A Child’s Blank Stare (Haiku)

A child’s blank stare
Living a life undeserved
~~ Poverty destroys
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Astounding (Sonnet)

Astounding are those that look for reasons to be unhappy,

Conspiracy theories, news of the day meant to depress.

Written to convince of their literal trappings,

Our joy these words are designed to suppress.

These fools like sponges absorb utter nonsense,

Wringing out their bile in attempts to bait.

To the logical man these issues make no sense,

How much clearer must I say it, so not to restate.

Misery loves company as the old saying goes,

If willing to engage in this game.

An illness instilling more harm than will show,

On all but yourself you will blame.

Let not the lure of negativity entice you, destructive to the mind in the end,

Look for what’s positive it will surely enrich you, your body and soul it shall mend.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Tears Are Emotion (Tanka)

Tears are emotion
Not defined by our gender
They are just human
There is no shame in crying
Unless you withhold the rain
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Venom in Wretched Hearts Doth Flow (Sonnet)

Venom in wretched hearts doth flow,

Poisoning the mind, the body, the soul.

Sinking yellowed claws, they refuse to let go,

Dragging us down into blackened hole.

.

Choosing to wallow in pity, our woeful state,

Winding path we refuse to veer.

Preferring to traipse the same abject fate,

As if it were something we held so dear.

.

Nay–this is not how we were created,

With sorrow and fear to guide our way.

This truth could never be overstated,

If we change with the dawn of another day.

.

Pessimism serves none, but the weakest of spirit,

But optimism doth breed success to those that will hear it.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Events, Cohabitors of Life’s Stage

Events, cohabitors of life’s stage,

Script our actions like the strings of the puppeteer.

We are helpless, dribbling fools

In the glaring light of potential tragedy.

With nary a warning, change can be thrust upon us,

Rendering us helpless like children.

How awful the feeling,

Being strangled by crises uninvited, we succumb.

What does the universe want from us,

Constantly testing our resolve,

Raining on our parade ‘til we drown;

Then as if a cruel joke, tragedy is replaced by joy,

Happiness diluting stress.

Not that we ever hoped for the worst,

But that it had never transpired at all.

In retrospect doesn’t this all go toward our maturation;

Making us whole, defining who we are

And who we will become.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Is Love What We Think (Tanka)

Is love what we think

An emotion of the heart

Or is it a flaw

A flaw of human nature

Opening us to sorrow

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Our Hearts Fade to Black (Tanka)

Our hearts fade to black

When compromised by a love

Leaving them broken

This isn’t by our design

But by our God given flaws

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Does She Dream–She Dreams No More (Sonnet)

Does she dream–she dreams no more,

Though mother grieves, her spirits flown.

Tears are shed in torrents, stain upon the floor,

In her heart of hearts she has most surely known.

.

Knowledge diminishes not a mother’s sorrow,

Science cold, offers no sympathetic relief.

Knowing there will be no more tomorrows,

Does little to quench her wrenching grief.

.

Its time she needs to weep and mourn,

A daughter lost to procedure routine.

To unite and mend a family torn,

By results unexpected, gross and obscene.

.

Her passing a reminder of the commonplace, still serious,

And the pain no less painful turns a family delirious.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

A New Day, A New Light Dawns

A new day, a new light dawns,

No more do the darkest clouds mask my life,

Shrouding me in gloom so marshland thick.

Crying out to be saved ushered no hand,

Leaving me to crawl, bloodied and battered from my despicable pit.

No hope nor blame was there outside of self–

Though not for lack of trying.

How easy it was to shine blame on another,

Justifying this rancid condition through mirrored fault.

Oh how misplaced and misguided were my intentions!

I need look no further than my reflection to find the culprit,

The thief that steals away at the slightest hint of uplifted spirit.

For now he has been banished back to his cell,

‘Til next his jailer be tricked into releasing him.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

Consciously Adrift

Consciously adrift in melancholia today

A strange feeling of sorts, almost out-of-body.

Praying this awareness isn’t here to stay,

It has been some time since I have felt this oddly.

~

Perhaps its the conclusion of a season so merry

Punctuating my customary schedule of labor,

Or the calming of life that for a time was so hurried

Returning to the normalcy of my common behavior.

~

More like the drying of the druggy or drunkard,

The heart becomes heavy with worry and sadness.

These feelings have since grown increasingly absurd,

Leading me down this pathway toward madness.

~

Pray tell–to what end does this folly intend,

In driving my soul to the brink of destruction?

Try as I might to bandage and mend

And pull myself out of this pit of compunction.

~

On knees that are bent in prayer for reprieve

All one can hope for is its swiftness to pass.

Lifting up spirits and hasten sorrows to leave

Like sand as it trickles through narrow of the hourglass.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~