Best Commuted Poems
It was in eighteen eighty-six in the streets of Chicago,
where the greatest miscarriage of justice people would know
transpired in an infamous labor-police rendezvous.
Albert Parsons led eighty thousand people on revue.
The strikers marched down Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
The Knights of Labor were sponsors for the work stoppage venue.
Demands for shorter work hours and no child labor were made.
This would be regarded as the world’s first May Day parade.
Thousands nationwide would join in with the activities
In the next few days, the striking workers stopped whole industries.
On the third, some strikers and police engaged in melees.
These actions resulted in two ill-fated fatalities.
The struggles also caused some severe hideous injuries.
The fights took place at the McCormick Harvester Company.
Many held the police for murderous culpability.
Organizers from the Knights of Labor held a mass rally
at the Haymarket in Chicago’s West Loop vicinity.
They would assemble there in the early part of May.
Thousands crowded there peacefully on the month’s fourth day.
Leaflets were passed noting the police for murder to the crowd
as anarchists urged the mobs to join forces and shout aloud.
A bomb thrown at the police catalyzed an altercation.
One officer was killed and others hurt in the explosion.
Matthias Degan was the officer fallen in duty.
Seven other policemen died later from an injury.
The police opened fire on the people immediately.
At least eleven of the strikers were shot at fatally.
Eight men stood trial for the death of police officer Degan.
They were Parsons, August Spies, George Engel, Samuel Fielden,
Adolf Fischer, Louis Lingg, Michael Schwab, and Oscar Neebe.
All eight were tried and found guilty by a judge and jury.
Neebe got fifteen years; the others got the death penalty.
Schwab and Fielden were commuted to life; then got clemency.
Lingg took his own life before his scheduled execution.
The remaining four men were hanged in public exhibition.
Since then, there have been enacted many labor reform laws
The men who died are considered martyrs to a noble cause.
I thank wikipedia.org online encyclopedia for the information I obtained to write this
poem.
Categories:
commuted, history, death, men, work,
Form:
Rhyme
UNFINISHED SENTENCE
At Sunday prep my
boarding school teacher
criticising my unfinished sentence .
No communicated thoughts, no words .
Sentenced to life at fourteen ,
away from home and you my life
sentenced in solitary .
A death sentence commuted to life ,
both imprisoned in separate cells ,
separated from you by streams of tears .
At Christmas a chestpain took my father
without closure or goodbye ,
a rude undeserved end .
My heart’s-loss ,
not even found for days ,
you are not really dead,
across the Styx wandering lost
along tearless roads in darkness .
Alone and lost my
mother , family , left bereft .
The warm breath of dairy cows
hangs over empty farmland and a winter
cemetery on this cold Sunday morning ,
with grandsons who resemble you .
Only I know their hands are
your big hands - are
my hands - placing here a token
poinsettia , red-toned , roots swirling
inside their pot of earth .
You grew them in masses and
my childhood Christmas was complete .
Their leaves drop with the cold,
dead but not really dead .
They will return next Christmas
and your spirit comes back again .
Your big hand is in mine, but I am
unled and abandoned and
I talk to you in poinsettia tones ,
continually coming back to
your unfinished finished life ,
frozen like the stream
of memory in my mind .
Categories:
commuted, life, christmas, christmas, life,
Form:
Free verse
(To a brother, he gives his biryhday celebration to be with the less fortunate kids. He is a hand of this nation)
Love ain't an illy feeling healed but a commuted commitment
Care and fair ain't a lay pay job but a heart learnt art of passion
At a young age yearned long to hand a hand to them
Yours heart pained, drenched with love for the kids
Drunk in intense integrity intimately intending to help
Shunned of your pleasure and leisure to raise and strike a ray
Left all comforts and some-pots to lightly knight a heart
Humbled like an infant faced firm no fear
Hope and trust, trained tranquility to you
Them tummied, armied and dummied grace a day in Green Land
You, humbled, abled, labeled and favoured grace it in Green Card
Not to fill yours abdomen and **** cavity like they
But a ground to grace and ace a life and file a future
Want no fine wine, no 'kay cake
But see, think as I ink his list of least needs for feeds
For he humbles to offer it for free to them
Them,some not known of a day like it
For only him present in their presence
Its him OMONDI FRANCIS.
