Tag Archives: death

Judge, Jury, Executioner

Judge, jury, executioner,

We decide the fate of the smallest of lives,

Crickets, mice, the common house fly, the family pet

Playing god with those we deem less significant.

Who handed us the gavel?

Who gave us the plunger of the lethal injection?

Who gave us the power to determine when a life will end?

We dole out this punishment with little thought

All because we call them pests

Or we don’t want them to needlessly suffer,

But this is not our role in this world.

Shouldn’t we allow them to transition in their own time?

We all have a time,

You, me, the cricket, them mouse, the house fly, the family pet,

One that will bring the end with or without intervention,

Though not determined by our hands.

…The sanctity of life.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Today He Did Rise (Tanka)

Today He did rise

As foretold by the Bible

Many years ago

Still the lesson hasn’t been learned

Refusing to live in love

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

As Dusk Settles In (Tanka)

As dusk settles in

We bid farewell to the day

Ushering in night

Not so unlike that of man

Drifting from life into death

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

At This Holy Time (Tanka)

At this Holy time

Many go through the motions

For eggs and candy

A bizarre celebration

Forgetting His death and rise

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

To Those Gone Without A Trace

To those gone without a trace,

What were your last thoughts?

What did you see?

What did you here?

To the  Atheists, did you find God?

To the Christians, did you ask Christ to save you?

To the Muslims, did Allah forgive you your sins?

This is not an indictment,

I would asked for all of this and so much more.

Did you feel abandoned?

Did your life flash before your eyes?

Did you see the faces of loved ones?

Did you hear the laughter of your children?

Surely I would have felt all of these things.

These questions bring me to tears.

I don’t know what I would think as I sat helpless,

And in the end would it really matter

In the face of impending doom?

These answers float on the wind,

And drift with the changing tides,

In places without names, undiscovered.

Know that wherever you are,

We think about you,

Hoping that your final rest is in peace.

Lost at sea.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Shipwrecked (Reverse Acrostic)

Many a trip to distant shores

Seen from deck and crows nest high

I pray my return home to Aliveri

Its port, my village, my final trip

Still far from home the wind did blow

Gale ripping sails from masthead and spar

Fierce storm did brew this wretched foe

Fear contagious proving fatally toxic

Men jumping ship as we list and creak

Hull split and torn, I choke on frigid brine

I bid you farewell with great sorrow–I’m dead

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

~

Poetry Prompt #6 Reverse Acrostic – We Drink Because We’re Poets – Prompt Word: Shipwreck

Skeptics Still Persist (Tanka)

Skeptics still persist

Liberal media blamed

Burdening business

Global warming is not real

Tell that to those who suffer

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Memories Dot Our Roadsides

Memories dot our roadsides,

Highway or rural it matters not.

Monuments hammered with tears serve as reminders,

Whitewashed, makeshift,

Adorned in faded flowers,

Bleached to muted hues by the noonday sun.

At times dressed with images,

Perhaps names or signs–loves of their lives;

Each one a silent storyteller.

Embarrassed, I often pass without offering a sympathetic glance,

Too consumed with my own circumstance to take notice.

This is not out of cruelty,

Nor is it for a lack of compassion,

But instead due to the chaos of everyday life.

Still–upon further reflection, I wonder…

Whose daughter, son, mother, father were they?

What story do they have to tell,

What were their hopes and dreams,

Are those left behind coping?

Questions are these for which I have no answer.

A solitary cross marks a souls final earthly moment,

Pleading to be noticed and remembered.

I hope to take the time, if only a moment

To wish their spirits well

And to pray for closure for those left behind.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Were Today Thy Last (Sonnet)

Were today thy last, wouldst thou giveth all ye had,

Or wouldst thou hoardeth as the miser does.

Hiding his worth from all his lasses and lads,

Vowing to take it with him as if thy soul it was.

~

Foolish art thou who believeth this lie,

For nothing of this world shalt survive the beyond.

To ash it doth turn on the day that we die,

It matters not how precious nor how fond.

~

Thy treasures are but bobbles, no worth doth they hold,

Once thou hath taken thy deep and final breath.

Arrogance and greed, both foolhardy and bold,

Revealed as thou art lowered to thy grave upon death.

~

Giveth now with the fullest of hearts for thy time upon earth is but brief,

Resulting in lightness and joy in thy heart to thy soul this shalt come as relief.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

The Gathering Storm (Tanka)

The gathering storm

Perfect bout–Heaven and Hell

There are no victors

Yet we remain undeterred

Fighting ‘til our final day

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~