Tag Archives: living

Will I…

Were I cast out to sea, adrift…in a small boat,

Floating…gliding up and down over diamond-head swells;

Bathing under a star soaked sky,

Will I be seen by God?

~

Were I crawling, dirty…clothes worn ragged,

Parched…flesh burning, blistered and bleeding;

Boiled under a hellish sun,

Will I be saved by God?

~

Were I bedridden, covered in sores…begging for death,

Terminal…no hope, living in utter despair;

A slave to this mortal body,

Will I be spared by God?

~

Were I to pass…peacefully or in torment,

Eyes closed…draped in white as I was at birth;

No more a victim to my earthly form,

Will I be welcomed by God?

~

For all the wrongs I’ve done, all the sins I have notched,

The list is long, written in stone, my autobiography;

My claim on humanity not unlike others,

Will I be forgiven by God?

~

Will I be seen…

Will I be saved…

Will I be spared…

Will I be welcomed…

Will I be forgiven…

By God?

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

My Predicament (Tanka)

My predicament

Funny unless you live it

Then it is just sad

Be cautious with ridicule

As it just might bite you back

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Venture Into This World (Sonnet)

Venture into this world with a free and open mind

Let not negativity toward spirit corrupt

As the old saying goes “Seek and ye shall find”

Push onward and never give up

.

This world–an oyster–is yours to discover

The wonders and mysteries await

Secrets yet unknown are yours to uncover

As curiosity and passion conflate

.

Do not ever doubt your pureness of heart

Or your ability to achieve in this world

There is so much ahead before time to depart

Let this tapestry of life be unfurled

.

If ever you feel that you’re mired and afraid

Know I’m here, through your successes I’m repaid

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Chill (Tanka)

Chill…Rustle of trees

Winter is fast approaching

Usher in the dead season

Like the cycle of our lives

One dies another is born

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Lifetime Spent Forging Ahead

A lifetime spent forging ahead,

Ever closer to the raging river.

Tumultuous and wrought with fear

I approach the fjord fraught with peril.

I squint to spy a shore

The bank far too distant to see.

What awaits–Oh that is the question

Asked before, asked again eternally.

Its in the book of Testament Old and New,

Torah, Pistis Sophia, Koran among the few.

Through the ages told to look, to believe

And yes! Ye shall find what ye need,

But it is not so clear, nor has it ever been,

I can’t know what awaits on that far off shore.

Trusting there is more than what I’ve seen,

Like a warm blanket on a cold winter’s night

I must trust, I must believe through faith I will live,

For without what is left, but a story with a tragic end.

This cannot, must not be, never created nor destroyed,

I have been forever and will be forever more.

Mortal science has proven the mystics of yore,

There must be life,yes–I must live when I cross the river

As spirit abandons the bodies mortal core.

With each step I take, another step closer,

Sooner than later I will know, I will see what awaits;

Try as we may we cannot escape our human fate.

A fate long sealed by Adam’s rib named Eve

What else can we do, but trust and believe

That all is not lost, that living is not futile,

Lest we spend our days in tears as we grieve.

I refuse!  I will not grieve nor give in to hopelessness,

This by the grace of God I confess

To waste not one breathing moment in sadness

Instead to walk in the ways of gladness

‘Til my time on earth is through.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

My Spirits Journey (Tanka)

My spirits journey

Visited ad nauseum

Questions no answers

Unresolved for a lifetime

A mystery ‘til the end

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Fraught With Danger (Sonnet)

Fraught with danger this daily walk,

As hand-in-hand we battle the foe.

Through foolish acts and foolish talk,

Into the darkness hence we go.

Faith–What faith we question still,

As answers yield no answers forth.

On hands and knees we climb the hill;

The devil tempts our mortal worth.

O’ the struggle, eternal test,

We try yet fail more oft’ than not.

Attempt as we may to do our best

It ends in sin and soul filled rot.

Yet for all our faults and feelings of loss

We’re assured of life through death on the cross.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Grand Plans

Grand plans, so many have I had,

Scribbled on scrap paper,

Bled onto soggy bar napkins,

Etched into the walls of my mind

As you, I’m sure have likewise done.

Isn’t this our way?

A human fault, or perhaps a gift depending on one’s perspective.

These dreams, this plan is what makes our time so glorious,

For without these, our finite period would be mundane.

I can not imagine another breath without them.

We must fuel the flames of hope, nurture our deepest desires,

Those that keep us moving forward into every new day,

Isn’t this our way?

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

I Lay Prone

I lay prone before God,

Am I worthy of the gift he offers?

I have done nothing to deserve his graces,

His mercy, his saving, especially from myself.

I do not change, I am sinful as I was born to be,

As we were born to be by our father and mother.

Adam and Eve cursed me to a lifetime of sin,

Simply by their failure to obey,

Failure to obey their hunger and thirst for understanding.

This is where it all began,

The anger, the hatred, the intolerance,

This is where the eternal struggle began,

Of good and evil, Heaven and Hell, I bow before it,

Afraid of what I am and what I will become if I fail to comply.

I wander from one phase of mortal understanding to another

Though in the end, I find that I understand nothing.

I am but a grain of sand embodied in ignorance,

Destined to wander this earth searching for answers

Answers that have laid dormant within me,

But I was too frail to see.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Left For Dead (Sonnet)

Flayed like road kill quivering

Unseen and left for dead

On black, cold asphalt shivering

A crack upside the head

From gaping wounds bleeding

A gasp for one last breath

The feel of life receding

Assured most certain death

The black it grows darker still

No longer knowing this place

Sounds they fade and silence fills

The whole of dying minds space

In an instant the sun shines bright

As gentle hands draw me to the light

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~