Tag Archives: death

Battle Scarred – A Tanka

Image Credit: nationalgeographic.com

Image Credit: nationalgeographic.com

Names long forgotten

Came screaming back to haunt me

As if yesterday

Friends lost on the battlefield

Turn dreams to guilty nightmares

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Ode to Alicia

O’ what sorrows hang under the placid moon,

Beguiled as we wait before an open tomb.

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Unexpectedly passing in horrid way,

O’er the hilltop, contorted and lifeless you lay.

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Cowardly murderer ran with haste from his deed,

Hiding as rats will do in thicket and weed.

~~

Hide from God! You most certainly cannot,

Judgement at the gates will harshly begot.

~~

O’ dear Alicia…how young and innocent you were,

Just a child– Undeserving of a life to pass as a blur.

~~

While the foul miscreant thrives and lives on,

Corrupt of conscience, never considered you were gone.

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O’ how the parents grieve for their little lost soul,

All while this pariah slithers into Satan’s black hole.

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Squalid tomb– Why take solace in so young a life?

So cold, so final, no comfort to the progenitors strife!

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Judgement befitting the crime, our earthly courts did not levy,

Cries for hanging be raised at the hands of a justified bevy.

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No! Justice in this lifetime is not to be,

Pray God, Hell’s hanging tree hath a place for he.

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As the tomb eternal be sealed from the light,

Candles pay homage to a life once so bright.

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A place be laid for you Alicia…at the foot of God’s throne,

For all to take comfort that you will never be alone.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Family Honor

Two star struck lovers bequeathed to the night,

Passion, deceit for to hide out of sight.

She…questionable virtue…from the wrong side of the tracks,

Parental displeasure of refinement she lacks.

Refinement nor virtue does fail to impart,

For love…it does blind in matters of the heart.

Inconsolable his father takes matters to hand,

This tryst must dissolve on this he demands.

Honor of family trumps sanctity of life,

She must be parlayed before he takes her his wife.

So twisted was his mind he could scarcely think clear,

The evil he did plot against his son held so dear.

Blackness in his heart…the tramp won’t be missed,

When…how…on the table pound his fist!

Finally he takes her, it matters not from where,

Kicking and screaming he has her by the hair.

Raging and seething to the lake they did go,

Softness of ground, so much easier to sow.

She fought for her life, to the end no avail,

Fate she did meet by his father…did impale.

Twisted face…drove the father to remorse,

For the good of the family, I must stay the course.

Sweat pouring down, the hole he did dig,

Shovel like a flash moving dirt, leaf and twig.

Body limp and lifeless, a dirty silent face,

Angelic in its beauty he laid her into place.

What have I done as each shovel flew,

Too late it was now there is nothing more to do.

Vial task now complete, heavy heart he did carry,

Back to his home…no one more the wary.

Son perplexed by absence, he couldn’t help but worry,

Where might she have gone, without trace, in a hurry.

For days upon end decline did his mood,

Nary desire for sleep, for water or for food.

His father stood watch as his son’s life did languish,

Conscience torn asunder he succumbed to his anguish.

Little time did it take for the boys light to fade,

Result of the father’s despondent bed that he made.

He buried his boy not long after this,

Family collapsed he was so sorely missed.

The father, for all his attempts to defend,

Suffered his sin, one he could never mend.

He passed like his son fairly soon thereafter,

Life spun out of control an irreparable disaster.

Hell most surely laid out it’s red carpet for him,

The Devil delighting in this most thoughtless of whims.

For all his grandiose and pompous plans he did draw,

He lost his family, his son, his life and beautiful daughter-in-law.

 

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Leap Of Faith

A leap of faith,

Whether in love,

Whether in life,

Whether at death,

Waking is to plummet,

Headlong into the unforeseen.

A mystery without end,

Until we breathe our final breath,

Meeting whatever fortune,

We so feverishly wove,

Through thoughts and deeds,

Living absent of tomorrow,

We cannot know,

We cannot want to know,

What fate awaits,

On our final day.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Life in Time

Time, is it something we are given or something we keep?

