Tag Archives: Religion

Pondering God

Pondering of God;

This longing to find what lay beyond our living existence,

Attempts to rationalize the irrational,

Anchored with questions for which we have no answers,

This we’ve seen throughout our sordid history,

Wars fought, lives lost in the name of an invisible god,

A battle that did not end in antiquity.

Even today, preachers and false prophets command their thirsty flocks,

“Have faith, we will guide you to the promised land!”,

I am firm that they know nothing beyond that which they want to believe,

How could they, how could any man?

They are no more and no less human than I?

Irrefutable is this fact.

I harbor no ill will towards the faithful,

Their search is no different than mine except in path,

A path that may rejoin in what comes after.

For now, I take comfort that my spirit..

Always Does…Always did…And always will…Exist.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Call Me Friend – A Tanka

Image Credit: flickr.com

Image Credit: flickr.com

You can call me friend

Though this is the first we’ve met

I am your brother

Born, living, dying like you

Race, creed, color matters not

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Passion of Politics and Religion

Of this, I am as guilty as the rest.

Topics varied as politics or religion,

Taught at an early age never to discuss,

These are like powerful earth magnets

To man’s simple mind.

I am of the opinion that no two subjects can be

any more divisive than these.

Turning the mildest of men into mortal enemies

with the slip of the tongue.

I am not immune to this foible,

At times a slip, whilst other times

Thrown in venomous rage.

Can any one of us claim to have not done the same?

If yes…then they most certainly are liars.

What astounds is the passion,

Like that ensconced in two young lovers,

that politics and religion invoke.

Taunting red-faced opponents to spar

In a Battle Royale.

I have been both victor and defeated

In these most epic of battles.

Still I have not been deterred,

For my conscience would not allow it.

I have been the red-faced.

I have raised, nay, shouted to drown out my adversary,

Unwilling to consider an alternate view.

Oh yes…I have been guilty of tossing civility aside,

Of mannerisms befitting a child.

Would not a civil conversation have borne greater fruit?

Perhaps…perhaps not.

I have, as yet,, been unable to reign in my passions.

Remaining a convict to my own convictions,

I hope to one day receive parole

To discuss my opinions with ardor and civility.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Nothing But Blackness – A Haiku

Image Credit: redbubble.com

Image Credit: redbubble.com

I draw closed my eyes

Seeing nothing but blackness

Is this destiny

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

What Awaits

I do not pretend, to know the truth,

Anymore than you…or the sun…or the moon,

Proving nothing short of ignorance otherwise.

~

What I do know, is that death is inevitable;

Whether life be a second, a minute or decades,

Of this I am certain.

~

Just as I am certain of my origin;

Beyond progeny…beyond paternity,

My essence existed before that of this earthly vessel,

And will certainly continue beyond it’s worldly demise,

Our human science has assured.

~

I am, however steeped in uncertainty,

Uncertain of what lay in wait after this finite adventure.

~

Will I be swallowed by consuming blackness,

Drifting endlessly…disjointedly into nothingness?

~

Will I be welcomed at Heaven’s pearled gates,

Greeted with open arms into a paradise?

~

Maybe Hell hath set it’s sights on my mortal soul,

Repaying me for the sinful life I’ve led?

~

Or will my soul join with others

To live once again,

In the vessel of another of the newly-born?

~

These all, are questions of faith,

Your faith…my faith,

Questions for which I have no answers.

~

After a lifetime of curious inquiry,

I hold no greater insight into the afterlife,

Than were so endowed in me at my birth.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Profiling – A Haiku

