Tag Archives: greed

I Grow Weary Of This Eternal Fight (Sonnet)

I grow weary of this eternal fight,

Shackled to the rack of banker and coin.

Neither watch out for societies rights,

Instead every turn–a kick to the groin.

Warned of their evil for centuries past,

We heeded their warning ’til memories fade.

Enslave us they must, right on down to the last,

By our sweat and blood until death we have paid.

It stops not here for the cycle goes on,

Our children continue to pay on our debts.

We and our progeny are nothing but pawns,

On whose lives without conscience they’ve all placed their bets.

The greed of our system we claim best in the world,

Quite possibly it would be if the bankers we had hurled.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Blue Skies

The Land Before Time by Michael Kittell

The Land Before Time by Michael Kittell – Jeremy’s Daily Challenge – Weekend Medley 4 January Writing Prompt

Blue skies,

Clouds of ivory,

Rain, fresh as a mountain spring,

Grass of emerald green

Under rainbows crown.

This land before time,

This land before man used it for his own gain;

Not for his survival, but for his profit.

What ever happened to taking only what you need,

Just what you require to live,

Not what you desired in greed.

Those that loved this land before time–

We called them savages;

Unworthy of sharing in its bounty.

They didn’t know any better,

They didn’t see the riches that lay before them.

Blind and ignorant in our eyes, they did not deserve it,

We slaughtered them taking what was never rightfully ours.

Our claims legally binding,

They had no paper, no contract, no right,

Trespassers, every one of them to the last,

We drove them to the verge of extinction

Like the buffalo and the wolf,

But who cares,

There will be another to take their place…or not,

It does not matter.

This land before time–

Abused, polluted, strip-mined, clear-cut, overbuilt,

Unappreciated, disrespected,

But isn’t that our way,

Take until there is nothing left to take

And leaving nothing but destruction in our wake.

A sad farewell to…

The land before time.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

.

Prompted By Jeremy’s Daily Challenge – Weekend Medley 4 January

Torrents of Rain

Torrents of rain,

Devastating floods,

Blinding snows,

Frigid cold,

Sweltering heat,

Drought,

Wildfires,

Hurricanes smashing lives,

El Ninõ,

El Ninã,

The perfect storm,

Take responsibility for ourselves,

Take responsibility for our actions,

Unless it interferes with capitalism,

Then responsibility goes out the window.

Global warming…

Nonsense!

Liberal scientists–a gauntlet to progress

Or could we really be destroying the planet.

Recklessly laying waste to mother earth,

All for the almighty dollar.

What will we leave as our legacy?

A world spiraling out of control,

Cold, hot, bleak, devastated,

Because of our denial,

Because of our arrogance,

Chaos for the next generation,

And the ones that follow them.

Our responsibility is not arbitrary,

It is our duty,

We owe it to the future,

To do what is right,

Before its too late.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Looking Back (Shakespearean Sonnet)

Looking  back upon the boy of youth,

The world seemed such a hopeful place;

So full of promise and full of truth,

Enough for all the human race.

Government a partner and a friend,

One we did not need to fear.

Alway there with a helping hand,

Their mission statement was oh so clear.

Protect and nurture and not infringe;

The mandate since the fathers founded.

Avoid at all cost a spending binge;

Ideals of old were firmly grounded.

Now this world once so full of hope

Is sliding down corruptions slippery slope.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

~

Authors Note: This is my first attempt at a sonnet, I know it isn’t quite as Shakespearean as Shakespeare would have liked it, but it seemed to work for the topic.

Thirst and Hunger

Thirst is not a disease

Nor hunger a plague waged as a personal attack..

The dirty and downtrodden are not animals with opposing thumbs

Foraging through trash bins for food.

Their children are not parasites to be frowned upon!

They love just as you do with the same wants and needs.

Hands cracked and calloused know hard work.

Many toil hard and long for the barest of necessities

Only to fall short, thankful for assistance.

Yet you despise the poor collectively,

Lazy, blood suckers, bums, leeches,

Used as terms of endearment.

