To protect and serve
Whole communities in fear
Race should not matter
But it does and always has
More so in this day and age
Policing has changed
More vicious, less tolerant
They’re militarized
Controlling people by fear
Instead of using respect
When did this happen
Jackboots on the peoples necks
Tanks in city streets
Science fiction is now real
Welcome to the brave new world
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
‘Tis not the fragrant flower I once knew,
Pleasing to the senses,
Brightening the world with her effervescent palette.
Her silky petals crumble, fragile to the touch,
Falling like toxic ash in the putrid air.
She pollutes the earth that feeds her,
Poisoning her waters making them non potable.
Oh how her beautiful bouquet has mutated,
Turning ugly and angry in the midst of the garden.
Those not of her kind are suffocated as weeds,
Trampled, then pulled out by their roots.
Intolerant and hateful she has become,
The prick of her thorns has turned fatal.
Her beauty, now masticated by selfishness
Sets her on a path to destruction.
No longer prized, no longer admired,
She will be turned as mulch–
Into the soil from whence she came.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Strained parental love
Clashing personalities
Mother and daughter
One lashing out in anger
Are they just too much alike
.
~~Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
This modern day doth promote looseness of lips
Easily speaking with nary a thought,
Then later in regret we come to grips
With what is proper as we had been taught.
A click of send with no recall,
Forever unleashed upon our world,
Try as we might we can never stall
The insults and hurt that we have hurled.
Nay, neither you nor I are immune;
We’re feeble and frail in our judgement moral.
Apologizing and vowing a different tune,
We beg forgiveness both written and oral.
Would it not have been best to have bitten our tongue
Forgoing the backlash that has now begun.
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Glass houses, a stone was thrown,
Where vines with thorn and poison grown.
Mirror you look, but cannot see,
Thing you hate inside is me.
So much alike, minds eye blind,
Wall of stone you hide behind.
Fear the world would see what’s real,
Confront the pain too painful to feel.
Problems perceived, faults not mine,
No matter you can’t ignore the signs.
Bury them deep, you feel you must,
Someday the damage you’ll see I trust.
Stronger than you, you never realized,
Afraid to look into my eyes.
Afraid you’ll find myself in you,
False perception like bird would flew.
Carry on this childish game,
One day to burn out a candle flame.
My hope for you be sooner I pray,
Love yourself come-what-may.
~
~~ Dominic R. DIFrancesco ~~
You look on appalled and concerned
Just as I look at you.
Maybe he’s out for walk,
Bird watching,
Enjoying the sun or the weather.
Oh no, that can not be,
We haven’t seen him before!
Where did he come from?
Where is he going?
He must be up to no good.
Casing the joint,
Looking to rob us,
Rape our women,
Set fire to our homes,
Surely he must be a criminal,
He does not belong here!
But why incredulous?
He doesn’t look like us,
His type doesn’t live in this neighborhood.
He’s the wrong color,
Certainly he must be muslim
Or gay,
Or dealing drugs to our kids
And hates this country.
This is the twenty-first century,
Haven’t we moved beyond our prejudice?
Shamefully…
No!
Hateful glances say no,
Joblessness says no,
Homelessness says no,
Hearts and minds say no,
Ignorance still exists,
The year,
The decade,
The century matters not.
In correctness some bite their tongues,
But their medieval minds dictate.
Thoughts expressed through actions,
Conversations held in the shadows,
The like-minded nodding in approval.
So little have we progressed,
Claims of enlightenment ring hollow.
Baseless assumptions poisoning us,
Fear used as justification,
Repetition brainwashing the ignorant.
When will it end,
This perpetuation of hate,
Cloaked as patriotism, religion,
Our constitutional right?
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Walking away,
Withdrawing into my conscience as my conscience dictates.
~
This water-cooler talk, here say, utter nonsense,
Tearing down the fabric that binds us;
Serving agendas of personal gain or revenge
Humiliation or mistrust.
What purpose does this serve?
Certainly none to better our kind.
~
I neither want nor take any part in these juvenile games,
As I have been victim myself on more than one occasion.
Few can pronounce they have not I propose.
~
Harken back to the embarrassment, the anger, the trauma;
Was this pleasurable—most surely it wasn’t.
What pleasure can be derived by such caterwauling?
None I submit, but momentary satisfaction
followed by regret and sorrow if your heart yet beats.
~
Would not your energies better serve kindness and generosity
than the degradation of our comrades?
~
Would it not be better to think before we speak?
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
You talk down to me
Treating me as a child
But you’re mistaken
Sprouting many years ago
I have long been in full bloom
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 