Tag Archives: poetry

The Cruelest Loss

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Words can be kind but you prefered cruel

Thrown like a javelin

Piercing my still beating heart

What angry motives you display

Spewed like a child pouting and juvenile

But you are not a child

Those years are long past

Yet you refused to show restraint

Did I wound you

If so, I beg your pardon, for this was not my intention

Malice is not in my nature

You know this better than anyone

Can you ever forgive me my ignorance

For I know not where I erred

Clairvoyance has always eluded me

As does the cause of our rift

I’ve tried repeatedly to make amends

But my cries go unanswered

We have been confidants for a lifetime

Oh how it pains me that we cannot ford this divide

Yet my hope blossoms

That the hurt can be soothed

Reuniting us once more

Mind Games

Sorrowing Old Man – Vincent Van Gogh – 1890

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Drifting away,

Drowning in a sea of desperation,

Grasping for a life ring of sanity,

Just out of my reach.

~

I look within,

A swirling cyclonic mess embodies me,

Unrefined shapes and forms,

Seeking to undermine me at every turn.

~

This Impenetrable darkness,

That neither sun nor joy can imbue,

Why have I been cursed with this plague,

Delivering pain to the four winds of my soul.

~

Overwhelming sadness clutches me to her bosom,

Offering me nothing but anguish,

Have I not been tormented enough,

Stripped and laid bare to the elements.

~

God and science offer no comfort,

For the troubled mind worships it’s own demons,

I have prayed to exercise them,

Yet found the only panacea is time.

~

With night, slumber offers me respite,

Time for healing,

Calm for the erratic mind,

Hope for a clearer perspective at dawn.

A Friend in Need

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~

Squatting down in ragged jeans,

Trembling hands counting out small change,

Pennies, nickels and dimes his life’s savings,

Mumbling to himself,

Wondering if he had enough for a drink.

Scorching sun on the molten sidewalk,

His weathered face toughened to leather,

Aged far beyond his years,

What is his story,

People pass by ignoring his existence.

Cold water,

Sweat dripping from my fingertips,

Waiting to pay for my pleasure,

Mind drifting back to the poor man on the sidewalk,

What fate lies ahead for him.

He asked for nothing,

He should not have to ask for anything,

Should we not care without request,

Tears welled up in my eyes,

This could be me.

Food and drink,

Such a small price for a brother in need,

This could never be enough, still it was all I could do,

“Here you go friend”, as the pittance was offered,

“Thank you kindly”, his humble reply.

The Optimist – Haiku

Glass half full

~~

In trust we find peace,

Rushing in optimism,

So to bathe in joy.

 ~~

A song in the heart,

Shared with those longing for love,

Betters our world.

~~

Be not critical,

For it suites the pessimist,

Leaving them sour.

*image from ctya.org

Making of a Man

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 ~

You embody courage,

Something I never truly had,

Setting foot into uncharted waters,

Leaving the familiar behind,

Jumping headlong into another world.

 ~

You embody honor,

Something that I couldn’t teach you,

Living by a code,

One that must have been etched in your soul,

Immortalizing those that came before you,

 ~

You embody faith,

Something I should have instilled in you,

But I was not strong enough,

Yet you epitomize it in spite of me,

By entrusting your life to those around you.

 ~

You embody integrity,

Something I never knew how to give,

Still it was born into you,

A birthright gifted to those most deserving,

To be shared with those most in need.

 ~

You embody love,

Something I was never good at showing,

Your compassion and sensitivity,

Given freely to those in want,

From a heart that’s kind.

 ~

You embody all of these things,

Something I could never do,

Courage, honor, faith, integrity and love,

They made you the man you are,

And readies you for the man you will become.

Road to a Perfect Union

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 A casual glance,

Sending whispers of love and lust,

Eyes averting eyes,

Embarrassed at the thought of capture.

An innocent smile,

Sunlights glimmer off ivory mirror,

Seductive and sensual,

Beckoning an invitation.

A brush of skin,

Accidental yet intentional,

Goosebumps cascading,

Erupting hot and lascivious.

A pounding heart,

Rhythmically offering itself,

Longing to be cradled,

In the impetuous throes of passion.

A tender kiss,

Long and warm on silky lips,

Without so much as a word,

Two become one.

A Delusional Vision

By D. R. DiFrancesco

You say it’s for our own good,
You know better than us,
Claiming to be erudite,
But displaying nothing but contempt..

The mold you had cast,
Lies cracked and crumbling,
Still you try to force us to conform,
Assuming we are incompetent.

Hiding behind evangelical fervor,
You treat us as children,
Too naive and simple to surmise what is right,
Sinful beings needing your protection from ourselves.

When did we become so helpless,
You angry old men,
Surrounded by your white marble walls,
Casting retribution over your fiefdom.

Showing little veneration for the gentler sex,
You rule over them with feign compassion,
While valuing them as nothing more than objects,
What despots you are.

Under whose authority is love within your purview,
You look down upon those who do not believe as you do,
Regarding them as broken and immoral,
You vile creatures.

Do they not bleed as you do,
Are born innocent, live and die,
Crave love and acceptance as you do,
What makes you so self-righteous?

You despise those less fortunate,
Consistently questioning their ethics,
You claim they are lazy and felonious by nature,
Begging for alms at every turn.

Do not pretend to know them,
You have never visited their neighborhoods,
Struggled for your next meal,
You would not survive a day in their shoes.

“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps”, says you,
Your totalitarian battle cry,
Toil and sweat, and you can be like me,
Easily said from the pillowed comfort of your penthouse.

We are not like you,
Neither fate nor inheritance have looked favorably upon us,
Our labors scarcely provide for the bare necessities,
Still we have hope in our childrens futures..

Your greed and cold-heartedness have blinded you,
Morally corrupt,
Like the gluttonous tick you bleed society dry,
To build your delusional visions of utopia.

To Dream – Haiku

By D. R. DiFrancesco

I drift amongst clouds
A dreamer from my birth
Always seeking truth

*************************************

The hourglass turned
Sand falls slowly in rhythm
Imagine times pass

*************************************

What lies in the mind
Mysterious and joyful
A wonder of life

A Dark Trip

By D. R. DiFrancesco

Sour feelings troubling and deep,

Twisting emotions dark hidden,

I know not where these notions I keep,

They come, they consume the life I’m living.

To try and break the hold, the strangle,

Fruitless and wearying as I revolt the demon,

Senses and emotions left bloody and mangled,

Begging sleep to lead solemn dreaming.

For this I hope the obsidian cloud rises,

Paving way for spirit lifted,

Lock away my despondent guises,

To be thankful for all that I have been gifted.

Their Call to Arms

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.