As he elevates and celebrates a great day
Pimps and teams the kids with joy
Frees and fills their day with love
Invites and incites us all to join
Lets support and sup up his passion
Born a boy but who serves a nation
For as a country we conquered Like a society we sort
Happy Birthday bro.
Categories:
commuted, birthday, care, love,
Form:
Chant Royal
Some call it a halfway house because it's halfway between hell and living,
but living that way isn't really living at all; it's just a slower way of dying, friend.
Your self-imposed life sentence is hereby commuted to time served + 100
years in a halfway house; humbling yourself is your only path to redemption,
friend.
Your only chance at redemption, that is, friend. You can live like a good man,
but that won't make you a good man, friend. Only a chance, don't forget that,
friend.
We're going to die one way or the other, so it don't really matter if it's slow or
fast. But I reckon that 100 years of being humbled is going to feel pretty long,
friend.
Halfway house. What kind of fool would build a house halfway's to anyplace?
Never mind halfway's to hell. That's what I call a real fool, if you're asking me,
friend.
But, it got built and here it is, friend. Halfway to hell and halfway to living. Try
to live like a good man and stay out of trouble. Remember, that's your only
chance, friend.
So, here you are, halfway. You can surely feel the heat, can't you? But you can
barely hear the sounds of living, coming from the other direction. Can you,
friend?
It's really closer to hell than halfway; well, it feels like it anyways, most days
that is. Some days, you can almost remember what living felt like. But only
some days, friend.
Halfway's to hell and halfway's to being a good man. Well, like I said before, it's
a chance, friend. Stay humble, now, you hear? Only 100 years left to go,
friend.
Categories:
commuted, dark,
Form:
Verse
(this pastiche pertaining to maya own inc ore pore rated poetic patois promulgated many moons ago from those screaming bloody thirsty headlines from the Italian court for justice sans the brutal homicide attributed to this then American college student and her ex-boyfriend).
with the assiduous vigor of a cadre of volunteers
brought sought after fruition of freedom
per the release of imprisoned young (twenty something) American lass
whose former life sentenced commuted to egress from an Italian jail
to her home within Seattle, Washington
whereby family, friends and strangers who fought for her liberation
breathed one palpable surprising sigh of euphoric relief
when the plane who boarded landed safely on the tarmac of SEATAC
aswarm with frenzied television camera crews
scrambled to get the initial scoop and what promises
to land this once anonymous cell bait
an undisclosed amount of lucre
which many on the other side of the pond
find mind boggling if not downright objectionable
moreso livid with rage
against the Machiavellian machine
on account of supposed culpability in tandem with her then boy friend
accused (under the guise of guilty fiat)
sans homicide of college roommate
now sought after garnering this fawning female
(salaciously tagged by Perugian court with the sobriquet “she wolf”
now faces a future replete with riches aplenty
allowing gravity of ugly epithet plus stigma from accusation of murder
to serve as basis for what will no doubt be a best seller
not to mention made for the silver screen blockbuster
with subsequent royal carpet treatment
to compensate for guilty judgment decreed
without tangible evidence nor fair trial to boot!
Categories:
commuted, appreciation, boyfriend, conflict, corruption,
Form:
Politics, aerobics, arithmetic;
All of this commuted reconvicts;
Genocide, homicides, what's in it for all you guys;
Run and hide, ,, alibi
Just confided, must be nine
No it is, it's mine
Denomination must be graven;
Religion religious programming;
Regional back firing;
All of this I desire;
Comfort right, can you give me time;
Lord, I've had it up the here;
I've been empty, want to be filled;
So go on. . .
You filled me up;
you brought me out;
you placed your love in me;
you filled me up
and placed your saving grace inside of me;
Unemployed, no unions;
Mothers fighting daughters over their delusions;
Father's no longer here;
Sons no longer fear;
Where is the rest;
The rest is in
Where is the best
The best is here;
Standing on the streets at night so out of sight;
Grown up too soon can't rely on anyone, anything, anyway what's right?
