Best Gondolier Poems
The setting sun urged holiday makers
To roam around the Venice canals.
A thousand and one lamps helped
The gondoliers to find their way
As he sang a lovely love song
And pleased the lovers as they sat
On comfy cushions on the boat
Occasionally stealing a kind kiss.
Stare at the twinkling beautiful stars
Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes,
List and learn, ye dainty roses
We're called the gondoliers
And this is our song of love.
Venice knew what love meant,
Even when they traverse the bridge of sighs.
They wondered how many crossed
To their doom. But that was ages ago.
Now the bridge was decorated with lamps.
Oh, what a beautiful sight it was.
Solitary gulls lead all to Piazza San Marco.
The lovers looked in awe at the tourists.
They paid the gondolier handsomely
And descended on to the vast square.
They found a table and ordered
An espresso and a tasty pizza.
It was expensive but worth it.
O Serenissima,*fabled city
guarding the bluest lagoon, remain
the Queen of the Adriatic Sea;
on a gondola I glide while
the gondolier sings to luminous stars.
Under bridges of moonlight,
mysteries increase by the dozen;
standing on the Bridge Of Sighs,
a fair-haired girl leans forward
blowing kisses to a gorgeous boy
who stops and smiles back tenderly.
On the topmast he awaits early daylight,
unfurled sails excite his spirit never
fraught. He looks back for a last time,
surroundings whet his curiosity;
behind him stand buildings of break
and stone that have endured time's fury.
The eastern sun comes up slowly,
he rubs his moist eyes and sighs;
his tall ship is ready to depart
for lands rich of exotic spices;
they will be traded for linen
textiles and beautiful glassware.
Months will pass, probably years,
a wrinkle or two will appear
on his sun-tanned forehead
beneath his fluttering red velvet hat;
he will think of Venice before sleep-
the sublime dream of a wealthy merchant.
* Serenissima: The most serene
The house is asleep
I'm left awake
A rumble shakes the rafters loose
I start to quake
I push the curtain lace aside
I crawl onto the window ledge
and poke my head and look about
A train is coming! Whizzing by !!
Is this a scheme to steal my dreams?
A train is speeding across the lawn
Through pillow down, and through the mist
I stretch my arm, with sleepy yawns
Reach out my hand and I latch on
A whistle blares, I feel the air
that rushes by, drifts over me
The engine steam, has taken me
into a cloud and I can see
a gondolier..., and heaping cars
of gold, and stacks of shining stars
The sleeper car has followed close
I close my eyes, and I am prone
We sail right up, into the stars
It takes me where the sky is clear
I hold onto a shooting star
Far past the moon and planet Mars
At speed of light, I have no fright
The track leads through the pitch of night
I travel on a the "Starlight Dream"
The clock ticks on, the track is long
Tomorrow's track will lead me back
And I will wake at crack of dawn
Back in my bed, where I belong
_________________
8/6/15 For Mystic Rose's Contest: "Trains and Fantasy"
Dedicated to a Nun that was raped by a Hindu gang in Orrisa in India.
Bondage dawdles but dauntless rambler.
Glimmers as goblin a goblet gambler.
A heartburn glory chalks a chandelier.
A granite lineage outdistanced gondolier.
Responsive restitution a splitter sponger,
Guttural estuary grumbles bounded cavalier.
A bony strangled receptacle receiver,
Keynote bolted storm violate believer.
About Venetian charms I heard a lot -
City on the water, how cool, I thought.
I hoped I would explore that unique place
And chat up the gondolier, face-to-face.
The one, who holds the most amorous job
(No wonder, he could pass for a heartthrob),
Rowing for couples in love does impart
On his demeanour if not on his heart.
In middle age crisis I finally did!
Travelled to Venice, dreamt of as a kid -
Not as a girlfriend, or lover, or bride -
A wife who wished for a gondola ride.
My hubby, my old shoe, who tagged along,
Hummed sweetly to « Besame Mucho » song;
It felt we were on a perfect first date,
Visiting Venice is never too late.
Sweet memories, perhaps not quite discreet,
Enthroned forever on our toilet seat.
