There’s no place like home
Family huddled around
Sharing Christmas cheer
Unless home is on the street
And your cheer is someones trash
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A little reminder to be generous to those in need at this time and all times of the year, if for no other reason than it is the right thing to do.
‘Tis truly frigid
A day the heart cannot warm.
Generosity–
Kindling of the mortal soul
Will most surely stoke the fire.
≉
The littlest things–
A friendly conversation,
An unneeded coat,
Time, money, acknowledgment
Can brighten someones whole day.
≉
Do not judge their worth
For none and all are worthy;
Kindness is the key.
Give much and expect nothing
This–the true meaning of love.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Humanities walk
Either joyful or a drudge
The choice of each soul
Living in the past
Wallowing in self-pity
Brings only despair
Drawing one into the blackness
Making the light of hope dim
Look at the present
Be thankful for all you have
See only the good
This will enrich your whole life
And grant you abundant peace
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
What’s my lineage
Whose blood courses through my veins
It’s not important
In the end I am human
And that is all that matters
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
See armageddon–
Hiding behind bombs and guns,
Deadly viruses,
Indiscriminate killing,
Murder and mayhem abound!
Worst of man exposed;
What goes around comes around
As the saying goes.
Perhaps we’ve come full circle
To pay for indiscretions.
No nation is safe.
Technology has assured
We are one world.
Hide amongst your ignorance,
But know–it cannot protect.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
I, of spirit walk
With others on this journey
Each with their troubles
Their torment is also mine
For life is not a vacuum
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
What lies on distant shores,
Buckets, pigeon holes, troughs for segregation.
Language, dress, birthplace do not an enemy make.
Where came this bitter misdirection?
Religion, culture, song, dance,
These are things of man’s creation.
Strip naked man and woman–
Lay them bare of their mortal inventions.
Confiscate their language, dress, birthplace,
Expropriate their religion, culture, song, dance,
Take all they have of this world;
What have they left?
Blood and skin and bone;
That which crumbles with inevitable death.
Hopes and dreams, emotions;
intangibles that define humanness.
Air, food, water, shelter;
That which sustains us.
Boundaries of man hold no sway over these.
We are but one species,
Born and consumed in life,
Until the day we return home
To the dust from whence we came.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
By D. R. DiFrancesco
~
I found a place,
Deep inside me,
Warm and comforting,
Something I thought I’d lost.
~
So many years ago,
Innocence shielded me,
Harbored my emotions,
Enveloped me in the simplicity of youth.
~
Age changed,
I let my gentility drift off,
Replacing it with cynicism,
Spoiling the wonder of me.
~
The world didn’t change,
It is still just as wondrous,
Instead it was me that was corrupted,
My skepticism and pessimism changed my view.
~
Looking for the worst,
My fellow man could not be trusted,
Conniving and deceitful by nature,
I lost sight of the decent.
~
My perception flawed,
Skewed by life experience,
Taken as the standard bearer,
Distorting my future interactions.
~
Mistrust instills bitterness,
Fear of the worst is all consuming,
Depression and anxiety take root,
Trapping ugliness inside.
~
Tired of the sadness,
No longer recognizable,
It was not me in the mirror,
Rather a shell of who I was.
~
With eyes wide,
I looked deep,
Straining to find the innocent me,
Drawn to tears by the time I’d lost.
~
There is joy in letting go,
Finding good in what surrounds me,
Purging the cynic and skeptic,
Anchors that weighed me down.
~
I have found that place,
Pleasing to my body and soul,
Lost so many years ago,
To the ravages of maturity.
Image credit: citizenshift.org
By D. R. DiFrancesco
In irony and ignorance you call for war,
This, your answer to everything,
The conflicts we are in, we ask you what for,
While young men and women are daily dying.
For better or worse you are angrily passing,
Giving hope to those of us left behind,
You claw and you scratch with teeth you are gnashing,
Leaving bones and a legacy time will grind.
Our world is changing, but you refuse to see,
Guns and bombs are not the resolution,
Compassion and dialogue, the answer must be,
Death and destruction are not the solution.
To this you cry weak and unpatriotic,
You betray the American way,
These musings you suffer are scrambled and psychotic,
Traitorous if we don’t obey.
Your incessant call to arms is antiquated and outdated,
Straining relations, feeding global hatred,
The logic of your arguments are often debated,
Among those who hold the value of life sacred.
Your visions and violence are in the minority,
Still you cling to your dictatorial views,
The lambs they follow your odious seniority,
Instead of exercising their right to choose.
Would not diplomacy and friendship be a better choice,
Offering guidance and respect instead of demands,
Band together with one mind and a united voice,
Lending credence to cooler heads and calmer hands.
Dom DiFrancesco 