I'm running out of steam grown up to soon;
Still don't believe man went to the moon;
All of this I desire, Lord;
Comfort ride can you give me time;
I'm on the line bout' to fall;
come fill me up again, Lord. . .
so go on
and fill me up
and bring me out
and place your love in me
continue to fill me up
and place your grace in me
written by James Edward Lee Sr. (c)2012
from anthology "There's Praise In song" (c)2012
Sept 25 2012
Categories:
commuted, beautiful, devotion, forgiveness, god,
Form:
Blank verse
I finished high school in the 60's, a decade of 'Change and Revolution'. Got married in the 70's, the decade of 'Accountability and Resolution'. Yes, I became a man in the 70's, a college graduate, a father, a voter, a missionary pastor, and a homeowner. The decade of the 70's was like building a foundation and a platform in anticipation of the decade of the 80's.
The 80's was a decade of 'Reconstruction, Reconsideration, Reconciliation, and Revision'. The 80's, also a decade of Fiscal Responsibility, Vision, and Expansion, gave birth to the formation and rise of the Reagan Democrats. I suspect that Jimmy Carter was no match for the 80's because the 80's ushered in his defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan, who also took on The Air Traffic Controllers and weakened the hands of America's Strong Labor Unions. The Spring of '81 brought us the failed assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan who nearly died but recovered and went on to become a great president who said to the head of the Soviet Union, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall". There were great catches, great runs, great tackles, and great touchdowns as the 80's brought the rise and reign of the San Francisco 49ers. In the late 70's, Americans were captured and held hostage in Iran and released in the early 80's. My first vote for a Republican presidential candidate was cast in 1980 for Ronald Reagan. Our third and last child was born in 1981, and after moving to Sacramento in '86, unable to find work in Sacramento. I commuted to San Francisco for two and a half years. The Aids epidemic broke out in the 80's, and suddenly the sexual revolution was being brought to, if not a halt, at least a pause. Early on with very small attendance, an Aids Seminar was held at our church.
10132018PoSoupContest, Remembering The 80's, Michelle Faulkner
Categories:
commuted, america, family, history,
Form:
Free verse
He/him (ratty, scrawny,
and tetchy ugly villain)
scurried into dark recesses of hermitage
averse to cavort, frolic, inure himself
into the duplicitous schemes
capitalized, glorified, popularized
courtesy vanity of *****sapiens
lest imp of the pervert
already sacrificed as renegade
hashtagged heretic condemned
without merciful intervention
after being duped into capture
subsequently broadcast viz TikTok,
when turncoat quasi nincompoop
kook Harmet Harms
kickstarted, ejaculated, and blurted
out hideaway of sought after perpetrator
to burn (no small potatoes) at stake,
but fortunately falsely accused
unbound against immolation
and reprieve jumpstarted, issued, and hissed
eleventh hour granted clemency
commuted death penalty
criminal sentenced solitary isolation
rat infested dungeon
housing convicted prisoner
ultimate crime and punishment
(decreed as non establishmentarian)
doled out after protracted proceedings
courtesy amazing graceful puffed dragon
unwittingly delivered merciful respite.
After being shackled hand and foot
then dragged into vermin infested cell
cowled ascetic (an exceptional escape artist)
busied himself disentangling restraints
and suppressed giddiness
when successfully free.
Off behind fake facade
walled in imponderable bedrock
dark passageways tunneled off
into unsuspecting chamber of secrets,
whereby amateur (he) brewed
exotic gaseous/ liquified potions
tumbled, gurgled, bubbled...
lethal skull and crossbones
labeled mixtures especially intriguing
adept alchemist expert
possessed sixth sense
intuitively discerning deadly
scorpion stinging poisons
abracadabra wizardry
magic spell cast
rendered, kindled, eased
tormentors severity relaxed
spellbound granted salvation.
Hence busily engrossed at makeshift laboratory,
our mutual (of Omaha) friend
did potchke with vials; every now and again
referencing ancient looking tome
vaporous emissions served as smoke screen.
Hands of father time
painstakingly elapsed amidst
flickr ring torchlight
grotesquely accentuating
exaggerating ferociously
pantomiming silhouettes courtesy
hungry skittering varmints
hurriedly scurrying to and fro.
Categories:
commuted, age, analogy, animal, appreciation,
Form:
Free verse
He's a deceased actor who still has plenty of fans, including me.
Dan Blocker died fifty years ago today at the age of forty-three.
He and his family moved to Switzerland because he was against the Vietnam War.
When he had gallbladder surgery, he didn't know that his death was what would be in store.