We can not hold it,

We can not prolong it no matter how hard we try.

So many have tried and failed.

Kings in the belief they were gods,

Destined to live forever,

Believing they were divinely chosen,

But to no avail life slipped away from them.

The sands of time drizzled from between their gold adorned fingers,

Leaving their hearts empty and their hands cold,

This is as it always has been and always will be.

Our science can only sustain the life left in us,

When we are called to pass no method of man can save us.

Should we not then cherish the hours we spend in this world,

Accepting them as a gift to be received gratefully?

Nothing on this earth is forever.

We cannot keep time,

It was not given to us to be kept.

It was given instead to be enjoyed,

Lived to the fullest in harmony with our fellow transients.

Who like us will run out of the gift of time, some day, some hour,

Only to join our ancestors in eternity.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Ravaged By Nature

Sullied winds chatter chimes lashed to greyed beams

Warped and splitting with age, appear none too long for this world

With each ring an angel must surely get their wings

As remuneration for a melody so heavenly revealed

~~

Steps crippled, squeal as mice in traps are bound to do

Bowing under the burden of the weary traveler

Fortitude ingrained, revives the weakened conscripts

Whose preparation has made them cordial adversaries

~~

Tawny hinges weathered by sun, beaten by the wind cry in pain

Remorse etched into their hammered finish confesses their age

Chagrined by subjugation, the door slams

Announcing defeat to it’s audience of none

~~

Dark but for dust pirouetting through muted shafts of light

Stirred by shuffling boots, tattered and worn thin by extended employ

Creaking under foot, floorboards rebel in unison with their owner

Shrunken and contorted from the weight of existence

~~

Ping of coils break the stagnant silence of the vessel

Sagging lumpy seat replaces a once firm cushion

A quiet ah, escapes from the lungs in expiration

Sense of relief but for the strain of fabric

~~

Cracking joints echo of broken glass in freefall

Legs wobble by exhausted mortise and tenon

Laden with rings, table balances precariously in an uncomfortable dance

Unsteady and unsure, time has reaped it’s revenge

~~

Tired well beyond youth, mortality returns from holiday

Waiting to reveal what lay interred beyond these walls

Neither refinish nor repair prolong to eternity

Only temporary and finite are the workings of men

~~

Man conspires with the dwelling in cosmic ways

Each subject to the ravages of the lifetime moment

Materially morphing into a shell of the original creation

Inevitably conceding to nature’s crowing fate

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Senseless Loss (Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy)

cn

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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To rationalize this cycle of unfettered hate

Would only lend credence to the insane

The innocence of children left to a horrible fate

Snuffed out by a killer’s reasons arcane

~~

We weep for them, for what we have lost

A future taken in an instant never to grow up

Never to have know them, an insurmountable cost

Terrible and tragic their loss we never can make up

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We light our candles and say a prayer

Hoping their Maker greets them with open arms

For all we can do is stand united and show them that we care

While trying to figure out how to protect others from Satan’s harm

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Who could have known or perhaps have foretold

What tragedy would await these children so pure

Our own  we’ll pull close and tightly hold

To be confident they safe I am sure

~~

Thou shalt not kill a commandment most true

May this murderer burn in eternal hell

For you’ve taken from us so much more than you knew

In a moment of silence we toll the bell

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We stand with the mothers and fathers who weep

Tears that cannot bring their babies home

Never again to lay them down to sleep

Their hearts laid bare, broken and alone

~~

What more can I do but say sorry and grieve

For a loss no one can ever justify

I drop to my knees and beg their souls to take leave

And with mourning and sadness say goodbye

Revenge, Quest for the Dragon

credit - terrariaonline.com

credit – terrariaonline.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

Cloven hooves and scaly wings,

Fire and brimstone my eyes it stings.

 ~~

The stench, burned flesh and rotting corpse,

This quest undertaken without remorse.

 ~~

To avenge my love of many years,

With sword and pike to steady my fears.

