a stand, the ninety-nine percent,
Against the one percent we’ve allowed to rule us.
Expect nothing more than this we consent,
But to allow the bourgeois to fool us.
This my dear friends is my greatest fret,
With each and every fourth of July.
That under their thumbs, ever more we do get,
Until America shrivels up and dies.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 
