Tag Archives: power

Waters Flow Freely (Tanka)

Waters flow freely

Ever flexible, formless

Yet so powerful

Should we not live as water

Molding to life as it comes

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Trapped

Trapped in this chasm, my mind

Constantly looking…

Searching for something only I can provide

Realizing, but still denying the power

Peering into the eyes of friends and strangers

Seeking approval…

Begging for their projection of happiness

Only to be disappointed

Let down by their inability to meet my desires

My need for acceptance,

My need for love,

My need for joy that once staked claim to my soul

But has since blow away

Sailing to parts unknown

As I lay quiet staring at the stark white ceiling

Tears, salty and warm sting my bloodshot eyes

Crying as I’ve done so many nights before

Tomorrows another day

Maybe I’ll find what I am looking for on the other side of the door

Waiting to embrace me

Envelope me

Wash me in the happiness that I so desperately pray for

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Temptation

I have taken hold of my senses and emotions,

Both temporal and natural, or so I thought.

~

One, however refuses to submit,

Fails to retreat in the face of iron will.

~

This one will continue to elude me

I fear, until my dying day.

~

My nemesis, temptation, smells weakness

Drawing out the impetuosity of my youth.

~

It taunts me with promises of wealth and joy,

Promises of gratification and self-aggrandizing,

Promises of love and power and strength.

~

Incorrigible are these in their sloth and betrayal;

Resistance proves futile in the face of this demon,

This evil that has been plaguing man since time began.

~

I fear I will continue in this mortal struggle

Until I breathe my last breath

Or conquer this most human of addictions,

Temptation.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

For the Kings Amusement

By D. R. DiFrancesco

 ~~~~

Drawing your broadsword,

The shrill sound of blade on scabbard,

Wind whistling as you ready for the plunge,

From your gilded perch, you call a throne,

Driving the saber home.

 ~~

Stripping away every last breath,

Leaving those that built your dominion,,

Clutching their throats, gasping for air,

All to adorn your coffers,

With the gold of fools.

 ~~

Corpses of the loyal lie scattered about,

Left to rot in the noonday sun,

You know more will come,

Looking to you for mercy and sustenance,

Knowing they too are expendable.

 ~~

Your minstrels praise you calling you benevolent Lord,

While you smile your hollow smile,

With yellowed teeth and putrid breath,

Showering them with accolades,

All the while condemning them to death.

 ~~

You find this such great sport,

A vicious game,

Played solely for your amusement,

Who loses makes no matter,

So long as its you that prospers.

 ~~

You look down upon your subjects,

With jeweled goblet in hand,

Whispering in contempt,

That they are not worthy of your grace,

Nor deserving of your clemency.

 ~~

So you carry on like a spoiled Prince,

Conniving those around you,

“Fear not!”, you proclaim this is all in jest,

While the executioner readies his block,

For the next ax to fall.

A Not So American Dream

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

With Privilege Comes Corruption

Think about this often

How petty we have become

Money, power, the big house; is this really important?

Money distorts,

Power corrupts,

The big house…a symbol of unnecessary opulence.

Those of unlike kind are frowned upon,

Lazy,

Bloodsuckers,

A drain on the system,

Is this what we have become?

Those with means holding us hostage,

Our station in life seals our fate,

Threatening to exterminate ones less fortunate,

All in the name of progressing their adgenda.

Civility and compassion tossed aside like so many feathers to the wind,

Cast out as unimportant,

So unnecessary in this capitalist system,

The needs of the few eclipse those of the many.

Talking heads and bureaucrats tow the line,

Telling us that this is our foundation,

Lies and deceit disguise their motives,

Their pockets lined with fools gold.

Still they profit at societies expense,

And we buy in to the hollow rhetoric,

Smiling and clapping as they spew their bile,

Blind to the parade marching to it’s own demise.

Our representation sold for profit,

With wealth comes power and the rise of aristocracy,

This was not the proclivity of our fathers,

Yet we watch it happen with hardly a noise.

Is this what is desired or desirable?

It can’t be…it mustn’t be our expectation,

Like mice we scurry away from that which is distasteful,

Rise up, speak up, demand your just due,

Tenacity in numbers can rejuvenate our future,

Forcing the tyrants to bow to our intentions.