By D. R. DiFrancesco
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Hiding in shadows,
Scared of seeing the real you,
For fear of failure.
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Draw on your beauty,
The lighthouse that will guide you,
To a brighter day.
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Be strong little one,
Your essence makes you unique,
In all the world.
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To strive for greatness,
Means sometimes you will stumble,
Rising to the top.
By D. R. DiFrancesco
Not so very long ago
I dreamed of a utopia
Beautiful and green
Full of promise and hope
Then man got in the way
Swelled with pride,
Consumed with self-importance
Greedy, prejudice and hateful
He ravaged the land
Taking what he wanted and leaving it in ruins
Polluting our water
Poisoning the ground
Making it a malignant wasteland
Seeing fit to keep this to himself
We planted
We built
We raised our families upon this cursed soil
Ignorant to the damage being done
Chronic illness plaguing our children
They say it’s all in the name of progress
Complain and you are Anti-American
Speak out and you are unpatriotic
Protest and you are a Communist
Who will be held accountable
The autocrats claims a divine right,
All in the name of capitalism
But they don’t plant, build or raise their children on this putrid land
They cry fowl from their ivory castles
Waving their jeweled scepters
Hiding behind their detestable walls
Looking down upon those of us less fortunate
They watch us wither under the toil of our labor
Building for them what they could not build for themselves
Drawing every last breath from us
All for the sake of another dollar
When will they have enough
When will we be more than just expendable
If they have their way
Never
Orbs,
Large,
Small,
Knobby,
Slick,
Fat,
Thin,
Two or three,
Resisting macadam,
Revolting against pavement,
Carbon,
Steel,
Aluminum,
Combinations in between,
Sleek and beautiful,
Hard, but flexible,
Cool between my knees,
Blue,
Red,
Green,
Black,
Yellow,
White,
All the colors of the rainbow and more,
Pushing,
Up and down in rhythm,
Pumping,
And Pumping,
Carefree and fun,
Wind blowing through my hair,
Sun on my face,
I’m a kid again,
Riding…riding…riding my bike.
By D. R. DiFrancesco
Being pulled from side-to-side,
My mind,
A menagerie of disjointed thought.
Attempts at composure,
An act of self-deprecation,
Leading me further into disarray.
What do I do?
Emotions have no focus,
Every path a winding dead end.
Holding me back,
Racked between chaos and cognition,
Drowning in confusion.
I urge myself to take a breath,
Empty my tortured mind,
If only for a night.
Hoping for thoughts to regain composure,
I know this too shall pass,
It always does.
In the meantime,
Wallowing in this mire, that is my mind,
I will wait.
By D. R. DiFrancesco
Another day,
Awoken by the news,
Another tragedy,
More death and destruction.
Insensitivity on one side,
Intolerance on the other,
Differing views,
All of the same event.
Flags burned,
Flags torn to shreds,
Blamed on a celluloid debacle,
This is just a ruse.
Eleven September mere coincidence,
I think not,
Another excuse for bad behavior,
Another claim of insult to God.
We are different,
Although we are the same,
We are born, we love,
We live, we die.
We hurt, we bleed,
We suffer, we cry,
We strive for answers in this chaotic world,
Only to realize the more we know the less we know.
There is evil among us,
Tainting the good with the same broad brush,
Distilling us down to one common meld,
Can we not see past the hate!
Self-perpetuating and self-destructive,
A merry-go-round since time began,
Punch my ticket,
I want to get off.
By D. R. DiFrancesco
Bow your heads and pray,
Those lost on that tragic day,
Live on in our hearts.
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The scattered debris,
Charred and lifeless in that field,
Breaking the silence.
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The two titans fall,
Waking a sleeping giant,
From it’s lethargy.
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A symbol of might,
Flame and confusion consume,
Still bravery shone.
Freedom Tower NYC
By D. R. DiFrancesco
An anniversary,
Not so unlike the 10 before,
Unhappy and unpleasant as it saunters by.
We take time to remember where we were,
When we first saw the images splashed across our screens,
When we shed our first tear.
You didn’t have to know anyone personally,
Still you knew everyone personally,
We were brothers and sisters by birth or naturalization.
Seeing the towers fall,
The Pentagon our symbol of power ablaze,
Flight 93 reduced to a burning debris field wrenched at our hearts.
First responders covered in dust,
Survivors disheveled, awash in blood,
Wandering aimlessly, trying to grasp the magnitude of the situation.
Incomprehensible…yet bravery abounded,
Stories of heroism and self-sacrifice,
Overshadowing the cowardice of the act.
A monument to our resolve rises,
Out of the smoke and ash, a tribute to the lost,
We will not be broken.
We remember the 2, 977 victims of this day,
As the names are read and the prays are spoken,
New tears are shed out of sadness and out of pride.
We will never falter,
We will never forget,
We are Americans…
God Bless America!
By D. R. DiFrancesco
The sunken eyes of my child,
Daddy, I’m hungry,
A cry that stings my ears.
Oligarchs say, we will fix everything,
Really…how?
Didn’t you cause this in the first place,
Sending my labor to the third world.
Tell me what I’m to say to my little girl,
Daddy has to look for a job,
Food will have to wait.
No ones hiring,
I’m not high tech, I only know how to build things,
Since when is blue-collar a crime?
We call our old Fairmont wagon home,
B of A took our four walls,
Now where is my American dream?
They say we are the reason entitlements are broke,
They say I’m milking the system,
They don’t know, or even care who I am.
Another day on the hunt,
Another day knocking on doors,
Another day begging for work,
Another day at the food bank,
Another night in our car,
Another night of my child being hungry,
Another day of the oligarchs trying to say I’m worthless,
Tomorrow,
Another day of us fighting on!
On my hands and knees I’ve prayed,
Prayed for the strength to see the truth,
Hoping against hope for an answer,
One that has never come.
Is there more to this life than just living,
More than just breathing and being,
It is said, that if you believe there is,
Life eternal.
Words written by man,
Inspired by God,
Say there is life eternal,
If only you believe.
I have tried,
I have read the books,
So many books claiming to have the answers,
Yet logic dictates these are simply fables.
To see the damage done,
The hate ingrained in those claiming piety,
The intolerance toward our fellow man,
Surely this can’t be what the almighty had planned.
We are our brother’s keeper,
Only if our brother believes what we believe,
Lives by the same code,
As we interpret God to will.
The Ten Commandments hold no meaning here,
We keep the Sabbath for sport,
Money has become our false idol,
The Lord’s name is taken in vain,
Adultery glorified in celluloid,
This can not be what God intended for those claiming to be chosen.
Is not living a good life Godly,
Is not loving our brother Godly,
Is not caring for those less fortunate Godly,
Would not God look favorably upon these.
Does our fellow man’s race make him unworthy,
His creed or color make him unworthy,
Does his God given orientation make them somehow less worthy,
It think not!
Hypocrisy, hate and prejudice are plagues on this world,
Perpetuated by those claiming to be born again,
Claiming to be following God’s infallible words,
Simply to belong.
Instead I choose to live a good life free of dogma,
Loving my fellow man without condition,
Honoring God, by my thoughts and actions,
And not by the edicts of man and his institutions.
By D. R. DiFrancesco
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Your skin soft as down,
Pure as the wind driven snow,
Pressed up against me.
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Our Lords presence floats,
On the wings of an angel,
Renewing my faith.
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A child’s laughter,
Innocent and frolicsome,
Instills me with joy.
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Beauty of nature,
Unspoiled by man’s footsteps,
Given as God’s gift.
Dom DiFrancesco 