Tag Archives: dying

O’ Brilliant Bud (Sonnet)

O’ brilliant bud, how thy beauty fills me,

Looking upon thy delicate petals bloom.

Heaven sent–I see birth within thee,

Erupting with grace from nature’s womb.

~

How perfect art thee O’ simple flower,

Delicately sculpted by the hand of God.

Splendid creation through wondrous power,

Where mortal man darest not trod.

~

Thy life doth mimic that of our own,

So brief, blooming into the loveliest rose.

Until thy beauty fades as time hath shown,

Returning to dust, on north wind blows.

~

Regrets they’ve none for none required,

When thy final day comes and ye lay down tired.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

In The Daylight I Sit (Sonnet)

In the daylight I sit–tis dark as night

Not void of sun as one might think.

Emotions cloud every thought and sight,

Depressions hole I claw and sink.

.

Sadness without good cause inflicts;

Caped in black to draw out life.

Pain…such pain this joyless fix

Cuts like a razor–damn bloody knife.

.

Out of the blue this Satan creeps,

Slinking slowly to fill my head.

Of little comfort is nightly sleep

At times a prayer be better dead.

.

All is not lost for this too shall pass

Though certain that this time will not be the last.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

We Gather Here Today (Poem Read At Grandmother’s Funeral)

My Grandparents Wedding Picture 1930

My Grandparents Wedding Picture 1930

We gather here today in mourning and in tears

Just as tradition dictates we must

Saddened to have lost one we all held so dear

Into the hands of God, her soul we do trust

~

We grieve–as a way of dealing with our heartfelt loss

But wouldn’t celebration of an extraordinary life be best

To be honored and have loved is priceless at its cost

Yet our faith will most surely be put to the test

~

In the midst of our sorrow we must look for the good

At this life lived so full and so well

Surely she would want this, I believe that she would

As our angel in heaven tolls the bell

~

I’ve pondered these thoughts both long and hard

Feeling blessed for having known her all my years

While many have known her longer and held her in highest regard

Very few could be held as her peer

~

I think of the things that she saw while she lived

Horse and carriage and car shared the road

The tango took hold and its popularity thrived

Halley’s comet appeared with a tail that did glow

~

These are just a few of the things that took place

All within the year of her birth

The Boy Scouts established to this year can be traced

For however much or little its worth

~

A few years down the road and the world was at war

For the first, but unfortunately not the last

The Panama Canal finally opened its doors

With the indestructible Titanic going down fast

~

Prohibition arrives with all glasses going dry

Women finally won the right to vote

The Charleston becomes a hit why not give it a try

Babe Ruth hits the home run high note

~

Then marrying the gent with whom she’d share all her time

A tall and swarthy olive skinned man

Handsome, debonair and genuinely kind

A perfect compliment for this lady so grand

~

Not only did love grow, but the staircases climbed

The Empire State Building’s grandeur completed

Our National Anthem made official–so sublime

The Wizard of Oz premiered that’s now so oft repeated

~

Soon three children arrived who she cherished all of her days

No other event in her history could compare

By the grace of God all three of them are here with us today

To celebrate the life she was kind enough to share

~

Then the war to end all wars the second had begun

Separating this young mother from her true love

Left alone to raise her brood once two she now was one

With courage and a strength from up above

~

The smile of fate shone upon wife and mother oh so young

Bringing back the husband and father to his home

The rest of his life he spent working hard–unsung

Staying with her and raising their kids never again did he roam

~

Then the fifties roared in with Korea in conflict

McCarthy began his hunt and his war

The picture in color the television did inflict

Princess Elizabeth the Queen takes center floor

~

Walt Disney opens his land and his first jeweled crown

James Dean sadly passes away in a crash

Elvis’ gyrations bring Sullivan’s curtains tumbling down

While Castro dictates with his promises so brash

~

Then the first of her children has a child so dear

Most surely the apple of her eye

A lovely little girl like her mother its clear

No better could she have done had she tried

~

But no this was not to be last by any stretch

A boy this time was in the offing

The second of the grands her heart he did fetch

Topping this would be a feet ever so lofty

~

Then a iron strong wall dividing Berlin was built

JFK speaks of the “Man on the Moon”