He commuted back and forth to the USA to star in Bonanza until his untimely death.
On May 13, 1972, a very talented actor passed away when he took his final breath.
He made Bonanza great but half a century ago, he was a man who the world lost.
Fifty years ago today, people had to say farewell to the man who starred as Hoss.
He was too young to die and when everybody lost Dan, it was a damn shame.
Bonanza ended just one season later because without Dan, it wasn't the same.
Dan's death caused his family, fans and the Bonanza cast members plenty of devastation.
It was half a century ago today when millions said goodbye and mourned in many nations.
[Dedicated to Dan Blocker (1928-1972) who died 50 years ago today on May 13, 1972]
Categories:
commuted, anniversary, death, dedication,
Form:
Rhyme
Unadulterated History.
In 1931, a white woman accused five Hawaiian men of rape. They were acquitted. The woman's mother showed up and demanded retribution for her family's "good" name. A group of white men grabbed one of the acquitted men and tried to beat a confession out of him. When that didn't work, they grabbed another man and threatened him too. The white men ended up killing him and were stopped when they were driving to dump his body over a cliff. They were sentenced to 10 yrs in prison. The governor, a white man, commuted their sentence to one hour. A reporter had asked the mother had she any regrets? Her response: In the south we have a way of dealing with niggers. She went on to say that the Hawaiian had gotten what he deserved. The Naval commandant at the time was racists and went on a smear campaign to discredit the accused during the rape trial. Until you walk a foot in my shoes, keep your wtf comments to yourself. When I write, I write from my heart. I love. I feel pain. I have hate then release it. Yes, 1931 was a long time ago and America has somewhat grown since then. But, the reality is, we still face what we have always faced - Hate. Starbucks is just the latest example of America unfriending me. Hope this adds context to what you should have already known. Your hate harms you more than it does us is a true statement. The lady who accused the men committed suicide 1960 something. A shame really. Based on her lie, she should have been the only one who needed to die. But that's the world we live in. Don't get mad at me for writing about the feelings you birthed in me. I am doing my best to abort this bastard child named hate, but it is you who keeps on raping me!
Categories:
commuted, racism,
Form:
Prose Poetry
A deeper bond exists when fears are lifted.
Inhale the chilly air from above; you're gifted.
Trust faith to guide you and free your soul.
God's love fills your senses; you can't control.
The words flow like water over a dam.
Once a class is taught, you won't fail an exam.
Your literary capability remains unrivaled.
Your strength to feed souls is never rivaled.
A disturbed spirit can be soothed by love.
Encourage an eternal vow from above.
You may plunge deeper and surface easily.
Knowing that love is stronger than the sea
I've commuted plenty throughout my life.
And supported a lot of hearts and strife.
Written: May 17, 2023
Categories:
commuted, analogy, appreciation, sea,
Form:
Sonnet
Had a horse once.
Not anymore.
Car's faster.
Sailed across the sea.
Not anymore.
Airplane's quicker.
Typed on an old upright.
Not anymore.
Computer's friendlier.
Wrote people letters.
Not anymore.
Email's speedier.
Commuted two hours to work.
Not anymore.
Get more work done telecommuting.
And so it goes...
Still use a manual can opener
Never bought an electric one.
What difference would it make?
Still use a hand lawnmower.
Never tried an electric model.
My lawn's still green in August.
Still call friends on the phone.
Never find 'em on Facebook.
Still have real friends.
Still look at old wedding albums.
Don't store 'em in the Cloud.
Albums never get hacked.
Still make my own appointments.
Not Alexa.
I stay connected.
And so it goes...
Categories:
commuted, culture, technology, today,
Form:
Free verse
(this pastiche promulgated many moons ago from those screaming bloody thirsty headlines from the Italian court for justice sans the brutal homicide attributed to this then American college student and her ex-boyfriend). My gut reaction that zero apr guilt linkedin with lovely looking lass, who may very well bear the burden of culpable guilt for the rest of (what this totally tubular unknown guy no war) a fulfilling life.
