Civil Rights Ignored (Tanka)

Civil rights ignored
Skin color determines rules
The sixties again
We clearly haven’t progressed
Far beyond our racist past

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Orange Horizon (Haiku)

Image: desertusa.com

Image: desertusa.com

Orange horizon

Cacti framed against the sky

Saguaro sunset

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Fearmongers Abound

Fearmongers abound

Ebola, ISIS, healthcare

Scaring the masses

Nothing more than politics

Spread by corrupt media

“Fair and Balanced”, ha!

They all have an agenda

Manipulation

Not to report and inform

But to divide and conquer


~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

This Walk Amongst The Dead

This walk amongst the dead.

This dance with mortality.

Partnered with those that believe they will live forever.

Gathering, greedily hoarding every last cent

They race to the pinnacle of their professions

At the expense of those they deem competition,

Trampling anyone who gets in their way.

Fattened as the calf bank accounts swell as do their bellies.

Designer clothes and jewelry adorn their swollen vessels.

No thought do they give to the rest of humanity;

Their fellow man is but an impedance to future success.

They have no time for them,

No time for their mates nor their children,

No time for their brothers and sisters that share this earth.

What is their endgame?

When is enough, enough?

They don’t realize that they are already dead,

Dead to the world, their mates and their children.

Paupers as they were at birth

With their final blink there will be no wealth,

No grand houses,

No designer clothes,

No jewelry;

No one will weep on their pine box.

When the last shovel-full of dirt is thrown on their grave

They will be utterly alone, naked and penniless

–Before their Maker.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

We Stand In Arrogance

We stand in arrogance,

Our own world–the only world

Feeling not the pain of others.

We are removed, unsympathetic, unconcerned,

It does not touch our lives.

You cannot touch video.

You cannot smell the written word.

You cannot taste their anguish.

Too far separated are we!

It is not real though we know it is,

Allowing oceans to separate safety from reality.

Sit quietly in the warmth and comfort of your homes,

Sip your coffee, piping hot and fresh,

Enjoy the bounty of the food that surrounds you,

Sleep well in the softness of your bed,

Watch your news,

Read your paper,

Pretend that all is right with the world,

But remember distance is merely an illusion.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Undulating Storms (Tanka)

Undulating storms

Breathe life into flaccid land

Lifeblood is transfused

Washing clean the earth from sky

Returning to whence it came

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Ravages Of Time

Ravages of time

I see it in the mirror

Wrinkled, grey and thin

Underneath it all I’m young

Still childlike in my mind

This shell is just that–

A shell, weather-worn with age

To be discarded

But this is not the real me

Only a facade that I show the world

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Modern Magellan

Modern Magellan,

O’ how I wish to explore

Beyond my country.

Sheltered by America,

I long to breach its borders.

There is so much more,

More than our brief history,

Our moment in time.

The lands of our ancestors

There–just a voyage away

…Maybe someday.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

The Ghost Killer

The ghostly killer
Whose silent voyage complete
Rests within our shores
The price paid for our freedom
The cost of humanity
Testing fortitude
Will we practice what we preach

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Roses Thorn (Sonnet)

Roses thorn–savage call,
Reminds how fragile thy love.
Thy bloodless drop of tears they fall,
Tainting thy ivory dove.

In sorrow, my sorrow I beg repent,
Thy pain hast no place in my heart.
I pray to God relief be sent,
Promise never again to take part.

On bended knee I pray thou forgive,
I never meant to perpetrate such pain.
Promise do I for as long as I live,
Or be damned to eternity of shame.

Dearest Rose, beautiful Rose, my thorns I know I must quell.
Revealing my heart to thee who must know, or forever be banished to hell.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~