Talk of family
Words did not come easily
But I understood
Though our languages differ
We spoke as if long lost friends
You Colombian
Plagued by crime and poverty
Low pay your reward
Yet still you love your country
Love it with all of your heart
Me American
My badge of entitlement
Worn outward with shame
Embarrassed by my complaints
You my friend have humbled me
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Scavenging,
Through trash bins,
Rubbish heaps,
Loitering beyond alley doors,
Waiting for “the good stuff”.
Jagged nails,
Through fingerless gloves,
Sort through treasures,
Maybe a doughnut,
Scrap of bread,
Half eaten burger,
A meal fit for a king.
Seen on steam grate mattresses,
Fetal curl for warmth;
Passersby arc wide birth
To avoid their touch.
Rain draws trash bag slickers,
Doorways, cardboard,
Rags for umbrellas,
Taxi’s thrown sludge sprays the invisible
With cities dirt and grim.
Will they be here tomorrow?
Will anyone notice their absence?
As their shopping cart sits idle
Ravaged by fellow unseen.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Image Credit: flickr.com
Material wealth
Blinding to what surrounds you
Swallows compassion
If permitted to consume
And supplant humanity
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Skinned knees
Blood red
Torn pants
Frayed rope belt
Too big for frail frame
~
Nails caked
Hands shake
Dirty hands
Utensils for eating
Food is scarce
~
Shirt ragged
Sleeves ripped
Buttons missing
Better than nothing
Shopped from trash
~
Face leather
Beard unshaven
Hair matted
No place to shower
Embarrassed by odor
~
Scrap cardboard
Help Me Please
Eyes pleading
Can you spare a dime
Will you spare a dollar
~
Looking away
He’s invisible
Just a bum
Remember his knees
He wounds like us
~
You pray to God
Recite His passages
Holier than thou
Looking down your nose
You detestable hypocrite
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Opportunity
Who are the fortunate ones
Who will be left out
No question more pertinent
In this most troubled of times
Was this the promise
Is this all we should expect
For all the effort
To be let down by country
When it’s help is needed most
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A simpler life
Could any of us live it
Like that of Gandhi
Living in moderation
Among the less fortunate
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Waking to the rhythmic white noise
Television’s twinkling salt and pepper blur
Foil covered rabbit ears like periscopes
Reflect his fractured image…almost blinding
It hurts to sit up straight
Back hunched from decades of labor
Crumbs drop like snow from his cardigan
“What did I eat?”, he mumbles on deaf ears
As gnarled and twisted hands
Brush his remnants to the floor
Feed for roaches and rats that call this home
Day and time are of little concern
What does it matter.
Tormented knees crack
Perched unsteadily beneath him
All he can do is shuffle holding on for balance
The refrigerator fights back as he opens it
The dim light only blackens the mouldy fresco
Decorating the walls and shelves.
Spoiled milk curls the nose
“Been around awhile.” he whispered
Paying it no more mind
Warm beer will have to do
The crack of the tab and the “pusssssh”
Join the metronomic shuffle of his stocking feet
Moaning, he sits
Joints aching from medicine he can’t afford
Alcohol will have to do
Each sip provides little relief
Tired of living his eyes grow heavy
Sleep returns…to the rhythmic white noise
And the televisions salt and pepper blur
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Boarded windows,
Graffiti covered,
Paint peeling,
Chain link rusted,
Grass overgrown,
Strewn with litter,
Sidewalks cracked,
Shutters hanging,
Door unhinged,
Doorbell silent,
No one home,
For Sale sign,
Bank owned,
No ones buying,
House after house,
Block after block
City after city,
All the same,
Plant closed,
Jobs left,
Gone for good,
Overseas,
What to do
Same old question,
Same old answer,
No food,
No home,
No job,
No one cares.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Hope springs eternal
Just a phrase to so many
Whose hope has faded
Left destitute and alone
Welcome to the new Main Street
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Image Credit: whitehouse.gov
An embarrassment lay before the trustees feet.
No courage, no diplomacy from the ivory seats.
~~
They bicker and fight at the masses expense,
Void of logic this makes absolutely no sense.
~~
Elected to do all the peoples good work,
To captain the ship with nary a perk.
~~
Not to be so, as their pockets belie,
They weakened the law and stole all the pie.
~~
Neither a sliver did they take nor merely a slice,
They keep going back many times more than twice.
~~
Still as cattle to the polls we can’t help but repeat,
As if we were held to the fire by our feet.
~~
When will the swarm awaken from their dream,
To see that this always has been part of the scheme.
~~
Divide up the nation into haves and have nots,
Feed those without means into the haves corporate plot.
~~
This countries demise may be its own wretched greed,
Blind or not caring for a citizenry in need.
~~
Many poor have been baited that less gives you more,
A theory disproved by many before.
~~
Even Greenspan did admit that “trickle down” was a farce,
The wealth it went up, but the trickle fell sparse.
~~
Thirty years on, on the brink of collapse,
Austerity it is as we watch prosperity lapse.
~~
But still the Gipper’s name is held up enshrined,
His legacy it ticks like a bomb out of time.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 