Anger spilling o’er,
Flashes of violence burn
Though not sure it helps.
Those in authority point
Proclaiming, “See they are thugs!”
It’s not that simple!
Centuries of abuse live,
Their pain is not quelled,
Wounds scarred are ripped wide open,
Dried blood turns and flows freely.
We have learned nothing.
Seemingly daily there’s death
Because of color.
Where’s accountability?
It’s hidden behind a wall
…and that wall is blue.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Pondering things more now than ever
I’m finding out how little I know.
I don’t understand human nature;
Its incessant need for power,
Its unquenchable greed,
Its innate ability to hate,
Its thirst to subjugate others.
Look no farther than the news;
War is spreading at a rapid pace,
Our young men and women are sent to fight,
For what…our freedom?
Only true if freedom flows from a pump.
Their blood is being exchanged for oil,
Sounds criminal unless you are a capitalist.
Poverty is running rampant,
The rich are getting richer
While the middle-class drowns
And the poor are being mowed under.
Our children are sunk into debt
For the privilege of an education.
Education is not a privilege but a right,
Only a fool would think otherwise…
You laugh…
Well then, a fool I must be!
With no where else to turn
We look toward the government,
Corrupt, divisive, they are of no help.
No! Don’t dare pull the party card,
Your blind faith in either cesspool is deplorable.
Don’t think for a second that they care about us,
Most of us don’t have the money to buy that kind of loyalty.
These behemoths only tolerate us because they have to.
Lobbyists and corporations are their real audience
Purchasing the destruction of our environment,
Sending our jobs overseas,
Corralling wealth for the pleasure of the minority
All for the destruction of the majority.
We…are…expendable!
In the end, what do I know?
I know what this country…this world could be,
It wouldn’t take much,
Just a little love,
A little compassion,
A little humanity,
But then…I am a dreamer
Who just realized…
How little I really know.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Racism lives on
Examples emerge daily
On the local news
Has anything really changed
Except the wall calendar
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Shoot first…too common
Racism alive and well
Rise of the old south
Were it not for video
The Blue Wall would have stood firm
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Labels separate
Segregation of masses
For the unknowing
Republican, democrat,
Gay, straight, rich, poor, black or white
This life and body
Are but temporary things
Gone in an instant
What is left behind
Spirit and spirit alone
Each one is the same
Void of race, creed and color
Void of all man’s influence
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Religious freedom
Legal discrimination
For modern zealots
Jesus Christ would be appalled
At your narrow mindedness
Constitutionally guaranteed
Why do we need another law
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Bringing out the worst
The anonymity
Of technology
Accountability lost
Amongst the zeros and ones
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Words escape,
Seeming pale and miniscule.
What to say would never be enough–
I’m sorry, immediately comes to mind.
Gone before your time,
How different might things have been
Or maybe nothing would have changed at all.
Narrow-mindedness and prejudice
Cannot be cured with words or pills.
Sadly your dream has still not been realized.
There are those that claim your struggle to be ancient history,
That you are equal, that you got everything you wanted.
This bile comes from the mouths of fools.
Why should any of this have been necessary,
In the eyes of God were you not always equal?
Why should you have had to be given anything,
Were not your rights endowed by the Lord God?
Only man–in his need to subjugate
Would be so arrogant as to play the Almighty!
This day of remembrance has not opened the eyes of many,
They find it a frivolous and inconvenient interruption.
Capitalism goes on with nary a missed step,
As profits never take a holiday,
How sad and disrespectful this is.
Dearest Dr. King, I am so terribly sorry.
There are no excuses for the tragedy of your death.
There are no excuses for the racism and ignorance that persists.
There are no excuses for your unfulfilled dream.
Thank God your words still resonate,
Thank God your message is still oft repeated,
For one day maybe the scourge that exists amongst us will die,
Turning your dream of so long ago
Into the reality that it was always destined to be.
God Bless You Dr. Martin Luther King
And with profound sadness,
I wish you a Happy Birthday.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Perhaps armageddon has finally come
Ferguson knows this all too well.
Do not be fooled–justice hasn’t been done
Though the politicians try to hard sell.
Claiming that the process has properly worked
Cries the President down to the prosecution.
Their responsibilities so blatantly shirked
It’s sad to think that this is the solution.
Corporate media you are largely to blame,
Yes you, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News!
Refusing to hang your guilty heads in shame
You planted the bomb then lit the fuse.
In the end you got just what you wanted,
That sound bite and graphic video clip.
Those agitators you shamelessly taunted
Full team coverage that never has slipped.
Still in the end a young man lies dead,
His parents still mourning their loss.
Long after you turn your cameras and fled
Forgetting your actions have costs.
And you men of justice with the law on your side
You’ve failed at the tasks we entrust.
Behind the grand jury with deception you hide,
Your verdicts in our faces you thrust.
So tell me what’s fair in this game that you play
Using the media to determine outcome.
It’s wrong and you know it no matter what you may say
While at our heads you are holding a gun.
You get what you give in this violent game
Though I wish that it wasn’t to be so.
So pin to your chests that badge of true blame
Donning makeup for the cameras next show.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
So prim and proper
Appearance–polished marble
Hiding their hatred
What darkness lurks underneath
Only God in Heaven knows
Ever so scary
Is man’s deceptive facade
Disguising his evil
Making those you think you know
Perhaps your worst enemy
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 