Sullen is my heart
For the deaths of our brethren
And our enemies
In the end we gain nothing
But continued violence
Rejoice not in death
Instead mourn every life lost
With deepest regret
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Tag Archives: violence
Brother Fights Brother (Tanka)
Brother fights brother
Will expressed through violence
So death marches on
All for ideology
Refusing to live on peace
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
The Church Bell Tolls
The church bells toll
Another mother soaked in tears
Another child gone too soon
A shot rang out in the dark
No one heard, no one saw
Just an unnamed face on an urban street
Victim of the violence that thins the herd
Taking a precious piece of our future with it
Cries drowned out with claims of infringement
What then is their answer
Do nothing
An eye for an eye
A gun for more guns
Their solutions absurd
Do we not live in a civilized age
This screams for a change of culture
Banishing hopelessness and despair
Curing symptoms not the disease
With reassurance and help
The offer of a hand when times are tough
Lip service pays them no homage
Hate and mistrust are it’s only spawn
Action in word and deed the only vaccine
Not changing with the times breeds failure
Failure of us all
Failure of the Grand Experiment
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Their Playground
Their playground, our world
The bullies intimidate
Taking what they want
Caught in their dangerous game
We are expendable pawns
It is Deja Vu
Cold War resuscitated
There are no winners
Just two very big egos
Gambling our existence
.
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dear Son (Haiku)
Dear son–a man now
I must learn to let you go
~~ You have seen so much
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Shattered Glass
Shattered glass sparkles as crystal under foot.
In anger, words were elusive,
You replied with an object of convenience.
O’ the lovely bouquet;
Homeless, evicted from it’s vase residence,
A chaotic arrangement on the hardwood.
Love morphed to hate,
Expressed in oh so funny ways.
Drenched in floral water
Fragrant as your estrogen tears,
Laying prone to avoid concussion.
What brought us here?
Pictures…smile infused speak of happier times,
Posing cheek-to-cheek, hand-in-hand,
No angry words, no words at all,
Communication via telepathy.
Speaking became a flint
Sparking…fueling fire, blue, white hot.
Singeing flesh and heart,
Blistering physically and emotionally
Until silence became a friend.
There is no reconciliation
No bandage or splint to fix what’s broken.
Like the vase, Irreparably shattered,
Love is left in a million pieces.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Casual Observers
Are we not all but casual observers
This game…though not such a game that governments play
What is it they do not tell us in the name of our own good
Who are they to decide what serves us best
Are these not our lives, our futures, our hopes, our dreams
They toy with these for their own folly
For the sake of national pride we label others as evil
Without looking within at our own flaws
Puffing chests, bellicose, with an arrogance befitting fools
Answering tit-for-tat with ever greater threats of destruction
This chain of ceaseless violence, when will it subside
Years of pain, years of suffering have taken their toll on this weary nation
I ask, what have we won, show me…show us
Do we need another war, more bloodshed of the innocent,
Further sacrifices by our brave men and women delivered as pawns
for subversive economic gain
Isn’t it time to seek peace after so much loss
And break this cycle of violence.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Awakening
Awakening to the first rays of day
Filtered through muddled panes;
Thankful for each cherished breath,
The perfection of the day,
My wife, children, friends, acquaintances,
Those whom I have not yet met,
Perfect in just their existence.
This happiness is born deep within;
It can not be projected on one by another
Nor given as one would tender a gift.
This joy must live of it’s own volition,
In unison with the body temple,
Expelling that which festers melancholy.
Would anyone not choose happiness over misery,
Relaxation over stress, Peace over violence,
Love over hate…I think not.
This ability lies within each of us,
Active or in hibernation;
Only a nudge is necessary to awaken it
Often we bury it under rubble;
Forged from the drama surrounding us.
Though unavoidable,
It must not be permitted to loiter.
Rather it must be cast out as a leper,
Burned at the stake,
Sacrificed to the gods,
Guaranteeing the health of our mind,
Our body
And our spirit.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Hatred and Violence
I sleep confident I’ve done my best,
Only to wake uncertain.
Insecure in myself,
Insecure in the craziness of this world,
The later feeds ravenously on the other;
Draining optimism as if water from a pond,
Leaving it dry, cracked — until it turns to dust.
Periodic lulls slowly renew my faith in man,
Spirits rise, the pond of optimism refills
Then in one spectacular moment it is gone,
Evaporating into the heavens,
By one stroke of ignorance or violence.
The reasons mystify;
Inexplicable to all but the perpetrators.
What’s to be gained?
Frivolous violence and hatred achieve nothing,
But to instill fear and hate in others otherwise uninclined.
This is not an accomplishment!
It is the perpetuation of discontent.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
A New Day, Another Poll
A new day…another poll.
Do they like us more today than yesterday
This referendum on hate and bigotry is sickening
We are not new,
We have always been here.
Hiding in the shadows for fear of retribution.
Frequently the target of slings and arrows
Thrown by our brothers and sisters.
Sadly, sometimes they hit the mark.
Why such animosity?
We breath the same air you do,
Drink the same water,
Eat the same food.
We are born of the sacred vessel like you
And we die alone as you do.
We love like you do,
We long to be loved like you do.
We are children of God like you.
You know us though you may not know it.
We are your sons and daughters,
We are your friends and acquaintances,
We are the person you pass on the street,
We are the teacher in your schools,
We are the soldier fighting for your freedom,
We are fireman and policeman,
We are the teller at your ban,
We are the checkout clerk at your convenience store,
We are parents,
We want to be parents,
We were born this way,
Though you think it a choice.
We are gay not broken,
We are not something you need to fix.
We are all created equal,
Wasn’t that the promise made to all of us
Not just to you?
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
* I wrote this piece because I am tired of the endless polls regarding American’s attitudes toward gay marriage. We seem to have this morbid fascination with the LGBT community to the point that many of us are willing to discriminate against them just to keep them from marrying. In my opinion, not only is this absurd, but it is also unconstitutional and should never have been an issue in the first place. I personally have family members who are gay and I have neither treated them nor looked upon them any differently than anyone else because of their sexual orientation. I have never felt threatened by them, nor have they ever been a threat to the children in our family. They are terrific people. Folks, you don’t chose to be gay, you are born that way. Isn’t it time we get over our homophobia and extend the rights to them as citizens that they are guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution and put an end to this nonsense.
Dom DiFrancesco 