Self-esteem of youth
Broken by thoughtless discourse
Like carnival glass
Scattered in minuscule shards
Is laborious to mend
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Tag Archives: youth
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 ~~
Time Nurtures Wisdom – A Tanka
Time nurtures wisdom
In the face of angry barbs
As youth yields to age
Imparting knowledge with years
In place of impulsiveness
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Silly Boys and Girls
Silly boys, they laugh and they giggle,
Silly girls in their skirts they do wiggle.
The girls laugh and point at the giggling boys,
As they make funny noises playing with their toys.
The girls turn away when they see the boys gawk,
The boys chase the girls with the speed of a hawk.
The boys yell and taunt as the girls run away,
The girls round the schoolyard away from them they stay.
Huffing and puffing the boys give up chase,
The girls in their stocking feet ran away with the race.
The boys and the girls in playgrounds and yards,
Laughing and singing, life was not hard.
This innocence squandered to the aging of youth,
Maybe in children we adults can find our lost truth.
Wouldn’t this be such wonderful thing,
Removing from stress, it’s life zapping sting.
There’s much we can learn from our children at play,
Like how to have fun each and every day.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
These Dreams I Still Have
These dreams I still have
Remnants of a misspent youth
Still push me onward
Unlike many of our young
Lost and wandering
~
Have we been failures
Left to fend for themselves
Both parents labor
This unavoidable plague
With our children as victims
~
Our culture has changed
Families expendable
Futures uncertain
Their dreams are left in tatters
If they ever had any
~
These dreams I still have
Are for our children’s futures
Prosperous and full
As mine was when I was young
Not something left in the past
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Youthful Imprudence – A Haiku
Image Credit: findery.com
Warmth of early spring
Rekindles past imprudence
The joys of our youth
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Life of Lessons
Image Credit: esrc.ac.uk
Influenced by birth
Life determines points-of-view
Like watching a film
Sometimes a panorama
Other times a flawed close up
~
A Tanka
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Passing Time
With each and every passing year,
I realize I know less than I knew before.
The truths I held at once so dear,
Have up and left and run for the door.
~~
Things they change seeming obscure,
Not so plain as they used to be.
So much I see I at once abhor,
Closing my eyes in hopes I won’t see.
~~
Music and film I have lived to watch change,
Profane and obscene for what reason unknown.
I would go back in time if time be rearranged,
Oh how I wish that time would not have flown.
~~
Maybe this is a sign of age on the march,
Passed from progenitor to progeny alas.
Opinions unheeded as they drift beneath the arch,
Change will not stop as I peer through the glass.
~~
My guess is that I’ll either learn to live or ignore,
As my parents and their parent have done.
The cycle won’t change of this I am sure,
I suppose time and youth, they have won.
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
Ode to Alicia
O’ what sorrows hang under the placid moon,
Beguiled as we wait before an open tomb.
~~
Unexpectedly passing in horrid way,
O’er the hilltop, contorted and lifeless you lay.
~~
Cowardly murderer ran with haste from his deed,
Hiding as rats will do in thicket and weed.
~~
Hide from God! You most certainly cannot,
Judgement at the gates will harshly begot.
~~
O’ dear Alicia…how young and innocent you were,
Just a child– Undeserving of a life to pass as a blur.
~~
While the foul miscreant thrives and lives on,
Corrupt of conscience, never considered you were gone.
~~
O’ how the parents grieve for their little lost soul,
All while this pariah slithers into Satan’s black hole.
~~
Squalid tomb– Why take solace in so young a life?
So cold, so final, no comfort to the progenitors strife!
~~
Judgement befitting the crime, our earthly courts did not levy,
Cries for hanging be raised at the hands of a justified bevy.
~~
No! Justice in this lifetime is not to be,
Pray God, Hell’s hanging tree hath a place for he.
~~
As the tomb eternal be sealed from the light,
Candles pay homage to a life once so bright.
~~
A place be laid for you Alicia…at the foot of God’s throne,
For all to take comfort that you will never be alone.
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
Greener Grass
This gravel road,
A path oft traveled,
Lane you strode,
As your life unraveled.
~~
Yon horizon so far distant,
Where a better life must lay,
Hurry on forth right this instant,
For the sun will rise on a brighter day.
~~
On yonder side the grass must surely be greener,
As the old time saying goes,
This too passes as ones life becomes leaner,
With far too little to show.
~~
Much too often we chase exaggerated expectations,
When they seem right within our grasp,
‘Til euphoria fades to urgent consternation,
And your prospects they dwindle and lapse.
~~
Life lessons learned are the hardest its true,
As the scars and bruises do prove,
Out of the rubble and ash will rise a new you,
In spirit and nature behoove.
~~
We greet you back home as a most beloved son,
For you needed to find your own way,
This is only the beginning of the journey you’ve begun,
Welcome home for as long as you will stay.
~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 