Tag Archives: society

Aging Fingers Grasp At The Past

Aging fingers grasp at the past

While winds of change buffet them at every turn.

Quiescence is unnatural,

Steamrolling those that refuse to align.

 

Each generation flavors their water,

Drinking from the fountain of their creation;

Shaping the new world in the vision of the time.

 

Neither we nor our Constitution were meant to be stagnant,

Fluidity is what protects us, what progresses us.

We must put aside our antiquated notions of the past,

For as society evolves, we too are obliged to evolve,

Lest we die as a nation and as a people.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

In This Gilded Age

In this gilded age

What is old is new again.

Worship of the golden calf

Has supplanted our rights.

Blood shed over these many years

Washed away with the bleach of power.

Fault lies squarely with us,

We allow their deceptions to dissuade.

Staying home we complain

Or cast vote against our own interest.

Each time we give them greater power

Plunging ourselves ever deeper into their pit.

How long will it be before it is too late,

When our eyes are so shielded as to be blind.

You think they are not displaying hateful smiles;

Proud of their accomplishments…

Give yourselves a pat on the back.

You believe that they care about you;

Their coffers are their only love.

Spending to kill their opposition…

This is their way and you are but pawns.

Their complicit media does nothing to inform,

Deceiving and perpetuating their propaganda.

With a populace too lazy to seek the truth,

They are easily swooned by soundbites.

Repeat them often enough and people believe,

How sad this truly is.

We base decisions on 140 characters…or less,

We take statements as fact from anonymous sources.

As a people, we claim to appreciate due diligence,

But not when it comes to those that govern us.

Quick to believe rumors, mass emails and tweets,

We call ourselves informed.

What is it Jefferson said about an enlightened citizenry?

“…it is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic.”

Many of us have proved to be a disappointment…

Social media is not enough, soundbites are not enough;

Ignorance is not an excuse!

You shout your patriotism as if it’s fact

While wrapping yourself in the American flag.

Meanwhile you seek to distance yourself from the poor,

Treating them all as abusers of our system, a drain on society,

Unworthy of saving….better left for dead.

Our health and security you put on the chopping block

Or sell off for the profit of privateers.

You desire to corporatize the education of our young

For so long a public mainstay,

Now raped and pillaged then labeled dysfunctional.

You should be ashamed!

Every institution we hold dear is up for sale.

One day as you enter your sunset years

You will look back, perhaps longingly

And wish for those things that you slaughtered

Out of pure ignorance and deadliest of sins

–Greed.

 

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

 

I Grow Weary Of This Eternal Fight (Sonnet)

I grow weary of this eternal fight,

Shackled to the rack of banker and coin.

Neither watch out for societies rights,

Instead every turn–a kick to the groin.

Warned of their evil for centuries past,

We heeded their warning ’til memories fade.

Enslave us they must, right on down to the last,

By our sweat and blood until death we have paid.

It stops not here for the cycle goes on,

Our children continue to pay on our debts.

We and our progeny are nothing but pawns,

On whose lives without conscience they’ve all placed their bets.

The greed of our system we claim best in the world,

Quite possibly it would be if the bankers we had hurled.

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Rusted

Rusted–tired as an aging nail

Pitted and weak on the brink of fail

Facade held up against weathers rage

Protecting from rain, wind and hail

.

Years they’ve beat and worn it down

‘Til colors fade from white to brown

Chipped and peeling under elements abuse

No longer fitting in societies town

.

A misfit amongst establishments fine

Red badge it wears as a sign

What once it was it is no longer

Spoiled and soured with passing time

.

Forgotten to history out of sight

Grandeur lost to economies plight

Its majesty tarnished attic bound

Fading like the sun into the night

.

Rebuilding the old into the new

It happens only to the chosen few

The rest are left to crumble to dust

Like southward migration away they flew

.

Forgotten like elders cherished past

Now left alone to live their last

In sterile homes cold and dark

The time they have left goes by so fast

.

All traces gone they are no more

For the final time we bolt the door

What once was loved is left to rot

Upon this worlds killing floor

.

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Metamorphosis (For My Daughter)

