A tempest brews its fiery rage,
Raining flame from lair on high,
Innocents run from molten sky,
As players on this devil’s stage.
.
The evil Lord, his venom thrust,
Hatreds source no one can say,
Legend speaks of broken trust,
Though long ago, lives on this day.
.
The village prays a hero come
As many a generation before,
All victims to his ancient lore.
While losing hope is the fate of some
The rest await the chosen one.
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~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Echos cascade off these grey stony walls,
Eerie howls toll down shadow darkened halls.
What is the source I would not venture a guess,
Haunting the days into night as it falls.
~
Hearing their cries during every waking hour,
Crimson eyes glare from medieval watch tower.
Diverting away, surely this mustn’t be real,
With cape drawn up tight beneath I do cower.
~
Dashing from the castle to my cottage I must run,
Hoping for arrival before the setting of the sun.
Horrors await those found wandering after dark,
Til vengeance be exacted once the terror has begun.
~
Legend doth tell of the rising of the dead,
Of innocent and guilty who lost their heads.
By creature or demon no one can be sure,
Hide we all did behind locked doors and under beds.
~
Obscured by shadow and cover of the night,
The beast waged it’s terror hidden from sight.
Unsuspecting victims their lives it did take,
Expressions on their faces was one of pure fright.
~
How to defend against one you can’t see,
Nowhere is safe were the cries with mercies plea.
Huddled, crouched and muffled in pure fear,
Imaginations run wild, dear God what can it be.
~
Screams in the distance carried under darkened moon,
Praying for sunrise it can’t come too soon.
As quick as the screams rose they came to an end,
Silence was broken by the song of the oon.
~
The new day awoke no more need to hide,
Slowly, cautiously door unbolted we went outside.
Blood splattered drag marks we were led on our way,
At the horrible sight women fainted, men cried.
~
Hanging from a tree bow with nearly severed head,
Hung the body of a stranger mangled, bloodied and dead.
The demon he had struck in a most savage way,
Stringing up the innocent into thin air he then fled.
~
No footprints nor trace of which way he did leave,
Lowering to the ground for the poor man we did grieve.
Time had passed so quickly as nighttime fast approached,
Picking up the victim for burial we did heave.
~
Laying him to rest for darkness we prepared,
No one spoke a word of the terror that we shared.
Another night of evil behind bolt and hardened doors,
Hoping to survive proving the Lord our God had cared.
~
Have mercy on the traveler that knows not what goes on,
The devil lurking in the woods we’re praying that he’s gone.
For centuries we’ve done the same with always the same answer,
In this land of demon’s folly we are nothing but his pawns.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
In the audience
I watch this worldly play
With tears in my eyes
A tragedy unfolding
WIthout an intermission
~
~~ 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 ~~
Blackness and dread have come over me,
I know not for how much longer I can resist.
Something unnatural here has staked claim to my soul;
Amongst these damp, dark, mossy castle walls
Light of day does little to diminish my fear.
I can feel it’s presence whilst awake and in slumber,
It speaks to me, taunting me to do unspeakable evil.
I am not the monster this darkness wishes me to be
Tho’ I fear I must be going mad!
I have called on God for strength, but to no avail
He has left me to my own voice.
My wife of O’ these many years fears me,
I am not the man I was,
I have paled, the purple beneath my eyes ages me.
Venturing into the night with nary a word nor explanation
I remember this not, tho’ my clothing doth bear evidence.
I wake to incessant scoffing yet am utterly alone outside of my bed,
Is my mind playing tricks on me,
What have I done, where have I gone?
My shirt dotted in crimson, bloody knife sheathed at my waist,
My hands painted scarlet speak of some unconscious evil.
I have never…could never hurt a living soul,
Yet this throbbing in my skull,
These incessant nightmares claim otherwise.
What I see in my minds eye disgusts me, tho’ I am horrifyingly intrigued.
Screams, shrill and bloodcurdling haunt me.
I can see the faces of females I have never known
Yet they lay at my feet, faces contorted in terror.
I am looking down upon myself and my bloodied hands
These women have been disemboweled,
Steam rising from their flayed vessels in the cold night air,
I laugh heartily at their horrific demise.
These are just dreams!
Nay! They are but nightmares, figments of an active imagination!
They must be!
But my hands bear witness to my dreams.
They are but one and the same, though I know not how.
What have I done, why must I be tormented?
Clearly God has forsaken me!
I dare not show my face beyond these castle walls,
I dare not reveal what I have truly become to my wife and children;
I have become a pariah to my family and this world,
I am ashamed!
Voices chortle saying, “You know what you must do!”,
“Join us! Join us!”.
This pain hath become unbearable,
Pounding, pounding, unceasing, these voices.
Hand drawn to the knife handle I contemplate my end.
The hammer continues to beat upon my temple
As the beat of a drum, constant and rhythmic.
Drawing blade from sheath I tremble, I know what I must do,
Whilst the voices drone on in their monotone “Join us!”.
Lips quivering, eyes tearing, I long for my prior life,
My family, my mind void of this Satan, but it is not to be.
To the hilt, I drive the blood caked knife through my throbbing temple.
Black…Nothing but blackness,
Still there is pain,
The pounding,
The hammering,
Forever tormented even in death,
Surely I must be cursed to hell.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A decade of war
Life draining on this nation
When will it all end
Our citizens sacrificed
Precious resources squandered
To what victory
How do we define success
Against painful loss
Our wars produce no winners
Without a clear enemy
All gains will revert
When finally we depart
Chaos ensuing
As is always the result
In the absence of brute force
When ideals are forced
Democracy imposed
Only breeds contempt
When masses are unprepared
For freedoms sacrifices
~~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
What drives man?
Greed, honor, sadness, love, anger, jealousy.
What drives man to madness?
The very same greed, honor, sadness, love, anger, jealousy.
Excuses for the evil that we do
Yet inexcusable by all accounts.
Innocence taken for causes only known to them.
Lives shattered!
Pain inflicted!
Sadness instilled!
No cause justifies their cowardice!
Their selfishness!
Their God complex!
These are criminals deserving of punishment,
Harsh and swift,
Showing no mercy,
For deeds done of their own free will.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
The Vulture
Those birds, those horrid blood sucking birds
Circling overhead, their red collared necks deep crimson in the setting sun.
Sensing the departure of spirit and will,
Waiting for the living to become lifeless,
Relishing the coming of death.
What morbid creatures are these, heartless and soulless.
Lying here, is this to be my last vision,
This hideous species of fowl
Bent of emptying my sockets, disemboweling me,
A meal for the taking.
Impaled by the prey I so stealthily sought,
Victim of my own arrogance.
Alone and lonely, shielded in blood soaked clothes
Most certainly this is not the end I envisioned.
What of my loving wife,
What will become of my children,
What of?
They circle…
Lower now, they smell the end is near,
Smell of death is in the air, death is inevitable.
Cold is setting in, the end is close.
Swooping low, these maggots, they torture me,
Flapping of their wings, stench of rotting flesh.
Daylight is fading,
I am so tired, so cold, so at peace.
Do what you will my relentless tormentors;
My family will remember me as I was not as I am,
A poor wretch soon to be torn and scattered,
Nothing but a whisper on the four winds.
Take me O’ winged beasts, take me now!
My time has come,
…Farewell.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Image Credit: creepypasta.wikia.com
Steeped in black of night
Dangers lurk in the shadows
Like things of nightmares
Evil and malevolent
Though certainly spurious
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Image Credit: squidoo.com
A mist clouds the room
Shadow figures menace me
Overwhelmed by dread
Covers clutched over my head
I pray for intercession
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 