Tag Archives: family

Hidden Legacy

I hold no ill will toward you,

As so many years have passed,

Softening the blows,

Physical and figurative,

Mending the wake of destruction,

Which you so callously sowed,

With the passing of each scarred soul,

The shameful becomes legend,

Stories told…perhaps exaggerated,

By progeny twice or more removed,

Your only legacy,

Undeserving of even this remembrance,

You’ve blackened our name,

Are we to forgive you,

That is for God to judge,

Are we to pity ourselves,

No…for we are stronger than you knew,

With sadness we look back,

Cursing your existence,

Mourning your departure,

Loving you as father,

Despising you as man.

 

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Very Human Success

I’ve longed for success,

Yet in my lifetime,

Remains elusive,

Each dream rescinds the previous,

Resurrecting new heights to aspire,

Settling for mediocrity would be surrender,

This is the human way,

Should we not instead be yearning for elation,

Our sole reason for being,

Instead of monetary wealth,

Finding happiness in work, love, life,

Treasures that cannot be bought,

Fools believe fulfillment lies in smelted gold,

Gold alone does nothing but poison the soul,

Hollowing out and destroying our hearts,

Becoming a false and idolatrous god,

Blinding us to true and lasting joy,

Perhaps success lies in simple things,

Very human things,

Family,

Friends,

Self.

Love of one’s self must be realized,

For void of this one cannot offer love to another,

Maybe success is already in our grasp,

If we would just be thankful,

No…grateful,

For all that we already possess.

Maybe…

If we were to look inside ourselves,

We would find that we have always been…

Successful.

~~ 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 ~~

Gone Is Gone

Image credit - momastery.com

Image credit – momastery.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wasted away with reckless abandon

Abused and neglected as though nothing to lose

Elder years bestow the treasure most deeply cherished

For in youth we’re blind to the riches worth

Trusting the vein will flow eternal

“till tragedy or life doth rear it’s head

Once lost to gluttony its lost to eternity

No matter how hard we try to relive

Regret can destroy through foolishness folly

As we know not when we be called back home

Squander not the gift so limited and precious

Share freely with those you most dearly love

The value of time cannot be embellished

For fleeting moments once gone are gone

A Tragedy Hits Home

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Crass and cranky,
Scarcely a kind word to anyone,
Including himself,

Bitter and hateful,
Blaming everyone for his shortcomings,
Except for himself,

The family,
The job,
Restraining him from achieving success.

Never without a glass,
Always a glass of amber in hand,
Served to enhance his misery.

Another drink,
“I’ll have just one more”, he would say,
The one we called Jekyll and Hyde.

The children loved him,
But children didn’t like him,
Too scared and too young to confront.

A wife living for better or worse,,
Traumatized into silence,
Who would he be when he came home at night?

A frustrated virtuoso,
Sculpture, oils, watercolors, pastels,
So much talent needlessly thrown away.

On a stormy day all was lost,
His family, his art and his life,
Sadness in a bottle his solitary friend.

Did the Lord,
Or did his demons call him home,
A mystery until we join our maker,

Destructive and demoralizing,
Living under bourbons shadow,
Souls touched that will never be healed.

For the Love of Money (A Poem)

Do we know what heavens lie
Beyond those which we create for ourselves
Toiling to caress all that mortal wealth can acquire
Pushing aside that which is more precious.

Forage on with meaningless tasks if you must
Avoiding those to be held so dear
Putting distance between you and your loving child
For fortune and fame so fleeting.

You treasure that which lasts so briefly
Misguided steps divert your moral path
Placing that which is corporeal above what is sacred
Leaving family and friendships to suffer and drown.

Set opulence and copiousness in their proper place
Share abundance with those living in stark scarcity
Rekindle your union to spouse and child
For nothing in this world can be taken with you.