Image Credit: aclu.org

Image Credit: aclu.org

Racial profiling

Race, creed or color…so what

We all bleed when cut

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

Shame of Intolerance

Drama perseveres,
We remain shackled and chained to our past,
Bound to ideals thought long ago buried.
~~
Under the same sky we are born and die,
Returned back to the earth caste-less.
~~
Equality seems a distant dream.
~~
We feign to have grown,
Only to rebound to our stunted ways,
Taking aim at the latest victim.
~~
Shouldn’t we be color blind to the flesh by now,
Incomprehensible is it to have to legislate,
Over and over and over.
~~
These delusions are not the end,
Fear mongering has become both sport and folly,
Substituting understanding for hostility and ignorance,
Attempting to rally the naive.
~~
Those that hide behind their faith,
Calling evil, those beliefs that differ,
Claiming superiority,
Believe the propaganda.
~~
We think we have progressed,
Advanced beyond infantile characterizations,
But we have not, we have digressed ,
Becoming more intolerant.
~~
Residents of the rainbow are criticized and shamed,
As if their orientation was free will,
Demoralizing them as abominations before God.
~~
Shallow and nescient is your moral constitution,
When will those of conscience rise up,
Ushering in diversity and equality.
~~
Freeing those marginalized by a witless society,
To live full and fulfilling lives.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~

A Question of Eternity

Credit - window2universe.org

Credit – window2universe.org

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~

Who am I

Did not my spirit exist be for me

Perhaps not in this form,

Though most surely it did exist.

~~

The things I am are not new to me

My essence existed at the beginning

Conception did not create it nor can death destroy it

So who was I before.

~~

Maybe a river running through Africa

A blue whale navigating the seas

Or maybe a playful butterfly flying on high

Could not part of me have existed in all of these.

~~

In this I find comfort

The body being merely a vessel

Temporary and dispensable on loan from the earth

To be gladly returned upon passing.

~~

The energy that is me remains

Free of this vessel

Free to become whatever the universe deems fit

Glorious and unhindered by my physical being.

~~

There is peace in thoughts of this

Knowing I have always been and will always be

Could this be the eternal life spoken of in religion

Whether of God or of nature, we may never know.

The Gift

credit - fanpop.com

credit – fanpop.com

By D. R. DiFrancesco

~~~~~~

In this most festive time of year,

Let us not forget amongst our Christmas cheer,

In whom the honor of this day be blessed,

Exalted on High above all the rest.

~~

Every year at this time we tend to get lost,

Spending more than we have at almost any cost,

For fear we’ll disappoint the ones that we love,

Most surely we wouldn’t, petty things they’re above.

~~

This is not why the Lord brought his Son to this earth,

He is the gift in Christmas that was given at birth,

Nothing in this world to Him could compare,

With the sacrifice of Christ that God wholly did share.

~~

Our boxes and bows are mere trinkets to Him,

Valueless in comparison might I go out on a limb,

Tinsel and garland are beautiful it is true,

Lights of white, yellow, red, green orange and blue.

~~

These are not what Christmas time is about,

Not the trees, decorations, or the gifts that you tout,

Its about love and charity done all the year through,

Kindness shown unto others in all that we do.

~~

Its being thankful for Christ as we live out His word,

For benevolence though silent can still be powerfully heard,

This may be the greatest gift that as mortals we can give,

A gift we may freely offer for as long as we live.

~~

So enjoy your Christmas trees and your twinkling lights,

Just remember our Lord and His Bethlehem night,

For His gift that He gave so many years ago,

Is the only one we need through joyful song we do show.

~~

Draw nearer to you all your family and friends,

Shouting praises and prayer up to heaven you send,

We celebrate your birth baby Jesus whom we hold oh so dear,

May we embody the Christmas spirit all through the year.

Mortality of Man

By: D. R. DiFrancesco

On bended knee,
Bloodied and bruised,
I prayed for forgiveness,,
Hoping for nothing else to lose.

This was not to be,
With tears and head bowed,
Reciting the mantras learned as a child,
A blessing on me I hoped you’d endow.

Having spewn blasphemous epithets,
Having thought impure thoughts,
I was not worthy,
I could not receive the mercy I sought.

A victim to the sins of Adam,
Consumed by the treachery of Eve,
Am I doomed to the frailty of my being,
“Oh no!” I am told if only I believe.

So to what fate is my soul condemned,
To Satan’s dominion or Heaven’s charity,
This is a question of faith,
To ask of God for greater clarity.

We question life’s lessons and failures,
Yet in these, may reside the answers we seek,
As they say, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”,
Quelling what is mortally weak.

Does a God exists, for this I am hopeful,
For if not then this is all for naught,
There’s no comfort in nothing, if you’re gone you’re gone,
Pray for veracity in what we were taught.