A crisis in Cuba armed with missiles to the hilt

A President’s life taken way too soon

~

Amongst all of the chaos another grand is born

The first to her youngest and his wife

Coming about the time that the Beatles hit our shore

Giving joy to a sad and turbulent life

~

The U.S. sent its troops to a place called Vietnam

To fight in a most unpopular war

Then the fourth grand is born to Dad and Mom

In the year the first Super Bowl scores

~

In the following year a King left the room

And another Kennedy too

Armstrong became the first man on the moon

While the dream of Woodstock came true

~

Then in the year from Vietnam we came home

The final baby grand entered the world

A beautiful little girl to the family they had grown

Before her the red carpet unfurled

~

The stage has now been set for many more years

Her grands had babies of their own

The lights of her life that she held oh so dear

Guaranteed she would never be alone

~

How amazing it turned out that her line was not complete

Great grandchildren gave her great great grand children to hold

So few have been blessed and fewer still will repeat

This fairy tale that has seldom been told

~

We all have been rewarded to have had her for so long

In our hearts, our minds and our souls

Even with her passing this love will never be gone

We must hold her memory to fill in the holes

~

This dear friends and family is why I illustrate

With amazement in all she lived through

Yes I’m filled with sadness, but in joy celebrate

With envy at the wonders that she knew

~

I remember with great fondness her kind and gentle heart

Not one callous bone did she hold

Today is not an ending, but a new and hallowed start

To be traveled in death as her life had foretold

~

Her belief in God, no her true love of the Lord

I’m sure gave her great comfort in the end

So much can be learned, much more than we can afford

Her faith unwavering did not bend

~

Mom Mom Bea–this simple tribute is the least I can do

To selfishly comfort my sorrowed heart and mind

Sweet lady–I bid you farewell with the fondest adieu

One whose life with great love I’ve enshrined

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

~

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  This is the poem that I read at the funeral for my grandmother earlier this week.  Some of you had asked if I would post the poem I read in the church and after giving it some thought and getting my parents blessing (I felt I should make sure they were not opposed to it) here it is.  So many things happened in the world during her 103 years.  I hope that you enjoy it.

Snow Falls–Pure

Snow falls–pure, floating silent on the breath of angels,

Soothing the harsh reality of winters abrasive chill.

We long for the newness of spring, but it cannot be;

Buds cannot blossom without the falling of seed.

Though the pain of withering seems eternal, it is, but life–

Reminding us that we will be called back to whence we came,

Back to the earth, back to the soil that nourished us,

Back to its enveloping arms for everlasting rest.

To those that remain, this offers little comfort.

A void is left that no other can fill,

Instead its life is to serve as a constant reminder–

A living testament to those that came before and are no longer here,

Exuding the beauty and goodness inherited through time.

Though their delicate flower, has sacrificed its petals to the wind

And their stems have crumbled to dust;

Their image remains forever embedded in memory,

Never forgotten–often replicated in their honor.

Just as the lowly flower, we are left to serve as reminders,

Reminders of the harshness of our own winter, that takes;

Yet still it welcomes the beauty of spring with open arms.

Though tainted with elements of sadness,

Spring does promise hope, hope in the joy of birth,

Joy in the remembrance of those departed,

Joy in the love shared, the warm kisses on the cheek,

The hugs, the laughter, the kindest of words;

Joy in having had the pleasure of knowing and being known,

Loving and being loved, cherishing and being cherished.

What greater honor is there in this momentary world?

I can think of none, nor would I trade them for another.

With longing and sorrow we say goodbye to one so loved,

Though our separation is as brief as our living.

We will reunite one day beyond this earth

Shedding this body and freeing our spirit as if no time at all had passed.

Placing our souls into the gentle hands of the Creator,

We take comfort that we will be cared for and cherished in Heaven

Just as we were cared for and cherished in life.

Say not farewell, for farewell tenders nothing but sadness and permanence,

“Until we meet again” seems much more apt

Be firm in the knowledge that we will…”meet again”

In a place of beauty amongst those that we have loved,

Never again to be parted.

 ~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

~

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I was asked to speak at my grandmother’s funeral a few days ago and had written a couple of poems that I thought I might read to honor her memory.  This is the one that I did not read, but I hope that you will enjoy it. 

Heavy is My Heart (Tanka)

Heavy is my heart
My childhood memories
Flood into my nights
I’m worried I will forget
As my dreams, with passing time
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Finality of Life (Sonnet)

Finality of life remains elusive to the young,

No concept do they have of how fleeting is time.

We all had our anthems that as teens we had sung

Shouting out defiance in verse and in rhyme.

.

Then age ushers wisdom and illusion fades away

Leaving reality as a cold and harsh fact.

We realize that living must be lived for today

For tomorrow is for fools who will never act.

.

Maybe the young had the idea all along

To live fearless and only for the day.

Never considering what was right or wrong

Instead choosing to do things their own way.

.

Now as our ends draw ever near, we realize what little time we are here,

Do today whatever you can, do not postpone out of shyness or fear.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Pain of Loss (Tanka)

Pain of loss cuts deep
Even if not a surprise
An angel is free
Yet there’s joy in this sadness
For a long life so well lived
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Raging Storm Brews (Tanka)

A raging storm brews

Devastation follows me

Like Typhoon Haiyan

I battle good and evil

To survive another day

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

The Circle

The circle,

Crimson hooded,

Black robed wickens of sorts.

Dancing around the dead,

Salivating in anticipation,

A feast of flesh and bones.

No ill will did they harbor,

Nor wish for victims demise;

Fate granted them favor.

Not at Satan’s command,

This is their nature.

Despised by the living

As a filthy wretched horde,

Outcasts of nature

Though their purpose is divine.

They are mocked and ridiculed,

Loathed and feared,

Still they offer back to the earth

What the earth has taken.

The vulture’s cry–

A lonesome song.

Treated as lepers of the sky,

Precious are they…

In the natural chain.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Bread, Milk, Stocked Pantry (Tanka)

Bread, milk, stocked pantry

Protection from arctic cold

Taken for granted

No comfort to the homeless

Freezing and dying alone

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~