 ~~

So young and innocent in the talons clutch,

A life destroyed, she suffered much.

 ~~

This beast,a devil must surely die,

With head on stake and raised most high.

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The path to hades on unsure foot,

I trudge and stumble through knee deep soot.

 ~~

Gagging and choking on horrid smell,

Anxious that I’ll perish in this demon’s hell.

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Not before I slay my dragon foe,

I vow to persist ‘til my last breath dost go.

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The earth is scorched as I journey the peak,

The wind, a roar, guides me to the butcher I seek.

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The sound and stink of his putrid breath,

I grit my teeth in the face of death.

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Courage in the shadow of terror I must muster,

Sharpened point, razors edge, sabre’s glint in silver luster.

 ~~

The cave the den, path to hell in linesight,

The smoke and sulfur eclipse the sunlight.

 ~~

Flames erupt and singe the landscape,

I refuse to retreat, with night comes darkness drape.

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Hidden in shadows I inch my way onward,

Sword in clenched fist should I have to thrust forward.

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In shock and surprise the beast my scent hast sensed,

I lunge behind boulders as my lifes only defense.

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A roar as if from hades cracks the whistle of the gale,

Trembling in fear, his beating wings shedding monstrous scales.

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Flames nearly blinding, the heat my flesh boils,

I must run, change my course, before my quest he doth foil.

 ~~

As he draws in a breath for his next volley of fire,

I sprang from my hideout and circled much higher.

 ~~

In murderous rage the devil turned to give chase,

A discarded scale as a shield did I hoist in great haste.

 ~~

The torrent of fire my shield did repel,

Though I stumbled and fell how I survived and cannot tell.

 ~~

Another deep breath the dragon he drew,

Without a thought for my safety the pike through air flew.

 ~~

A ghastly howl filled the night as the pike hit it’s mark,

As flames filled the air piercing the obsidian dark.

 ~~

With head drawing down his roar from hell thrown my way,

With courage I filled, destined to live another day.

 ~~

Like a rabbit I jumped from behind makeshift shield,

With sword in clenched hand I swung what I wield.

 ~~

As his head it approached and our eyes surely meet,

With a leap I did plunge, blade to hilt landing on both feet.

 ~~

With a yell I withdrew bloody blade from the beast,

Pike still impaled to redeem my maiden, his feast.

 ~~

With sabre raised overhead to swing with all my might,

His crimson life draining along with his demon charged fight.

 ~~

A strike to his throat though armored it may be,

Shattered scale, flesh and tendon razored blade exposed he.

 ~~

He dropped to his knees spewing flames so erratic,

Moaning and crying in demon’s voice traumatic.

 ~~

With a thunderous tumble the mountainside shook,

As the monster’s death imminent the last breath he took.

 ~~

Elated I raised sword for one final blow,

Swiftly and grunting off with his head it did go.

 ~~

Exhausted I dropped to one knee and did weep,

Thanking God for His strength and His blessing bade me sleep.

 ~~

My darling revenge is now in my firm clutch,

I slay your cowardly killer helped by God’s mighty touch.

 ~~

Dragon’s head on the pike still my heart it does break,

No solace is found though serpents life I did take.

 ~~

Sadness eternal where my destiny lie,

“Til when unite and I mercifully die.

Tears for Damascus Road

Damascus Road – Syria credit – biblewalk.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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Children’s faces gnarled in fear,

