Expecting the worst
Only breeds anxiety
Learn to face your fears
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Expecting the worst
Only breeds anxiety
Learn to face your fears
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Do not live in fear
For this life is far too short
To waste cowering
Bowing to the terrorist
Only serves to feed their fire
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Terrorists looming
Hidden amongst the shadows
They’ve no need to act
We are already afraid
Thanks to our politicians
Without a shot fired
We’ve cowered and raised the flag
Handing them the win
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Alone he sits and cries
Night after night for a home
Scared of the darkness
He is new to this world
A pup looking for a home
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
In the daylight I sit–tis dark as night
Not void of sun as one might think.
Emotions cloud every thought and sight,
Depressions hole I claw and sink.
.
Sadness without good cause inflicts;
Caped in black to draw out life.
Pain…such pain this joyless fix
Cuts like a razor–damn bloody knife.
.
Out of the blue this Satan creeps,
Slinking slowly to fill my head.
Of little comfort is nightly sleep
At times a prayer be better dead.
.
All is not lost for this too shall pass
Though certain that this time will not be the last.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Another dawn,
Sun breaching the adjacent apartment building.
This window open to the vibrant street below.
Oh, were I strong enough to step out,
To join the masses in the frivolity of the day,
But lo! I am not so bold.
Day after day, Mitty-like I sit,
Alone with my thoughts
Dreaming of what could be,
What could have been,
The chivalrous me,
Rescuing damsels in distress,
Storming the castle,
Slaying the dragon,
Saving the day,
Or simply stepping foot on the sidewalk below,
Is that too much to ask?
I don’t know,
But one can dream can’t they?
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
~
Word: Mitty – Meaning: noun: An ordinary, timid person who indulges in daydreams involving great adventures and triumphs.
~
Jem Farmer – The Boi Poet – Words at the Weekend Poetry Prompt – 7-8 September 2013
Monsters and demons
Hide inside each one of us
Life of denial
Scared to face our deepest selves
Afraid of what we might see
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Fear-mongering and terror
Spouted from the hallowed halls.
Worry not they shout,
We are here to protect you,
We know better than you,
We know the dangers.
Think…
At what cost?
They ask us to trust them,
Give us just a little they say,
Just a touch of your freedom.
It’s for a noble cause!
We only need it for a short while.
Like fools we consent;
Placating us under their umbrella of protection.
With each fearful rant they ask for more.
See how we kept you safe,
Nothing has happened,
But they are out there
Waiting to pounce,
They want you dead!
Asking one more for ounce of our liberty;
We gladly give it with a relieved smile.
Rumors of anxiety and dread persist,
Appeals subside,
They won’t know,
Devouring our freedoms under cover of darkness.
Alphabet soup can keep it hidden,
NSA, CIA, FBI and the rest.
Considering us ignorant and weak.
Reading our mail,
Listening to our most intimate calls,
Perusing out texts,
Nothing is private,
Nothing is sacred,
Our lives, open books for their amusement.
I ask you…
Who are the terrorists now
And who are the lambs?
Our way of life is eroding,
Just as the oligarchy has long-planned.
Extremists can sit back and watch,
As we surrender our greatness,
Under a cloud of fear,
Never having to fire another shot.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
The wind it howled through dark of night
Father stammering in paralyzing fright
He hid me deep in closet bare
Eyes wide open through slats I stare
~
The growl it came on putrid breath
I feared the end a gruesome death
Father held tight as the door it rattled
Futile to fend an unnatural battle
~
Slowly the door it did part from it’s frame
Demon’s eye I see glowing red as a flame
Father held tight, just as tight as he could
But he knew in short order his strength fail it would
~
The beast it did shriek as father fell to the floor
Claws round his throat he threw father at the door
With a horrible thud bleeding and prone
Father lay silent and I cowered alone
~
I could see cloven feet moving this way and that
Flapping leathery wings as if clipped from a bat
It spit as it growled from between fang laden jaws
Destroying our cottage with yellow curled claws
~
It’s face was not human, nor of beast of the earth
Larger than a man in it’s height and it’s girth
The horns that did sprout from the top of his head
Certain in a moment I surely be dead
~
It clawed at the closet breaking slat after slat
‘Til the drool from it’s fangs fell inside pitter-pat
I curled in the corner as best that I could
Live another night I prayed to God that I would
~
The stink of the devil almost more than I could bare
As lice and maggots fell from his feathers and his hair
With one longing screech as spit ran down the wall
I closed my eyes and held my breath as the satan’s tail did fall
~
Then as fast as it came it turned and did run
Back into the pines from whence it did come
Leaving claw marks and stench behind in it’s wake
This night we were lucky for no life did it take
~
Battered and bloodied was my father its true
No worse was I for the terror gone through
This story’s been told, handed down through the ages
Written in books filling volumes of pages
~
Still there are those who refuse to believe
‘Til receive they a visit on one dark moonless eve
Jersey Devil of the pines unannounced makes his call
The season matters not winter, spring, summer or fall
~
The son of Mrs. Leeds, cursed long before birth
Banished to the forest amongst pine and marshy firth
Spawn of the Devil to live immortal life
Its best to guard your sons and daughters and your wife.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
This poem is based on the Jersey Devil, the longest lasting piece of lore in the state of New Jersey, originating in 1735. This website, WeirdNJ gives one rendering of what the Jersey Devil is supposed to look like along with a good bit of information about it’s origination and actual sightings of the devil.
I grew up in this area and lived there until about 12 years ago. It is an absolutely beautiful area along the southern coast of New Jersey, that is of course unless it is nighttime and you are lost in the Pine Barrens.