with the assiduous vigor of a cadre of volunteers
brought sought after fruition of freedom
per the release of imprisoned young (twenty something) American lass
whose former life sentenced commuted to egress from an Italian jail
to her home within Seattle, Washington
whereby family, friends and strangers who fought for her liberation
breathed one palpable surprising sigh of euphoric relief
when the plane who boarded landed safely on the tarmac of SEATAC
aswarm with frenzied television camera crews
scrambled to get the initial scoop and what promises
to land this once anonymous cell bait
an undisclosed amount of lucre
which many on the other side of the pond
find mind boggling if not downright objectionable
moreso livid with rage
against the Machiavellian machine
on account of supposed culpability in tandem with her then boy friend
accused (under the guise of guilty fiat)
sans homicide of college roommate
now sought after garnering this fawning female
(salaciously tagged by Perugian court with the sobriquet “she wolf”
now faces a future replete with riches aplenty
allowing gravity of ugly epithet plus stigma from accusation of murder
to serve as basis for what will no doubt be a best seller
not to mention made for the silver screen blockbuster
with subsequent royal carpet treatment
to compensate for guilty judgment decreed
without tangible evidence nor fair trial to boot!
Categories:
commuted, 11th grade, 12th grade,
Form:
Epic
Politics, aerobics, arithmetic
All of this commuted reconvicts
Genocide, homicides, what's in if for all you guys
run, run, run,
hide, hide, hide alibi
Just confined, must be nine it's mine
Denomination must be graven
Religious programing
Regional back firing
all of this I desire
Chorus: Oh, I just wanna go ever so high, ever so higher
Lord you fill me up
I am all caught up all caught up and you fill me]
Cause you fill me up
Lord you fill me up
I am all caught up all caught up and you fill me]
Cause you fill me up
Lord you fill me up
Lord, I've had it up to here
That is why, I'm glad you've filled (me)
With you love, with your words from heaven above;
You fill me up, you've bless me with your love you filled me up
Oh, I just wanna go ever so high, ever so higher
Lord you fill me up
I am all caught up all caught up and you fill me
Cause you fill me up
Lord you fill me up
Unemployment, no unions
mothers fighting daughters over delusions
Father no longer here
Son no longer fears, where the rest is whose passes the test
High inflation, rhythms stations
Standing on the streets at night so out of sight
Grown up too soon, can't relied on anyone anything, anymore dreams
Chorus: Oh, I just wanna go ever so high, ever so higher
Lord you fill me up
I am all caught up all caught up and you fill me]
Cause you fill me up
Lord you fill me up
I am all caught up all caught up and you fill me]
Cause you fill me up
Lord you fill me up
Lord, I've had it up to here
That is why, I'm glad you've filled (me)
I am running out of steam think I've grown up too soon
All of this I desire comfort ride can you give me time
Lord, I've had it up to here is there any room
I still have an empty cup
Please Lord continue to bless me with your love as you fill me up
written words & Arranged music by
James Edward Lee Sr.
from anthology "There's Praise in Song" 2012,2017
January 25 2012
Categories:
commuted, adventure, anxiety, appreciation, blessing,
Form:
Free verse
Greek mythological
drama flourishes,
nee thrives within
noggin of yours truly
gods and goddesses
sporting Hellenic origins
purportedly cavort
higgledy-piggledy
rampantly running ragged
ruminative raconteur
resultant rueful end product
wreckage of present day me
chafing amidst yesteryear's adversities
shadow boxing doppelganger nemesis
fetus in fetu maintaining stranglehold
choking ability to breathe
unsuccessful roundup eradication
resultant mailer daemons
ruling the roost
time and again professional
therapy exorcised futility
psyche plagued with said
crudely sketched hobgoblins
permanently lodged within
fifty plus shades gray matter
mein kampf analogous to siege
and/or civil war
abductor and hostage
terrorist versus negotiators
one and the same person
ideal fecund environment
irresistible nasty brutes
unwilling to forsake
golden opportunity
passive languishing helpless
antisocial bumbling creature
mandate decreed heir extinguished
sentenced eventually commuted
life without parole lifetime
metaphorically imprisoned harsh
punishment solitary confinement
crime synonymous equalled
chance happenstance ovulation
nsync with seminal linkedin
fertilization, impregnation, parturition
essentially random appalling dice throw
courtesy biological roulette
automatic defacto malefactor
abstractly describes lifelong
condemnation, humiliation, ostracization
hence if nothing else
no shortage writing material.
Categories:
commuted, allegory, analogy, destiny, fire,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue