Tag Archives: death

Love Eternal

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Love, a sweet and fragile thing,

So often taken for granted,

Or tossed aside as insignificant.

~~

Only a heart blackened,

Burned and broken,

Could commit such a tragedy.

~~

Choosing to pass alone,

Lonely and cold,

Into the eternal night.

~~

Foolish choices,

Made by selfish men,

In the name of earthly gain.

~~

For what purpose,

Material possessions are finite,

Discarded on our last day.

~~

But is not love eternal,

Gifted freely from one to another,

Melding with our very souls.

~~

What a poor man is he,

Confined to his worldly goods,

While silence fills his rooms.

~~

Does not love will us to go on,

Strengthening our resolve,

Even in times of affliction.

~~

If this were this not the case,

I long ago would have ceased,

Suffocated by life’s despair.

~~

Choosing love instead is most natural,

Engraved into our very being,

‘Til death do us part.

River’s Run

By D. R. DiFrancesco

The river wails in excitement as it reaches the precipice

Morphing into an effervescent shower of God’s tears

Crashing helplessly on the rocks below

The river never trembles

Never hesitates

Never endeavors to postpone it’s end

Instead it marches headlong into the unrevealed

On to a destiny known only to the maker

What a wonderous life it must lead

Concerned not with it’s fate

Content that it has traveled the determined path

Only to be reborn as a bountiful gift from Heaven

Mortality of Man

By: D. R. DiFrancesco

On bended knee,
Bloodied and bruised,
I prayed for forgiveness,,
Hoping for nothing else to lose.

This was not to be,
With tears and head bowed,
Reciting the mantras learned as a child,
A blessing on me I hoped you’d endow.

Having spewn blasphemous epithets,
Having thought impure thoughts,
I was not worthy,
I could not receive the mercy I sought.

A victim to the sins of Adam,
Consumed by the treachery of Eve,
Am I doomed to the frailty of my being,
“Oh no!” I am told if only I believe.

So to what fate is my soul condemned,
To Satan’s dominion or Heaven’s charity,
This is a question of faith,
To ask of God for greater clarity.

We question life’s lessons and failures,
Yet in these, may reside the answers we seek,
As they say, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”,
Quelling what is mortally weak.

Does a God exists, for this I am hopeful,
For if not then this is all for naught,
There’s no comfort in nothing, if you’re gone you’re gone,
Pray for veracity in what we were taught.

In Remembrance – Haiku

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Bow your heads and pray,

Those lost on that tragic day,

Live on in our hearts.

*************************************

The scattered debris,

Charred and lifeless in that field,

Breaking the silence.

*************************************

The two titans fall,

Waking a sleeping giant,

From it’s lethargy.

*************************************

A symbol of might,

Flame and confusion consume,

Still bravery shone.

The Anniversary

Freedom Tower NYC

By D. R. DiFrancesco

An anniversary,

Not so unlike the 10 before,

Unhappy and unpleasant as it saunters by.

We take time to remember where we were,

When we first saw the images splashed across our screens,

When we shed our first tear.

You didn’t have to know anyone personally,

Still you knew everyone personally,

We were brothers and sisters by birth or naturalization.

Seeing the towers fall,

The Pentagon our symbol of power ablaze,

Flight 93 reduced to a burning debris field wrenched at our hearts.

First responders covered in dust,

Survivors disheveled, awash in blood,

Wandering aimlessly, trying to grasp the magnitude of the situation.

Incomprehensible…yet bravery abounded,

Stories of heroism and self-sacrifice,

Overshadowing the cowardice of the act.

A monument to our resolve rises,

Out of the smoke and ash, a tribute to the lost,

We will not be broken.

We remember the 2, 977 victims of this day,

As the names are read and the prays are spoken,

New tears are shed out of sadness and out of pride.

We will never falter,

We will never forget,

We are Americans…

God Bless America!

Requiem for Peter

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Words seem inadequate at such a time,

More than just a colleague you were a friend,

I can’t imagine the anguish and fear that must have gripped you.

Sadly, all we could do was watch,

Offer faint attempts at support,

And secretly hope that you would recover.

This was not to be,

You aged right before our eyes,

Hair, once salt and pepper turned white and paleness  entered your skin,

A shell of the man you used to be.

Your strength however, was inspirational,

Disease did not deter you from your labors,

Your attitude always focused on the positive.

Our lives my friend, were enriched just to have known you,

You left far more to this world than you took,

And this world will be a little emptier without you.

May you find peace and comfort with your maker,

As those that knew you come to terms with your passing,

Farewell dear friend…you will be sorely missed.

** In memory of my colleague Peter who passed away last night from lung cancer.

Twilight’s Aftermath

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Awaken me so that I can feel the life-blood course through my veins

Pulsing, gushing, bringing warmth to every limb

In the black of night I begged to be revived

Slapped to consciousness by the maker’s almighty hand

I balk as I look down upon my lifeless vessel

Seemingly floating, weightless and translucent

Hearing every word, but unable to speak

Painless yet terrified of missed goodbyes

I try to scream, still nary a sound can be made

Cold and motionless I try to shake myself from this God forsaken slumber

They never said it would feel like this

Bright lights, almost blinding

I can see them, though my eyes are shut tight

How can this be

No one is calling me home, just bright lights and heat

Voices, huddled, cocktail party conversation

Its hard to swallow, parched and cracking

Hello…I’m here, can’t you see me…I can hear you

No response

Laughter and echoed unintelligible sounds drown me out

This can’t be happening

Black…

Oh God, its gone black

The lights are gone and its black as night

Voices implode into deafening silence

Eyelids flutter revealing fog distorted faces

Softer lights sting my eyes

Sounds come into focus, echo-less and clear

I can feel

I can speak

Fear subsides as the sweat is wiped from my brow

Twilight’s affects begin to wane

I am me…

I am alive

And I am well

To Almost Touch Heaven

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Staring into an ocean blue sky,

Gliding,

Cradled in the silvery wings of a bird,

So close God,

So close to heaven I can almost touch it.

This must be what it is like to die,

What it is like to ascend into the afterlife,

Weightlessly soaring,

Song of birds a symphony,

Leading my soul skyward,

Sun warm and inviting on my face,

Clouds of virginal white clothe me,

Comforting my weary essence.

At peace,

This must be what it is like,

What it is like to almost touch heaven,

On the wings of the silvery bird.

 

Honor and Sacrifice

Army Command Sargent Major Kevin J. Griffin
Poem in memory of those killed Wednesday 8, August 2012
by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan
Army CSM Kevin J, Griffin
Air Force Major Walter D. Gray
Army Major Thomas E. Kennedy

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Another tour,

Another chance that I won’t go home,

A picture of my baby girl,

Another reminder of what I’ve left,

Another casualty of my sacrifice,

A lock of my loving wife’s hair,

Another night of restless sleep,

Another dream of holding her close,

Rockets screaming at 2 AM,

Another miss,

Another prayer thanking God,

I’m scared but I can’t allow it to show,

Another night of frayed nerves,

Another soldier can’t see my fear,

Too rattled to go back to sleep,

Another march dead tired,

Another struggle to push through the pain,

Today, the next of many, training our indigenous friends,

Another day of watching my back,

Another day working with people you can’t trust,

We didn’t see it coming,

Another blast,

Another vest laden suicide bomber,

I’m sorry,

There won’t be another day,

There won’t be another homecoming,

I won’t see my baby girl,

I won’t see my loving wife,

Just know that I love you,

And please…don’t ever forget me.

The Beast

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Red is the moon,
Supernatural in it’s beauty
Frightening in it’s difference,
A distant howl shatters the dead quite night.

A mid-summer chill gnaws at my bones,
Trees casting shadows black as pitch,
Swaying in an unnatural dance,
Again, the wolf’s howl pierces the darkness.

Myths of old dash through my mind,
Illusions fog my senses,
Feeling helpless in the sight of the unseen,
Hastening my step to reach safety, but why?

The sound of footsteps,
Intermingling, then silencing my own,
I stop to listen,
Nothing but the wind rustling invisible folliage.

Sweat beads on my brow,
Dripping in torrents,
Clouding my vision and stinging my eyes,
Lips chapping cold, salty, hard to breathe.

Strangeness strangles me,
The howls are closer now, more frequent,
I strain to maintain composure,
Certainly this must be in my head.

My pace quickens as does my heartbeat,
Trying to outrun the howl,
Peering wide-eyed, over left shoulder then right,
Limbs and briars tear at my flesh.

Staggering confusion overtakes me,
Nothing seems familiar or friendly,
Sounds magnified with my heightened sense of awareness,
Stumbling, disoriented, trembling with fear.

But why?
Could it not be a dog?
A pet gone astray?
They say dogs are man’s best friend.

Behind me, in front of me, the howl,
They’re close now,
Growls, deep and guteral snap me back,
From the four winds they come.

What unholy hell is this?
A thousand pairs of eyes track me,
Nowhere to hide,
Blood trails down my face.

Hard to breathe,
Running seems the only solution,
Turning in cirles,
Those eyes, those howls, surround me.

Shadows, they seem so alive,
Moving closer,
Trying to suffocate me where I stand,
Like hands clutching at my throat.

Running, gasping, stumbling,
Tears welling up in my eyes,
Falling, they are almost upon me,
Resistance seems so futile.

Stunned, my face to the ground,
Foul breath envelopes me,
It’s moisture surrounds me like a cloud,
Terror takes hold of my very being.

Crawling, dragging myself to my feet,
I turn, they lunge,
A fury of fur and fang,
What nightmare has thrust me into this hell!

Beasts converge from all directions,
Flesh ripped from bone,
Pain numbs me,
Knocked to the ground under a demon pile.

Eyes flash a ghastly shade of green,
My body being torn asunder,
Who would have believed werewolves were real?
I can scarcely hear my death scream.

Limp, bloody and beaten, movement escapes me,
I can feel satan breathing in my face,
In a snarl I can see his unnatural fangs,
Dripping in blood, they are poised for the kill.

This moment of clarity,
Staring the beast in the eyes,
He has won, I was never any match,
My throat his grand prize.

Blood flowing uncontrollably,
No longer able to speak,
I can feel my life force draining away,
No more pain, no more fear.

To those that may follow,
Myths are routed in reality,
By God werewolves are real!
Just ask what is left of me.