Alone I Sit

Autumn In The Hood 1-5 by Sahm King

Autumn In The Hood 1-5 by Sahm King – We Drink Inspiration Poetry Prompt #001 – First Impressions

Alone I sit,

Nothing but a shadow and an empty chair.

Where have we gone,

I can not fathom?

Was it me?

Was it you?

Did we just evaporate;

Melting in the blinding light of day?

I cover myself in the hopes of saving us,

But nay, I am too late.

You are gone,

I am alone,

Left to fade into the future…

Without you.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

We Drink Because We’re Poets – We Drink Inspiration – Poetry Prompt #001: First Impressions

So Much Blood

So much blood on my hands,

Dried, old, not my own, but mine none-the-less.

Brothers and sisters–I have died with you on the battlefield,

My heart cries with each beat for your lose,

For the sacrifices made over our centuries.

Each of your gravestones is etched with my name,

I am your pallbearer, your namesake, your progeny.

I place the flowers on your graves,

Not for your sake alone, but for mine,

How else could I repay you for your kindness,

Thanks alone seem so hollow.

Brothers and sisters–I love you,

You are in my every thought and prayer,

Take comfort that you will never be forgotten.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

A Cold Kiss (Sonnet)

A cold kiss lay frozen on crimson lips

His tears could not thaw her icy chill

Thy soul to sea as fare so many ships

Whose lose pain could never fill

O’ slab, coarse for so delicate a flower

How I wish that I could soften thee

Yet I have it not in my mortal power

Into the hands of God must it be

Fairest maiden how I long to offer thou comfort

Though separated many worlds apart

Couldst I have quenched thy terminable hurt

Nay–sorrow be still my beating heart

.

O’ my dearest Juliet, I am dead to this world without thee

With this bitter nectar reunited soon we shall be

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Torment of Demons (Haiku)

Torment of demons

Live within my heart and soul

A mental typhoon

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

I Beg

I beg–do not look too deeply into my eyes,

What you see may both be surprising and terrifying.

Blackness…deep…dark…all consuming,

May swallow you up like the undertow.

You swim, kick, scream and still you drown,

Falling into the depths.

Seeing the sun above and nothingness below,

Praying to your God to be saved

As your tears dilute into the salty sea, unrecognizable.

Surely you will be disappointed,

My weakness splayed like modern art on my soul.

This is not what you committed too,

Vows could not have prepared you for this hell,

The hell that is my secret,

One held close to the heart,

For as long as I can remember.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Lonely Hotel Room

Lonely hotel room,

Faded carpet,

Trust in clean sheets,.

Looking out from high above,

Cracked blacktop parking-lot,

Peeling dumpster,

Weary travelers rental cars,

I wonder why I am here.

Long-distance calls from home

Offer little respite from my angst,

“I love you’s”, across the airwaves,

Still alone with my glowing companion,

Unable to sleep,

Strange bed holds no warmth.

All this, another spin on the wheel,

All this for sustenance,

I wonder at what cost.

Strain on spouse,

Toll on children,

One parent household,

Each trip will be the last.

Until the next time,

Addicted to the golden ring.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

I’ve Waited Too Long – A Tanka

I’ve waited too long

Spending life running the wheel

Like a fearful mouse

Missing the joy of their youth

My children are now adults

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Don’t Leave Me – A Haiku

“Don’t leave me.”. she cried

The grass is always greener

Through wandering eyes.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Cry Of Somber Horn Sounds

Cry of somber horn sounds,

Cloaked in fogs muted cape;

Lonesome and lonely as others answer not.

With greatest of care she lumbers on,

Waning on autumn wind, she cries,

Longing for her groom so long ago parted.

Drawn and weary her soul aches

In hopes with lover soon united.

He waits…

On rocky shore, he waits,

To hear the joyous cry of his bridegroom,

Against cold and crashing spray–he waits

For her voice, it never comes,

He wales…

For his love–he is forlorn.

She is gone.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Through The Window Of Time

An old fading brownstone,

For many a decade it has not been alone.

~~

If only we could see what it’s eyes must have seen,

Maybe then we would know where we’re going and where we’ve been.

~~

The cobblestone streets that lead past it’s front door,

Crumbled from the weather and travelers burdens I’m sure.

~~

It’s residents present and long ago past,

Have seen what this world has offered to the last.

~

The carriage, the train, the automobile,

All graced this place whether wood, iron or steel.

~~

From street lights of gas or electric lights glow,

They lit up the sights of another nights show.

~~

So great a loss of life fighting wars on two fronts,

A choice to drop the bomb would end hostilities at once.

~~

Parades and floats to the sailors joyful kiss,

Soldiers home from war we gratefully would not miss.

~~

Then a plea to the cops into Korea we did go,

But our hands were handcuffed by the reluctance we did show,

~~

A stalemate was called that we live under till this day,

Neither a win nor a loss could be granted either way.

~~

A call for equality from the King did he shout,

With hoods and with nooses the cowards tried to drive them out.

~~

Watching as a President is taken before his time,

Paying respects in a long and somber funeral procession line.

~~

The brownstone’s broad eyes did shed tortured tears,

As a people came to terms with an unsure nations fears.

~~

Ducking behind window boxes from the riots we did hide,

From tear gas and protesters we kept our children safe inside.

~~

Then there’s the hell of this little place Vietnam,

Over 58.000 lost never to return home.

~~

To this day we don’t know what it all was all for,

A chapter we’d prefer to lock behind a locked door.

~~

Then cries for peace and love in song did they roar,

Long hair, love beads and bell bottoms they adorned.

~~

Three days of love from a Woodstock would live on,

Though Jerry Garcia, Janis and Jimmy are now gone.

~~

A gas crisis, Beirut and the hostages in Iran,

Oil, our Marines and our citizens held in foreign lands.

~~

Then along came the Gipper to rescue us from us,

Bringing our people back without much muss or much fuss.

~~

The economy turned around while trickle-down became law,

Taking twenty plus years to find out there was a flaw.

~~

In 2001 we were brutally attacked,

By suicide bombers that should have been tracked.

~~

Our World Trade and Pentagon, the heroes in a Pennsylvania field,

So many had died, so many have been killed.

~~

In retribution and revenge we invaded Iraq,

To topple Saddam and push the Revolutionary Guard back.

~~

Into Afghanistan we marched as others had before,

With an uneasy partner in Islamabad and Lahore.

~~

An attempt to democratize third-world tribes,

Costing our mothers their sons and daughters sacred lives.

~~

Osama Bin Laden is dead at the hands of the Seals,

One more terrorist down knocked back on his heals.

~~

All to what end I don’t think anybody truly knows,

We’ll wait for history to say, to see how it goes.

~~

Our economies in turmoil, our politics a disaster,

Compromise and diplomacy no longer can they master.

~~

Fiscal cliffs and debt ceilings in our sights looming large,

It’s hard to tell if anyone in D. C. is in charge.

~~

Where we go from here is anyone’s guess,

Raise a glass and make a toast and hope for the best.

~~

Our past world glories seem far and away,

As we long for that time to be ushered in today.

~~

Our yesteryear’s are pocked with our failures and successes,

Hoping cooler heads prevail and our virtues to protect us .

~

O’ the good and bad this old brownstone must have seen,

The lessons taught through history, I’m hoping we did glean.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~