Tag Archives: holidays

Waters Grow Cold

Waters grow cold

As the summer sun sets.

A new season,

With holidays to warm the heart

Blossom amongst winters frost.

We give thanks

With family and friends gathered

Round our cosy tables.

An American tradition,

Too oft’ overshadowed by Christ’s Day

And corporations lust for profits.

We have bastardized all that is good

For Black Friday and our lust for deals.

Step back…is this what is important,

Are bargains and materialism

What Thanksgiving and Christmas are all about?

Look to the past,

Families enjoying the simple things

Like companionship and familial love.

This is what these holidays are about

These are what we are about.

It is not about gifts,

It is not about things,

It is about friends,

Family,

Thanks,

It is about our love for Christ and our fellow man.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

NOTE: I realize that Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday are over, but I still think this piece applies to the entire holiday season.

Joy and Glad Tidings

Joy and glad tidings

Hallmarks of this gleeful time

Lost by so many

Those without means, abandoned

Are left to suffer alone

No tree, gifts or warmth

Is afforded to these souls

They’re invisible

Perhaps the Christmas spirit

Was meant as a reminder

That giving is more

Than gifts to friends and family

It’s to all mankind

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Holidays

Happiness in spite of hardships

Ordinary folks can forget their troubles

Living in joy at least for a little while

ISIS can’t take that away from any of us

Defending those easily criminalized

Always looking for goodness in others

Yuletides spirit will carry us through

Serving us all the days of our lives

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Lighted Trees, Presents (Senryu)

Embed from Getty Images

Lighted trees, presents

Meaning lost on the season

Materialism

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

At Midnight’s Stroke (Sonnet)

At midnight’s stroke amongst confetti and champagne

Give thought to those so far from home.

Too many are they in lands we cannot name,

Worn and lonely; resolved to wallow alone.

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With joy–a smile and alcohols bright cheer

Our horns like trumpets wail.

Forgetting those who could not be here

Our memories so short they do fail.

.

Without intention this ailment takes hold

As time our sensitivities does dull.

Our patience and prayers grow tired and old

Succumbing to complacencies lull.

.

Remember those who sacrifice without batting an eye,

Ensuring the freedoms the rest of us have, as our fireworks light up the sky.

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: I like to post reminders from time-to-time to give thought to our brave service men and women serving around the world.  These are as much a reminder for me as I hope they are for others who may read this.  Next time you see a member of the armed forces, thank them for their service, this really does mean a great deal to them.

Consciously Adrift

Consciously adrift in melancholia today

A strange feeling of sorts, almost out-of-body.

Praying this awareness isn’t here to stay,

It has been some time since I have felt this oddly.

~

Perhaps its the conclusion of a season so merry

Punctuating my customary schedule of labor,

Or the calming of life that for a time was so hurried

Returning to the normalcy of my common behavior.

~

More like the drying of the druggy or drunkard,

The heart becomes heavy with worry and sadness.

These feelings have since grown increasingly absurd,

Leading me down this pathway toward madness.

~

Pray tell–to what end does this folly intend,

In driving my soul to the brink of destruction?

Try as I might to bandage and mend

And pull myself out of this pit of compunction.

~

On knees that are bent in prayer for reprieve

All one can hope for is its swiftness to pass.

Lifting up spirits and hasten sorrows to leave

Like sand as it trickles through narrow of the hourglass.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Peace, Goodwill Towards Men

Peace, goodwill towards men–

I believed this once,

A long, long time ago it seems.

I can still remember her smile,

The love of my life,

Us…hand-in-hand,

Not a care in our perfect little world.

And the kids–

Oh how they loved Christmas.

Not just the presents,

The paper, the bows,

But the time we spent together.

We were a family,

A perfect design by Hallmark.

Now she’s gone,

The years were not kind to her;

And the kids–,

Grown, families of their own–

Don’t come around much anymore.

Hell, I don’t remember the last time.

The gesture of a card would be nice

Just to let me know they cared,

That they remembered me,

But no…

It was not meant to be,

Alone I sit, stranded for the holidays.

This wasn’t how I saw my later years,

Aged, lonely,

Awaiting the ghost of Christmas past.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

~

Prompt Word: Stranded

 Writing Prompt: Tuesday’s Thinking 17 December – By Jeremy Farmer – The Boi Poet

Thoughts of Correctness (Sonnet)

Thoughts of correctness–political or otherwise rise this time of year,

Merry Christmas replaced by Happy Holidays so as not to offend.

Is this not still Christmas which we for so long held dear,

There has been no change in the calendar I do portend.

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What–pray tell is of such offense during this season so joyous,

Are not both happiness and goodwill the same amongst all?

Making merry at this time was once so pleasant–boisterous;

Kind smiles and hearty handshakes have suffered in pall.

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Abstain if you must, from this merriment we freely offer,

Wallow in self-pity and become victim to your social demise.

There is far more to Christmas than filling retailers coffers,

Its a chance to renew our faith in man with a clearer set of eyes.

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Regardless of religion take from this holiday what you will,

For if nothing but kindness and generosity, then your heart it will fill.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

What is Thanksgiving

What is Thanksgiving

Nothing but Black Friday Eve

Prelude to Christmas

Our culture sold for profit

Our history up for grabs

We’ve become hollow

Freely giving up our souls

To the next slick ad

Our materialism

What does this say about us

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~