Speaking as though you know them or their circumstance

You display nothing but ignorance.

What do you know of their lives, their pain, their poverty?

Many are victims of economics,

Failing of health or disability,

Casualties of familial history,

Deprived of education,

Forgotten or blamed by the very souls with the power to change.

Greed and loathing blind,

Banishing compassion and humanity to the pits of hell.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

This Nation Has Changed

This nation has changed

Sadly not for the better

Our blood has gone cold

Selfish, greedy and fearful

Unaccepting of our own

~

Once there was a time

Neighbors were as family

Help and help alike

Now it is all about self

Friends and family be damned

~

Love of another

Has been supplanted by greed

A match made in hell

Corrupting our very souls

Leaving us numb and hollow

~

We have become mice

Under the weight of our fears

Freedom taken back

Under the guise of safety

All done for our protection

~

We allow this theft

By elected officials

Willingly chosen

Buying into double-talk

Believing it to be true

~

The Constitution

Used like the Holy Gospels

When convenient

Equality guaranteed

Unless you don’t fit our mold

~

What happened to us

Give me your poor, your tired

Your huddled masses

Until you get in our way

Or we get tired of you

 ~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Our Future – A Tanka

Lay your head down child

Know that you are our future

Your shoulders hunching

Punishment for excesses

We were too weak to curtail

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Blinded

Blinded by incessant greed,

You care not how it is acquired.

Crushing the lowly ant beneath designer wingtips

Screams for mercy go unheeded muffled in their death.

Prodded from birth a loss shall not be suffered,

Now so ingrained is it that you know no other way.

Color green, dreams of dollars, pounds, yen, your consummate brides,

You see nothing else, you see no inequity, no poverty.

Devoured by loathing, oblivious to anything but self

You despise those you view as vagrants, leeches, sycophants,

Treating them as rubbish though you know not their stories.

No time do you have for the common good,

Nor anyone or anything but your deepest desire.

Leaving all else to ride the wave of your deadly hate

While you strive to romance your lover…greed.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Inspirational Quote: From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate – Socrates

Jem Farmer the Boi Poet – Poetry Prompt  – Three on Friday – 23 August 2013

 

Ember And Wolf

Embers waft skyward

Like a million tiny suns.

Free to travel ,

Going where the wind takes them,

Caring not where they land

Nor what the future holds.

Their time is now,

Today is all there is

As spark turns to ash.

.

Wolf, drinks and hunts

Taking only what he needs.

Caring for the survival of the pack;

Not one bit more does he consume.

Living for today,

Feeding their future,

As it has always been,

As it will always be,

Until flesh turns to bone.

.

Man the hoarder,

Eats and drinks to excess.

Gorging himself,

Engaged to the point of gluttony,

Feasting on food and goods

As if life were an eternity.

Living for today,

Collecting for tomorrow,

Denying his mortal end.

.

Simple ember,

Lowly wolf,

Live by their design

Within the boundary of nature.

Man exploits all that he’s been given,

Accepting what he needs

Then grabbing what he wants,

Leaving nothing

For the ember and the wolf.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Peeling Back The Layers

Peeling back the layers

Like an onion of marble, brick, wood,

Concrete, steel and plaster.

What lies beneath this man-made skeleton?

Flesh, blood, bone,

Hopes, dreams, promise,

Failure, disappointment, longing,

Pain, suffering and sorrow,

Wrapped in the package human.

Wealth nor status makes one immune.

Life infects rich and poor alike,

Birth and death spare no one,

Entering into their pact with nothing

And fulfilling the contract with no reward.

These truths are guaranteed

Despite a desire to bury them in denial, religion or alcohol.

Make what you will of your life

Ignore those that cry to you with outstretched hands,

Divert your eyes from malnourishment,

Turn your back on humanities fallen,

Do this and more without conscience

As a soulless miscreant is bound to do.

This is your choice.

Or join this race we all run…offering,

Time, money, love,

Compassion, sympathy, understanding,

A helping hand, encouragement,

As much or as little as you have,

This is what it means to be human,

To be in communion,

Asking nothing in return.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~