Another Year

Another year, add one more to the count.

Another tick mark on the chalkboard.

Another chance to get it right.

Another promise to myself to change.

Another negative thing I will give up.

Another positive thing I will nurture.

Another countdown to another list.

Another resolution that I didn’t complete.

Another year of self-flagellation for failures.

Another…Another…Another;

And for what,

So we can feel bad about ourselves,

So we can blame ourselves for our misgivings,

So we can complain of being wronged,

So we can blame others for our failures,

So we can make another list,

So we can fill it with resolutions,

So we can obsess about the negative,

So we can minimize the positive,

So we can set ourselves up to achieve more of the same.

Why do we not love who we are,

Work on changing the things we can change

Take responsibility for ourselves without pressure or demand

Strive to realize our dreams every day

Instead of tormenting ourselves

–Every first of January.

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

My Past Calls My Name (Tanka)

My past calls my name

Like an enemy taunting

Craving reaction

But the words fade to silence

On the reinvented me

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Do Words Affect Change

Do words affect change

Cause joy, pain, devastation

Linger in silence

Long after they’ve been uttered

Encouraging further thought

Is life made better

Uncertain futures improved

Or are they just words

Sounds vibrating through the air

Ink purposefully strewn

Blotting out the white

Filling meaningless canvas

Do words affect change

I certainly think they do

Or all of this is for naught

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Cool Air (Haiku)

Cool air on warm skin

The visceral mood of fall

Summer has been slain

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Reinvention (Tanka)

A reinvention

What exactly does that mean

Imaginary

The lies we tell to ourselves

We can’t be something we’re not

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Promises

Promises,

Freely given,

With best of Intentions.

.

Things change,

Promises broken,

Never to happen.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

The Chameleon – A Haiku

Image Credit: cities.org

Image Credit: cities.org

The chameleon

Changes with it’s surrounding

So also must we

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Though Earthbound

Though earthbound, I am lost amongst the sky blue,

Intricately woven into this tapestry that is nature.

~

Miniscule in comparison to the whole I am no less vital.

~

Without being, this picturesque world would be unrecognizable.

~

What I see as familiar would cease to exist without that

blade of grass, that oak tree, the bird singing in the eaves,

the lake where I skipped stones, the house that I grew up in,

my kindergarten teacher, the teachers that tolerated me,

the bus driver, the postman delivering the mail,

the plowman keeping our streets clear in winter.

~

Without any of these what would this life look like;

Much different I propose.

~

Without you or I what path would our parents lives have taken;

Surely a far cry from the one our history tells.

~

Lest we question our significance in this place and time

we should not!

~

We are each a thread in this fabric,

Significant and wonderful and cardinal by our simple existence.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

There Are Times When I’ve Forgotten Why I’m Here

There are times when I’ve forgotten why I’m here.

So much is happening around me yet I feel powerless.

Overwhelmed, at times I wish to bury my head in the sand,

But this is not me!

I refuse to sit idly by, while others contribute?

I am not helpless!

I cannot be a passive observer of injustice,

As this would make me no better than they.

I will not stand by, oblivious to the callousness of man,

For what kind of man would that make me.

These are the enabler’s of genocide and war,

Bigotry, hatred and inequality toward our equals,

Repression of those of lesser will,

Arrogance and ignorance,

I will take no part in these travesties!

I do not need God to beseech of me,

For I already know what is right and good.

With this I will find my way on the straightened path,

My moral compass to guide me,

In my journey to affect change.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Change of Course – A Tanka

What you think is right

Is right this moment only

Circumstances change

Requiring reflection

And a drastic change of course

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~