Long Commoners Poems

Veronica Franco translations

Veronica Franco (1546-1591) was a Venetian courtesan who wrote literary-quality poetry and prose.

Capitolo 19: A Courtesan's Love Lyric (I) 
by Veronica Franco
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

"I resolved to make a virtue of...

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                           Expectations high did not pan out  ...

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London

The tour of London begins
 In the streets of my mind,
  Through past and present
   Intrinsically entwined,
    Through people and places
     It's heart we will...

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As scary as you are i wish you didn’t have a name.
As heartless as you can be i wish you never existed.
As brutal as you go, i hate to even think of you
Though even the...

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Tom Mboya, son of Ndiege
From the craggy islands of Rusinga
--the craddle of his progenitors
He sprouts like avens in the loamy knoll
And out to the urbs he sets off his journey
A parlous journey to his martyrdom

Look...

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Written: April 5th, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Robert James Liguori

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Crimson blood-colored sunlight 
seeps upon the pyramids —  
Shadows cast...

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Call me a pacifist activist deploring insanity of war,
never a Fitbit moon-unit soldier of military industrial
complex, this articulate baby boomer verily stupefied,
openmouthed, dumbfounded at inane ill logic to send
best and brightest, or even those boasting...

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As I did gaze upon her for the first time as she labored in small shop in what appeared to be 
a hole in a wall that open into this place where she did work...

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I watched a prompting feature by a dynamic actor,
his life seemed vivacious with an ardent factor;
today I heard he'd hanged himself to an annulled death,
deserted fears overpowered zeal in his last breath.

I read an...

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There one was a rich woman back
in eighteen ninety-three,
she was a well-established wife
at the age of forty,
and she had born no children
since she lost one long ago,
her husband blamed himself for that,
but neither of them...

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In a kingdom afar
Dispute broke out and transfer
Through the land like wild fire
Then came an old man with eyes of sapphire
With wisdom that equals that of Solomon
Without delay he summoned the powerful, high and common
...

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I deserve a tip
I know if I serve my people 
I serve God 
I know if I serve the world 
I look foolish 
in the face of the bad 
I realise there is no 
better...

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We all had fun here dealing with Jack Queen and Mother dear
A full deck she had but it was that discard that was bad 
Filled with heart the six was sent packing as a start...

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Methinks muss elf akin to a cold prickly...

being analogous to a
limp biscuit viz
wussy wonky willy,
yet back in the day
rolling in hay worm
may at large cavorted
frolicked, and idealized
as a warm fuzzy.

Though aforementioned title
slightly risqué and silly,
yours...

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Your true dearest point when you harbored Dear dreams
And then you discover life’s not what it seems
Like abandoning hopes at an age Fresh and Young
Did you have an idea that it’ll last so long

For you...

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The way I never wrote before
How can I write of love 
In a dying world
Whose dying victims themselves
Are far deprived of life 
Before they could ever live 
Is a same to the leaders 
If there...

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He viewed his name as an awkward constitution for commoners to address so plainly and nonchalantly. Adolf held a preconceived opinion that a simplistic reversal of his name would suffice. To avoid an embarrassing brouhaha,...

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Inside worn and weathered walls,
Nobles and commoners
Gather and share 
In the field of rosiness.
Together, they are
Composed, well organized.
Each one partaking in blind optimism.
Knowing truly, that
The odds prevail.

Uneasy
My eyes penetrate
The bleached and waxen folds
Of my buttoned-up,...

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footsteps aimlessly
walking on their trails
beaten down and broken
shiny as the rails
the rails of the train
over used and rusted
crumbling ignored
the system that you trusted
the silence of conformity
the quiet crying song
of people lost in apathy
monotony so long
the...

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In Days of Robin Hood

In days of yore,
In days of Robin Hood,
A merry band of outlaws
Rambled throughout Sherwood forest
(Home of the Major Oak,
North of Windsor Castle,
And South of Hadrian’s Wall).

They dressed in Lincoln green,
And whistled...

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When would the vegetables in my farmland grow?
Others have harvested theirs but mine is yet
To germinate after many month of impatient wait
Take the children away and share them among my brethren
I have no money to...

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In the beginning as it was on Earth,
there's a gentle mood played
in Iron Maiden's music...
before the shock of reality hits
us in the face and it's time to admit:

Everyone has demons to face,
dark places in both...

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French trader Tavernier in a greed-inspired way
Glared at an idol of a temple in Mandalay
Prying a gem from its eye socket, a curse prevailed
Tavernier died bankrupt soon after making the sale

Louis XIV bought the stone,...

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Brothers Levi, Jordan, Matthews, Joe and Jedden, 
You were sheer shocked as did Sister Hussein
That even this day we can still adjure, argue, advocate,
And advance active activism for the rule of law stolen,
As did Dr...

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I am from that street where people are neglected
Never bothered about but exploited .
the street where hopes and dreams dish 
Away through frustration and disappointment.
We are seen always with spoon in our pocket 
Wandering from...

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