March 5, 2022
Sponsor: L Milton Hankins
Contest: My Dream Vacation
Moonlight was the only light to make streaks across
a sky full of suspense which even a thief was afraid of;
and as I dragged you along lamp-lit, narrows streets,
we seemed two ghosts wearing human masks...
but what was on our delirious minds, if not love?
Your wish was to be on the Ponte Dei Respiri to sigh and dream...
while viewing that moon with new eyes to catch that rare gleam,
but the quickest way to get there was to wave down a gondolier! But there was
no space as thousands of people, wearing masks, were riding in those gondolas...
without despairing, we stopped on the nearest bridge and passionately kissed!
I resembled the Phantom of the Opera without that disfigured face;
you seemed like the seductive Dodge's wife so glamorous and gleeful,
and your mask was of the loveliest blue as the sky over the Adriatic Sea...
when Saint Mark's bells rang and doves flew to revive their past glory.
Oh, darkness endure more to let our memory always be a night in Venice!
Entered in Nette Onclaud's contest,
" It's Mask Time "
Written by Andrew Crisci
I'd like to see Venice,
the city of eternal peace
to which poets and painters flock;
the sunset' hues are impressive at dusk.
I'd like to ride in a gondola,
and admire La Serenissima
while the venetian gondolier sings a familiar song
that everybody loves...row gentler as you sing!
I'd like to join the Venice Carnival, and be somebody's handsome groom,
on the most eerie night, when there's a crowd in the Marco Polo ballroom...
in the palace everybody wears a vague mask and a bizarre costume;
be aware of the friendly ones who, with charm, have the intention to lure.
I'd like to watch the luminiscent moon
rise over the Dome of Saint Mark's Basilica at night;
and for once without a visible, depressing spot...
it should smile at me while I croon.
I'd like to embrace that lovely woman
with eyes as green as the grass of a meadow;
and will she recognize me and forgive me again,
or sadly remain a broken-winged sparrow?
I'd like to bask in the warm sunshine
as the huge Adriatic sky becomes a real light blue;
and under Il Ponte dei Respiri I will glide
in that gondola as she lies next to me with a smile so true.
Translation: La Serenissima ( The Most Serene ),
Il Ponte dei Respiri ( Bridge Of Sighs ).
Entered in Linda-Marie Bariana's contest,
" Viva Vacation "
VENICE
In a gondola
with a handsome Italian
whispering in my ear
“Ti amo”.
He caresses my hair,
my soggy hair.
Drenched kisses.
Rain.
The gondolier
soaking wet.
Droplets of water
escape his hat’s rim
splashing.
He doesn’t sing
“O Sole Mio”.
The grayish buildings,
take a shower.
The soiled water drains
into narrow side walks
and further into the canal.
Under every dripping bridge
another kiss.
Water everywhere.
Romance drowns.
“Ti voliglio bene,”
my date whispers.
“I have to pee,”
I answer.
Indianapolis welcomes you.
Navigate, find your place, sailing through
synthetic waterway just for fun.
Off’ring journeys with anecdotes,
carriages, kayaks and pedal boats
worthwhile way to enjoy snow or sun.
We'll park your vehicle, while you fete
with friends, fam'ly, or special date.
Hire out a gondolier; he can hunt
for local sites, you don't want to miss -
hideaways where you can reminisce,
use Indy’s canal at Riverfront.
written November 29, 2016
What do I resolve for the coming new year?
time just to myself, have I made myself clear?
It's a matter of choice, well, and my career
and I mean to do it without any fear.
No more overtime work, I'll not volunteer.
No breaks, no gossip, is that too cavalier?
I'll leave work early, come in late, oh my dear,
by now you realize; I'm less than sincere.
I could give up moonlighting as a cashier,
focus on being a fine financier.
Or should I turn down gigs as a gondolier?
Time for me, a resolution too severe.
It's not gonna happen, I am happy here.
written December 30, 2016
Resolutions contest
Spellbound by the shimmering moonlight by the silent lagoon,
the oldest witness to every lover's secrets in enchanted Venice,
whispering soft words, afraid of being stolen by that stranger
who could be a wanderer or an intruder...
the dry leaves, beneath the drooping pine trees,
will crackle if he attempts to hear them too soon!