Mother’s scratching and clawing through smoldering rubble,

Eyes blurred with salt of tears,

We did not ask for the master’s trouble.

~~~

As sounds of jets unseen scream overhead,

Bombs and bullets rip their way,

A bloody path paved with the dead,

That no longer live to love another day.

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While nations watch the slaughter unfold,

Antiquities cities fall in ruin,

Tragic stories as yet untold,

Of a once great civilizations grievous undoing.

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How sad an era of humankind,

While those with influence and power wait,

Their hesitance astonishes and confounds the mind,

As their fellow men perish at the Devils gate.

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How many more must fall at the feet of tyranny,

Before we rise up and unite as one,

The reasons given there have been many,

Act we must before the next setting sun.

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Damascus and Aleppo cities on fire,

Assad fails to heed their sacred call,

Culture replaced with razor barbed wire,

A world dreading the day that they fall.

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Still terror rages on, tens of thousands are dead,

Calls for help, no one raises a hand,

Contracts and money for their coffers are fed,

To look away from the graves in this ancient land.

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Wake up all you Caliphs or next could be you,

You cry for justice, cry foul when it serves,

Your neighbors huddled masses are brothers its true,

Misery and suffering never did they deserve.

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Our President he sits with hands folded tightly,

Decrying the wrongs so harshly inflicted,

More deaths to report with each update nightly,

Calls for more U.N. sanctions restricted.

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Is it not our divine duty to aid those who are weak,

With all might and resolve in our hands,

To grant refuge to those with the safety they seek,

From torture and their tombs in the sand.

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Do pray my dear friends for peace in our time,

That dictators and tyrants succumb,

To consensus and strength so mightily sublime,

Before to others pain we become numb.

I Should Have Listened

By D. R. DiFrancesco

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They are only things,

Temporary and replaceable trinkets,

Their loss, of course stings,

But at the time you could not think it.

 ~~

They asked you to leave and not look back,

Refusing, you took your life in your hands,

While Sandy bore down on your homes and your shacks.

Threatening to bury you in water and sand.

 ~~

Stubborn you claim, “ I’ve been through this before”,

I made it once, I made twice, I can make it again,

But Sandy is not like any of those other girls they implore,

She’s reckless, she’s deadly, she’s a ten out of ten.

 ~~

You know better than they do,

She can’t take what is yours,

Until the trees fell and the waves grew,

You tried to batten your windows and doors.

 ~~

The winds whipped and the rains fell,

Now your house has gone dark,

There’s no one to call, there’s no one to tell,

A loud bang and the sky is lit up by a transformers spark.

 ~~

A tear falls and your heart begins to race,

Maybe Sandy isn’t like any of the other girls I knew,

I wasn’t afraid of Irene or Katrina I just laughed in their face,

I’m beginning to think that this one played me for the fool.

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You called for help, but your cries go unheeded,

They told you to get out, you just wouldn’t listen,

Left to ride out the storm ‘til the oceans receded,

Under stress you tremble and sweat begins to glisten.

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A horrible crash and the doors turn to splinter,

Windows explode shattered glass all around,

Nowhere to hide as the waves rush to enter,

Trapped with no chance to reach higher ground.

 ~~

You struggle to hang on not to drift out to sea,

As your walls crumble down like paper mache,

The surge sucks you out as you lunge for a tree,

Praying to God to live another day.

 ~~

Your tired and weak as your hold begins to slip,

Life flashes like a movie in your minds eye,

Kicking and straining not to lose your wet grip,

Hoping against hope that its not time to die.

 ~~

But your fate it was sealed in that moment of haste,

You had your chance given more than should have been needed,

The lose of your life such a sad and immoral waste,

All for disregard of a message that should have been heeded.

 ~~

We now mourn your loss as a tragedy unforgiving,

At the hands of a lady with the devil in her soul,

You could have been one to go on in life living,

Instead you’re another uptick in Sandy’s death toll.

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You’re a sad reminder of nature’s great strength,

To be feared and respected in all of it’s glory,

Awesome and powerful while held at arms length,

May your loss be our lesson in this tragic storm story.

Sadly, there are those that do not have an appropriate respect for the power of nature.  Too often these individuals refuse to heed the warnings given to them and the result is not just the loss of their personal property, but the loss of their lives.

I truly mourn those who perished as a result of Hurricane Sandy and hope that somehow those that lost their lives due to their blatant disregard of the warnings serve as a lesson to those who may contemplate similar actions in the future.

I honestly believe that there are no material possessions in this world worth sacrificing ones life for.   I hope and pray for a speedy recovery and return to normalcy for those who are suffering from the wrath of Sandy.  My heart goes out to you all.