To sit in judgement
Of what lives in other’s minds
Is best left to God
For without omnipotence
Who am I to throw a stone
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Tag Archives: human
Monsters And Demons – A Tanka
Monsters and demons
Hide inside each one of us
Life of denial
Scared to face our deepest selves
Afraid of what we might see
~
~~ 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 ~~
Emotion – A Tanka
Every emotion
Combines to make us human
Though at times painful
It is inescapable
A sign..what it means to live
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Outward
Sand, coarse and hot runs through my fingers,
Blending seamlessly with others of their kind,
This endless sea of granulated wonder.
Alike, of similar origins, living in their same world;
Not so unlike the vastness of our own terrarium.
Under the skin, are not our similarities overwhelming,
Blood, bone, tissue, mineral, hopes, dreams, ambitions,
Born, living and dying as we all must, it is not a choice,
Nor an option given to us at first breath.
Look hard around you,
Oh, how the tricks of the eye are so convincing,
Seeing only that which is physical.
What does this tell of the being?
What of their hearts, their souls,
Their minds, their aspirations,
Their pain and suffering?
Nothing! For the eye is a fool,
Easily leading and misleading the mind,
Diverting maliciously from another’s essence,
Their true being and all that is important.
The shallowness of outward impressions limits us,
Preventing us from knowing, befriending, understanding.
Ignorance feeds us foremost,
Our temporal gluttony gorges us,
Making us something less than human,
With our flawed vision of what should be.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Blind Eye – A Tanka
Acts once commonplace
Bravery, human kindness
Are now rarities
To avoid getting involved
We coldly turn a blind eye
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Call Me Friend – A Tanka
Image Credit: flickr.com
You can call me friend
Though this is the first we’ve met
I am your brother
Born, living, dying like you
Race, creed, color matters not
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Love Can Be Painful – A Tanka
Love can be painful
Like a barbed wire wrapped heart
Bleeding and broken
Challenging love’s commitment
To withstand human weakness
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
In Judgement – A Tanka
Do not judge others
In light of our own failures
What right do we have
Like David to Goliath
Let us not cast the first stone
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
A Random Act
An outstretched hand offered to the fallen
A kind word spoken to those in distress
A shoulder to cry on for those in mourning
Offered to comfort the wounded among us
~~
A gentle hug to let them know you care
A tender kiss to show your affection
A stroke of the hair letting them know you are by their side
Given without condition from the goodness of a gentle heart
~~
A pat on the back to show appreciation
A wide knowing smile to brighten their day
A look into their eyes to acknowledge their existence
Lifting the spirits of those who suffer themselves forgotten
~~
All things that daily we ought to make offer
Random acts of kindness shown to our fellow man
Still in our humanness we forget these little things
Simple acts that serve to enrich our karma
~~
Instead we neglect our neighbors out of hand
Evading eye contact
Dismissing their difficulties
Oblivious to their losses
~~
Is it because we are too engaged
Or is it that we just don’t care
How sad this is
Living life absorbed in our own self-interests
~~
Wrapped in a box of our own making
A cocoon made from our own selfishness
Useless but as a tomb when it is our time
Unloved, unappreciated, unnoticed, will you pass on alone
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 