Moments lived into a silver night,
when the narrow streets are empty and dark
and the gondolas rest at the quite docks,
are as magical as the warm glow in these cheerful eyes;
and if our hands seem so frantic,
our quick thougths may be less romantic!
Following the trail of the ascending moon,
how loneliness is detected in her glance...
if we stare at her melancholic face!
And should we bring her a little comfort
by singing her the tune of a lovely song,
but how long will her presence loom?
Moments lived into a silver night...
are wonderfully remembered through a lifetime,
even more than that one unforgettable kiss...
while the gondolier rows the gondola through the canals
of a city that still withstands the fury of tides;
will another city be as beautiful as this?
We'll die before Venice will completely
disappear into the Adriatic Sea...
so let's cherish these moments of ecstasy,
and leave something to remember us by;
I'll write the words and the melody,
and you will sing it to her sweetly!
Moments lived into a silver night...
linger among these strong and old walls of Venice:
where the legendary Marco Polo slept,
where ordinary and famous people wept;
fall asleep on my chest and feel the sea-breeze,
by morning we'll be awaked by a brilliant light!
When the lizard is aroused,
dark cranial caverns hide lust glowing eyes
Flickering tongue of temptation;
having peek curiosity, chastity can’t abide ...
Sin is gonna take you for a daredevil ride
Hormonal gland gondolier whispers,
pheromones that make you wanna do wrong
Naked desires got libido instincts,
lascivious attire
wanna disrobe your guarded attitude
Lizzie is gon make you do
what you know you ought not to
She-devil got a shine for the opposite gender
Risque rebel wanna darken the corridor,
put a bug in your ear ...
Make you dive nude into the lewd without fear
Libido instincts like to hunt
in bare skin cloth
Naked desire will urge a masochistic smut fool
to stick their hands
in the bosom fire
Lizard Boy is gon show-tell you,
what you ought not
ever dare listen-see to
He-devil got a taste for the opposite gender,
will swallow you body-and-soul
Put a bug up your nose ...
make you lose self-control
Drop your guard, and yield total surrender
Don’t let Lizzie do
the Jedi mind trick on you:
Telling you, deep down
you know you wanna lay next to
the forbidden taboo
Romantic gondolier loved his job, listening to giggling.
So many bunnies got engaged on his watch, on his ride.
These two had tails that could not stop wiggling.
Adorable the way they leaned into each other, side by side.
The bunnies forgot the gondolier was on the boat today.
They had not seen each other forever and another day.
Both in service to their country, assignments far away,
They got engaged in the typical love bunny way.
SCARLET WAYS
giving suck
to a brood of
starving stars
voices flush out
the debris of your
soul
as you try to rip
the satin from my
mouth
which will not
swing the way
you know…
they are
resigned to
things you may
never probe
lonely again
I lay down in my
hair and say….
‘Gondolier’
as you try to
range your mind
North… but
my arrow is out
as I learn more
from missing
when I
miss
and we break off
the arms
of our statues
© Kim van Breda—23 December 2015
A Shallow body of water
Separated from the ocean
People comes to Venice
Hoping to find love fill emotions
He drives a gondola
With lovers from every where
So many Private conversations
He can't help but overhear
There was a couple
Got married this afternoon
They were having ice cream
Under a full new moon
But today he's with another girl
Sailing down the lagoon
Hugging and kissing
will go to his wife very soon
There are so many rides
Fill with love and adultery
On the lagoon of Venice
Only a gondolier can see
So many comes here
Looking for love that's true
Hoping to find happiness
So their life's can become new
There was a girl from Trinidad
Who was alone on the lagoon?
She meet a guy from New York
They found love that afternoon
A couple came from England
Looking for what had disappear
They lost their love in London
And are hoping to find it here
It's just a lagoon
But a place of love
And people comes hoping to
Find what they been dreaming of
Some will find love to day
Some might find it tomorrow
Some love you will get to keep
And some you can just borrow
So many comes to this lagoon
Waiting for love to starts
Not knowing they already have it
If they look in their hearts
Love can happen anywhere
On the land, skies and sea
But when true love comes
The Lagoon is where some hope to be
Across the universe
Under the sun or the moon
People are falling in love
On a beautiful lagoon