Abandon your fears
Scatter caution to the wind
For you only have one chance
A life lived in certainty
Will end in disappointment
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Tag Archives: life
Modern Immigrant
Borders porous fence
A thousand miles…freedom
Better life awaits
If only we are not caught
Sent back to our poverty
Dreaming the same dreams
From different time and place
No ships, no Ellis Island
Only a desert
Separating a new life
From a life lived in squalor
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
These Paths We Travel
These paths we travel
Restless into the unknown
Eager and anxious
Begging the deepest question
What lies at the roadways end
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
In The End
Gather up what to you belongs
It serves no purpose once you’re gone
A lifetime spent in hordish gather
In the end what does it matter
We collect and prize our worldly wares
Empty handed we climb the stairs
Meaningless in the grand scheme of things
To claw and scratch for golden ring
This buys you nothing in the end
How sad to see this is the trend
He who has the most stuff losses
If this path the fool doth chooses
Instead look upon your fellow man
Offer them an outstretched hand
For one and all we are the same
In this life a finite game
More wealth derived from acts of kindness
Than all that’s earthly left behind us
Believe or not this must be true
As I strive in all I do
Though I sometimes stumble and often fail
I choose to believe this sober tale
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Metamorphosis (For My Daughter)
Faces in the crowd,
Nameless, peering through me,
Recognizing every minute flaw,
Silently laughing,
They whisper behind cupped hand,
Eyes dart in my direction then away,
Not so very subtle,
They think I’m oblivious,
But I see them,
I know what they are thinking,
I know what they are saying,
These things are not who I am,
One look in the mirror bears this out,
My reflection is unique,
Beholden only to me,
Blonde hair,
A shade unlike any other,
Ivory skin,
Imperfect, but my own,
Neither stick thin nor tall,
Comparisons to runway models are unfair,
Artificial life forms,
Moulded from botox and silicone,
Airbrushed to flawless perfection,
Idols born of magazine covers and centerfolds,
An unrealistic expectation for any young woman,
To live up to this cosmetic fraud is impossible,
Beauty is only skin deep,
Physical and momentary,
I am so much deeper than the shallowness of this pool,
If you could only see my essence,
The storm raging inside me,
Hopes, dreams, passions, opinions
Swirling like a typhoon,
A perfect storm,
Waiting to erupt with explosive force,
Breaking out of this cocoon of fear,
Leaving shards of this scared little girl,
In pieces on the floor,
Rising out of the wreckage,
A stronger more self-confident woman,
Able to speak for myself,
Defend my views,
Hold my head high in the face of adversity,
To cower no more,
Behind a mask of insecurity,
My opinions matter,
Commanding respect,
Regardless of whether we disagree,
I am an equal,
And I demand to be treated as such,
No longer subordinate,
My age, race and gender should have no bearing,
Yes, I may fall, but I will not break,
Yes, I may occasionally fail, but failing does not signal inadequacy,
I will sprain and bruise,
Scars left as reminders of experience gained,
But you must grant me this right of passage,
Allowing me to grow and become independent,
Crawling out from under my parents wings,
To stand unaided as if for the very first time,
An infant in a brave new world,
Opened up to be lived and explored,
I will voice my politics,
This is now my right,
Using my vote to shape the world I live in,
Unafraid to stand up,
Even when ridiculed by those of differing views,
This is their right as it is mine,
I will pay them no head unless civil,
Extremists hold no sway over me,
My hopes and dreams stand before me,
With open arms waiting to embrace,
I have the power of mind and body,
To grasp and hold all that I desire,
Be it business, education, the helping of others,
All these things are within my reach,
It is not for you to determine my passion,
You do not live within me,
But you benefit by my being,
I will break out of this shell,
Becoming all that life has endowed in me,
If I will just let me go.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Frequently I Drift – A Tanka
Frequently I drift
Into my minds dark corners
Deep…hidden away
Where others cannot find me
Here I shield my hopes and dreams
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
The Vultures (A Dark Poem)
The Vulture
Those birds, those horrid blood sucking birds
Circling overhead, their red collared necks deep crimson in the setting sun.
Sensing the departure of spirit and will,
Waiting for the living to become lifeless,
Relishing the coming of death.
What morbid creatures are these, heartless and soulless.
Lying here, is this to be my last vision,
This hideous species of fowl
Bent of emptying my sockets, disemboweling me,
A meal for the taking.
Impaled by the prey I so stealthily sought,
Victim of my own arrogance.
Alone and lonely, shielded in blood soaked clothes
Most certainly this is not the end I envisioned.
What of my loving wife,
What will become of my children,
What of?
They circle…
Lower now, they smell the end is near,
Smell of death is in the air, death is inevitable.
Cold is setting in, the end is close.
Swooping low, these maggots, they torture me,
Flapping of their wings, stench of rotting flesh.
Daylight is fading,
I am so tired, so cold, so at peace.
Do what you will my relentless tormentors;
My family will remember me as I was not as I am,
A poor wretch soon to be torn and scattered,
Nothing but a whisper on the four winds.
Take me O’ winged beasts, take me now!
My time has come,
…Farewell.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Glean What Truth – A Tanka
Glean what truth you can
From this haggard earthly soul
Worn by life’s torment
For mortal time is finite
By natures perfect design
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Question of Significance
You see me on the street, but you do not see me.
I am, but a speck of dust caught in the beam of a streetlight.
Insignificant in this grand and glorious scheme,
But not so insignificant to those who cherish me…as I cherish them.
Mother as I to my wife…wife as I to my daughter,
Father as I to my son…all cherish me, as I them.
Miniscule in this tidal pool of humanity as I may be
This robe I wear befits all that breathe this air,
Fed from the heartlands fertile soil,
Pleasure in grain-fed fowl or grass-fed cattle.
In you dear friends, I see a reflection of me in your life-worn faces;
Neither success nor poverty can separate us in our final hours.
You as I shall become equal to the grasses blade,
The acorn and maple leaf, meal worm and maggot
Shall all become our equals as we return to the earth whence we came.
There is no escape from this inescapable truth.
Though you persevere to nullify my worth, you can not;
For my worth lies not in your perceptions,
But in those of they who loved me.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Solitary Road – A Haiku
Image Credit: 1ms.net
Solitary road
We are born and die alone
What is in between
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 