At Times Love Doth Tame (Tanka)

At times love doth tame

At others it bites with fang

Either I cherish

For to live without loving

Is to live an empty life

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

O’ Ancient One

Andrey Bobir

Andrey Bobir

O’ Ancient One,

Holding the mysteries of the world in your hands.

That which you must have seen,

That which must have graced your ears,

I’m certain it amazed and saddened you at times.

Human nature is nothing if not predictable

Constantly revisiting past mistakes.

You have tried to teach us,

Leaving us your word on parchment,

Chiseled in stone,

Etched on the expression of your face,

But still we refuse to listen.

I take comfort in knowing that you have not given up;.

You remain steadfast as you have for o’er 2500 years,

A reminder of the “Great Way”.

Perhaps someday we will learn

Taking your teachings to heart,

But until then may the Tao forever be with you.

Namaste’

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Prompt: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Photo Challenge #9 – “Lotus Song”

#BringBackOurGirls (Acrostic)

Blinded by time as we always are,

Resolved to forget the distasteful,

Ignoring that which is too painful,

No amount of justification is acceptable for this behavior.

Gathering around Beyonce, JayZ and Solange…is this news?

 

Bling and elevator drama are these really important?

Anger and outrage should be the response;

Children, our future–that is what’s important!

Kidnappers, inhuman animals, they should be our news.

 

Our mission, yours and mine.

Undermining peace through fear

Revealing their true selves…they are cowards and thugs.

 

Getting these girls back should be our only focus;

Innocence demands it!

Regaining focus, putting the frivolous aside, this is our human mission.

Let us unite as one world regardless of race, creed or color and…

Stop those that prey on the innocent, the helpless, OUR CHILDREN!

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Author’s Note:  I wrote this piece because I am troubled with how quickly the story of the kidnapped school girls in Nigeria has dropped from the headlines of our major media outlets, at least here in the United States.  Instead we have replaced it, once again, with “celebrity” nonsense stories that have no importance to anyone except for the voyeurs out there.   Only by keeping these children in the forefront of our hearts and minds can we ever hope to muster the worldwide resources necessary to bring them home and affect some permanent change in the attitudes of those that I don’t consider civilized.

I Escaped With My Skin (Sonnet)

I escaped with my skin though tattered and torn

Yet feeling far less than whole.

Far less like me than when I was born,

A piece of me it seems to have stole.

 

I ponder this mystery for reason I’ve not,

No finger can I place on the cause.

Giving my attention giving all that I’ve got,

In spite of my inherent flaws.

 

This feeling I have is an odd one indeed,

There’s nothing I can pinpoint to blame.

My mind the enabler melancholy it feeds,

Insanity is clearly its aim.

 

For sanity’s sake I must surely let go or suffer the wrath of its grip,

Still deep in my heart I certainly know this only a momentary slip.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Lost Amongst Chaos

Lost amongst chaos

Something had to change quickly

To keep sanity

In the quiet dark I sat

Alone with only my thoughts

Finally peace knocked

Begging me to let her in

A most welcome friend

Come home to roost for a time

I just hope she plans to stay

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Blurry Eyed I Wake (Tanka)

Blurry eyed I wake
Smell of spring envelops me
Song birds my alarm
Only Heaven could surpass
The perfection of this day

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Travelers (Shadorma)

Stairs

Stairs

Travelers

On a worn stairway

Toward Heaven

Redemption

On the narrowest of paths

One step at a time

 

Stumbling

We grab the handrails

Looking up

As we climb

Hope of reward at the end

Is what we pray for
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Shadorma Photo Prompt #8

 

The Sun Still Rose

The sun still rose as I knew it would,

The birds sang their songs,

The winds blew strong,

The grass remained green just as it should.

 

In dawns dim light I opened my eyes,

My wife lay sleeping by my side,

My children in the next rooms reside,

All of these cause joy in my heart to rise.

 

The waters flow cooling parched earth,

The skies still a brilliant shade of blue,

The flowers bloom as they always do,

These more valuable than material worth.

 

Life continues like every other day,

As it has O’ these fifty years on,

Caring not the least as each new day dawns,

For it knows no other way.

 

I guess I’m just part of this natural flow,

Arriving then passing with time,

Like the bird and the beast and the tree and the vine,

I’ll receive my calling to go.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~