Dying on a beach named Omaha
Determined to win no matter the cost
All for the restoration of Europe’s freedom
Yellow ribbons do not do them justice
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Tag Archives: death
I Never Really Knew Her
My breath floated silently toward Heaven.
I watched as it disappeared
Blending seamlessly with the cloud filled sky.
With upturned collar
I stood with loved ones feeling completely alone;
Such a strange feeling this is.
I had known her for almost fifty years,
But suddenly came to realize…
I scarcely knew her at all.
Self-absorbed with my life, my own family,
Thinking she would always be there
I never thought to ask who she was,
What her life was like,
Even where she born;
It just never occurred to me to ask
And never came up in conversation.
My picture of her had always been the same,
White hair, as white as newly fallen snow,
Her cheek, soft and smooth to the kiss,
Kind and joyful, yet quiet as a mouse;
Always taking a backseat to the love of her life.
Sadly, her time has now passed
Taking with it the story that was her.
I am left to gather up snippets,
Like those tossed on the cutting room floor
Selectively shared second hand.
My chance has passed to hear her story
In the truth that can only come from living it.
No fault can be placed, but on me
So on me alone the fault must lie.
By divine retribution, I stand here,
In the icy chill of winter to bid farewell
To one I loved dearly,
More dearly than she would ever know
And with profound sadness I’ve come to realize
…That I never really knew her at all.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A Bell Doth Toll In Distant Tower
A bell doth toll in distant tower.
From my prison balcony
The smell of figs,
Sweet and fragrant waketh me from my trance.
Much prefered to the odor of irony rot oozing from beneath thy ligatures
That holdeth me captive.
Thy constant seeping maketh me nauseous.
O’ how I long to draw my dagger from its leathery sheath;
To feel thy pressure as I spiral into peaceful eternal sleep.
To taste the honey of death woulds’t be such relief,
For this living art not emulous of life.
I blush to think that this is how my end shalt come,
At the hands of thy cowards and fools.
Yet destiny hath no master
And I, but a pawn shalt be sacrificed
For thine greater good.
I committeth my soul into thine hands;
With the hope that thou mayest sleep at night
Knowing the wrong thou hast done,
–I bid thee farewell.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie -Wordle #10
Travelers (Shadorma)
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 ~~
Looking Through The Haze
The Dove – Alex Alemany
Looking through the haze toward distant shores,
She knows that her love is here no more.
“Lost at sea” the cable said,
Whereabouts unknown they presumed him dead,
But nothing on earth or in heaven can quell,
Her hope against hope it was wrong what they tell.
Still the solitary dove of the purest of white,
Could not quench her anguish as day turned to night.
With palm against pane her pain tore too much,
At the strings of her heart he could no longer touch.
Then a tear weaved its way down her fair tender cheek,
As the knot in her throat silenced her effort to speak.
All she could do was weep for him that was lost,
Ne’er to give up no matter the cost.
She promised him her love forever and all time,
To him and him alone his memory enshrined.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
~
Prompt: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Photo Prompt #7 – “The Dove”
Bastet and Anubis (Tanka and Haiku)
Since I really enjoy writing in the haiku and tanka forms I decided to write one haiku and two tankas for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie – Heeding Haiku With HA: To Egyptian Mythology Prompt.
~
Anubis
Anubis (Tanka)
Souls in transition
Under sacred watchful eyes
Do not be afraid
Anubis is guiding you
Into life everlasting
~
Anubis (Haiku)
Fear not the jackal
He is not what he appears
Anubis protects
~
Bastet
Bastet (Tanka)
Do not fear your death
Bastet protects as armor
Securing your life
You shall not be defeated
By your mortal enemies
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
The Church Bell Tolls
The church bells toll
Another mother soaked in tears
Another child gone too soon
A shot rang out in the dark
No one heard, no one saw
Just an unnamed face on an urban street
Victim of the violence that thins the herd
Taking a precious piece of our future with it
Cries drowned out with claims of infringement
What then is their answer
Do nothing
An eye for an eye
A gun for more guns
Their solutions absurd
Do we not live in a civilized age
This screams for a change of culture
Banishing hopelessness and despair
Curing symptoms not the disease
With reassurance and help
The offer of a hand when times are tough
Lip service pays them no homage
Hate and mistrust are it’s only spawn
Action in word and deed the only vaccine
Not changing with the times breeds failure
Failure of us all
Failure of the Grand Experiment
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Their Playground
Their playground, our world
The bullies intimidate
Taking what they want
Caught in their dangerous game
We are expendable pawns
It is Deja Vu
Cold War resuscitated
There are no winners
Just two very big egos
Gambling our existence
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
I’m Not My Body
I’m not my body.
It’s nothing but a flesh vase
Holding the real me.
The me that was before this,
The me not of this world,
The me of spirit.
Who I was before my birth;
Nothing but essence,
Not created or destroyed,
The me of eternity.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 