The Puzzle

Picture perfect in pieces

Scattered by the millions,

Waiting for the collective to  assemble,

But none of them seem to fit.

We look for answers in war.

Such a primitive mind,

So narrow the thought.

Our conflicts prove coercive;

Devastation,

Death,

Disease,

Degrade us,

Subhuman.

We look for creative ways to destroy,

Enamoured by fatality

To no ones surprise

The puzzle pieces bend and break,

The puzzle pieces get lost,

Our human puzzle incomplete,

Gets  thrown on the heap.

Still–throughout our eternity

We have gotten no wiser

And have never learned to play nice.

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Painful As It Is

Painful as it is

We face our mortality

In all that we do.

Just waking up to morning,

Walking a city sidewalk,

On a holiday,

Swimming on a summers day;

The fullness of life

By virtue of our living

Must eventually end.

Do not waste this time

Wallowing in past regrets;

Leave that to the fool.

Instead cherish each moment

For its utter perfection.

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Staring Blindly Into The Great Beyond (Sonnet)

Staring blindly into the great beyond

Feet broken and blistered at life’s crossroad

Scarcely knowing how to respond

From bearing these trials, a heavy load

This burden great, when might it end

Providing the bounty the Lord inspired

My back is weary with painful bend

Longing for rest, I’m oh so tired

Fate has dealt a sour hand

One which beats this soul far down

A wish to stand on solid land

Is swallowed up and surely drowned

In the end where doth fault lie

Somewhere unknown when this body dies

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Awake Before Dawn

Awake before dawn,

The air still clinging to summer’s end.

I breath deeply,

Lungs fill with warm moist morning.

Alone to see a new sun rising,

Nothing more glorious could I see

As dark turns to dawn.

Should not Saturdays be for sleep,

Renewal of the body and soul;

I could never fit this mold.

My renewal lies in peace,

Peace in new day’s birth,

Coo of the morning dove,

Dance of the gecko,

Sky vast as the oceans

And just as blue.

With its birth I am reborn;

Starting anew as if my first day,

Nothing could be more glorious.

~

~~ Dominic R. DIFrancesco ~~

 

 

Biblical Floods Came – A Tanka

Biblical floods came

Washing away towns and lives

Cut off from the world

And still it won’t be over

Even after the rains end

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Let Not Your Passing Be A Bitter End (A Villanelle)

Let not your passing be a bitter end,

Longevity and richness of spirit be the gift;

Fight to the death and ne’er bend.

.

This to God his glory send,

Raising hands up to Heaven lift;

Let not your passing be a bitter end.

.

Destiny demands of life defend,

Yours–the command to ford the rift;;

Fight to the death and ne’er bend.

.

Nay, claims to be simple had ne’er descend,

Through pain and suffering we all must sift;

Let not your passing be a bitter end.

.

On judgement day God’s peace must lend,

To Heavenly treasures of joy doth shift;

Fight to the death and ne’er bend.

.

Trust in the Lord your soul to mend,

In this the love in your heart uplift;

Let not your passing be a bitter end.

Fight to the death and ne’er bend.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Out of Fear

Worshiped out of fear,

Afraid of divine retribution.

One which allowed murderers,

One which allowed adulterers,

With an apology,

To be King.

You toyed with creation,

Becoming angry as a child

Throwing tantrums

When deprived of your will.

Does death and destruction,

To all but the chosen

Sound reasonable and sane?

With Lucifer as a playmate perhaps.

“Here take my servant,

Do what you will with him,

But do not touch.”

Inflicted with relentless torment,

Sores, anxiety, persecution,

Fear of death,

The game is permitted to continue,

All with your blessing,

To see if he can be broken.

Is this how mercy is shown,

Torturing those that love you?

Finding sport in war and death

Both are waged eternally,

Some with your blessing

Some without,

Either way, surely with a smile.

Sending those in your image to their end

As pawns for your amusement,

This seems to be your sadistic way.

As a final act of brutality,

You offered your son up to despots,

Torturing and degrading him until death,

All to uphold your way of life

And save the monsters which you created.

Would a kind and merciful parent do this to his child,

Instilling them with fear,

Instead of promoting goodness and love?

This question must be answered!

Faith alone does not absolve you of responsibility

For the adulterated state of our being.

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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

The Answer

The answer…easy!

Truth in a four letter word,

That’s what love is.

Dissolving hate and conflict

Were it not for our innate flaws.

There never was any other key

To pick our lock of despotism.

We held it all along,

But are either too afraid

Or too self-absorbed to us it.

This is the root of our evil,

Leading to our ultimate demise

Unless we insert key in lock

And turn it to the right.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Shortened Days

Shortened days loom large

Precursor to winters gale

Like mortality

Calling summer to the womb

To await next year’s rebirth

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

I Beg

I beg–do not look too deeply into my eyes,

What you see may both be surprising and terrifying.

Blackness…deep…dark…all consuming,

May swallow you up like the undertow.

You swim, kick, scream and still you drown,

Falling into the depths.

Seeing the sun above and nothingness below,

Praying to your God to be saved

As your tears dilute into the salty sea, unrecognizable.

Surely you will be disappointed,

My weakness splayed like modern art on my soul.

This is not what you committed too,

Vows could not have prepared you for this hell,

The hell that is my secret,

One held close to the heart,

For as long as I can remember.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~