Faces in the crowd,

Nameless, peering through me,

Recognizing every minute flaw,

Silently laughing,

They whisper behind cupped hand,

Eyes dart in my direction then away,

Not so very subtle,

They think I’m oblivious,

But I see them,

I know what they are thinking,

I know what they are saying,

These things are not who I am,

One look in the mirror bears this out,

My reflection is unique,

Beholden only to me,

Blonde hair,

A shade unlike any other,

Ivory skin,

Imperfect, but my own,

Neither stick thin nor tall,

Comparisons to runway models are unfair,

Artificial life forms,

Moulded from botox and silicone,

Airbrushed to flawless perfection,

Idols born of magazine covers and centerfolds,

An unrealistic expectation for any young woman,

To live up to this cosmetic fraud is impossible,

Beauty is only skin deep,

Physical and momentary,

I am so much deeper than the shallowness of this pool,

If you could only see my essence,

The storm raging inside me,

Hopes, dreams, passions, opinions

Swirling like a typhoon,

A perfect storm,

Waiting to erupt with explosive force,

Breaking out of this cocoon of fear,

Leaving shards of this scared little girl,

In pieces on the floor,

Rising out of the wreckage,

A stronger more self-confident woman,

Able to speak for myself,

Defend my views,

Hold my head high in the face of adversity,

To cower no more,

Behind a mask of insecurity,

My opinions matter,

Commanding respect,

Regardless of whether we disagree,

I am an equal,

And I demand to be treated as such,

No longer subordinate,

My age, race and gender should have no bearing,

Yes, I may fall, but I will not break,

Yes, I may occasionally fail, but failing does not signal inadequacy,

I will sprain and bruise,

Scars left as reminders of experience gained,

But you must grant me this right of passage,

Allowing me to grow and become independent,

Crawling out from under my parents wings,

To stand unaided as if for the very first time,

An infant in a brave new world,

Opened up to be lived and explored,

I will voice my politics,

This is now my right,

Using my vote to shape the world I live in,

Unafraid to stand up,

Even when ridiculed by those of differing views,

This is their right as it is mine,

I will pay them no head unless civil,

Extremists hold no sway over me,

My hopes and dreams stand before me,

With open arms waiting to embrace,

I have the power of mind and body,

To grasp and hold all that I desire,

Be it business, education, the helping of others,

All these things are within my reach,

It is not for you to determine my passion,

You do not live within me,

But you benefit by my being,

I will break out of this shell,

Becoming all that life has endowed in me,

If I will just let me go.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Have and Have Not

You laud that all you have, you have earned

The blood and sweat of your toils payment

While covering the working poor and unemployed

With a blanket of hate and hypocrisy

Are not your hands outstretched

Collecting the tithe of the state

You are no different than those you so despise

It comes at no less a cost and is no less a handout

Than that received for the sustenance of life

Is sharpening your intellect from the pockets of the people

Somehow more noble than feeding children and the poor

You cry for the state to back down

While pickpocketing the very social programs

You so vehemently claim to detest

You hypocrite! You cannot have it both ways

You cannot suckle at the teats of mother state

While questioning that which she so graciously provides

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

There Are Times When I’ve Forgotten Why I’m Here

There are times when I’ve forgotten why I’m here.

So much is happening around me yet I feel powerless.

Overwhelmed, at times I wish to bury my head in the sand,

But this is not me!

I refuse to sit idly by, while others contribute?

I am not helpless!

I cannot be a passive observer of injustice,

As this would make me no better than they.

I will not stand by, oblivious to the callousness of man,

For what kind of man would that make me.

These are the enabler’s of genocide and war,

Bigotry, hatred and inequality toward our equals,

Repression of those of lesser will,

Arrogance and ignorance,

I will take no part in these travesties!

I do not need God to beseech of me,

For I already know what is right and good.

With this I will find my way on the straightened path,

My moral compass to guide me,

In my journey to affect change.

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Hail To The King

We are living in a land of broken dreams and promises,

Those with means, rush to deny what should be obvious to the rest,

Ha! It’s the Land of Opportunity, for whom I ask?

Common is it for the common man to grow then stagnate,

Trapped in the tracks of his caste.

Not for lack of desire, but of meaningful opportunity.

Crawling up and up only to find the steps paved in jagged glass,

Barefooted from birth we are cut and scarred with each step,

No red carpet nor ivory towers lay in wait.

Instead pittances to pacify the masses are offered to give hope,

Promises that they too are worthy of abundance,

These promises ring hollow…leaving us with the taste of sand,

While the oligarchy scoffs from their luxurious boardrooms.

Cries to the state offer little relief,

As they themselves are counted amongst the elite,

Leaving the rest to scrounge for scraps in their rubbish heaps.

This was not the promise of this once great nation,

Old money, family money, dynasties, unfettered corporatism…greed!

Safeguards dreamt by the founders have been tilled and buried,

Bastardized by modern men with corrupt ideals.

Shall we once again embrace…

The monarchy!

~

~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~

Forgotten

Little one,

You never asked to be brought into this world.

~~

Cold and cruel,

Born on the wrong side of the tracks.

~~

A mother’s love,

Can feed the soul, but the body still craves.

~~

Too young to speak,

Still your cries speak louder than any words.

~~

Sustenance is your right,

Denial would only draw covenant with your demise.

~~

Dying is inevitable,

A fact of life, but a fate undeserved to one so young.

~~

Blamed for your station,

You live in the shadows,

Cursed by the sins of your father,

Left to scavenge at the fringes,

Only to be forgotten,

Or treated as a pariah,

By defect of conscience.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~