A new day begins,
Mine to make of as I please
Or let swallow me.
To live or die at its hand–
My only care in this world.
What choice should I make?
This should be oh so simple
Yet still I struggle.
I seek magical answers
When life stands right before me.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
From dusk until dawn
I live in dreamless torment
Cold–black is my night
Where do I go in slumber
When I am invisible
I can’t remember
My travels have been wiped clean
This terrifies me
Is this what death will be like
A blackboard erased from time
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Erased–blood stains and voices
Roadway washed clean by rain
Anger and outrage quelled
Silenced by media’s waning interest
Under the ground in which he’s buried roots still grow
Racism–spreading like crabgrass
Eviscerating the people of justice.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Do spirits exist
Walking the earth after dark
Or are we alone
It can’t be coincidence
That things go bump in the night
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Hawks at it again
Preaching fear to the masses
McCain’s battle cry
Only he has the answers
Say cheese for the cameras
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Teetering on the brink–again;
War-hawks sounding their alarm
Like the boy who cried wolf.
Prodding the populace with fear
As if they and they alone can foretell the future,
This is always their way.
They act as if violence on our soil is inevitable,
That we must strike first
Before the boogieman gets us in our sleep.
What is the endgame?
The objectives are muddled at best
Causing more harm than good.
Blaming the other side for inaction
Is their way of shifting focus,
And we believe time-and-time again.
All while their silken pockets are lined with gold
For their them and their friends.
Death is an industry like any other;
Capitalism at its finest
And we feed into their vile fare.
Rallying behind their hate and ignoring their greed
They hide behind the guise of patriotism;
O’ how blind and oblivious we are.
There is no dispute,
Barbaric acts of murder are despicable.
There is no death that can be condoned or celebrated,
Especially of the innocent.
Is this an act of war?
They are not a country.
They are not a government.
They are nothing, but criminals and murderers,
Treat them as such!
Yes, there is evil in this world!
Yes, there is a time and place for action,
But the motives must be clear,
The end must be solidly defined
And the cause must be just.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
With tears I say goodbye
Though I do not know your pain,
Nor the pain of your ancestors
Inflicted at the hands of those that look like me.
When I look in the mirror
I am not proud,
I am not proud of our past,
Not proud of of our inhumanity,
Not proud of the picture our hands are painting.
With a broad brush,
We paint in your blood,
Red and warm as mine
Though left to dry cold in the streets.
We stand around,
As if awaiting applause,
While your spirit fades,
Showing just how little we care.
I know this is not me,
Though I know you can’t see it;
And that these words are just words
Unable to bring you back from the dead.
Your family grieves,
But their grief is overshadowed,
Trampled down under the weight of constant diversions
Portraying you as something less than human.
Yet none of this matters!
Injustice cannot hide forever
Behind an iron blue citadel
Mortared with lies, racism and hatred.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
AUTHORS NOTE: I was not going to write another piece about the tragedy in Ferguson Missouri today, but I find Michael Browns’s death so troubling that I couldn’t help myself. His death in my eyes shows that racism still runs rampant in this country though many of us would prefer not to admit it. For those that would like to pretend this never happened, I think it is time you opened your eyes. Explain to me how being stopped for jaywalking could escalate to the point where a young man is shot six times and killed, then left alone in the street for so long. This is completely beyond my comprehension.
Frozen to the bone.
Bleeding heart ripped from its soul;
Faith in man–fading!
In an eyes blink we do kill,
No remorse ‘til it’s too late. This seems oh so cold,
Against what we preach is right,
Yet it doesn’t stop.
We are Neanderthals still,
Little evolved from our past.
Please don’t fool yourselves,
We are wolves disguised as sheep,
Prepared to slaughter.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Violence begets violence,
Through blood and terrible pain.
Hatred begets hatred,
With every fallen name.
Actions in this moment
Last for generations to come
Long after reasons forgotten
Our passions still succumb.
Perpetuating animus
At the cost of innocent life
Caught in the crossfire
Stainless victims of this strife.
Given a moment of thought
Or a look in a childs face.
Would we be so rash
To kill instead of embrace.
Perhaps someday great wisdom
Will seed the hearts of man.
To recognize the evil
Exacted since time began.
The hope for lasting peace
Lives in my fondest dreams.
Though unlikely in this lifetime
Nor ever so it seems.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Scorched earth, tragic end
Dignity strewn far and wide
–No rest for the dead
Stranded in frozen boxcars
Awaiting man’s compassion
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 