Long Venetian 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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Imitation! Creative Compliment, Lacking in Originality, or Plagiarism? 

This week takes me back to college days. I was taking a graduate course (as a Physics major)   in 'Modern Poets' at the University of...

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POTD 9th April 2018

Synopsis -
A story of selflessness without jealousy or rancor that is often evident through the ages in all walks of life, even in modern times. 

She’s a queen who sees her lover...

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“Beloved Femme Fatale”


Musk and Neroli satin skin spoons
Naked feet ‘neath The Pillars of Petra
She towers majestic above you, colours your grey skies
You are worshipping her on your knees
What does it matter, anymore? Before your eyes,...

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Zero.
By which nothing is divided.
No zero
no negative
no opposite
no hope
no Adam, no apple, no marriage, no morning.
No mirror
no knowledge
no God, no soul, no ear lobe, no Iliad, no Odyssey.
No universe
no black hole
no zodiac
no hero
no mission, no...

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You rock me wildly
 To the black rhythms of juju music from the radio;
 Drinking horn in hand.
 Not too drunk to tread
 The course of blue, warmth
 And moaning shadows behind batiste curtain.
 Waves...

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Amélie Beth Harris -McGeehan

Acknowledgment of birthday gal,
whose invaluable priceless worth
exceeds more'n a bajillion dollars.  

First born of Boyce and Harriet
(both long since deceased,
albeit cremated whereby their ashes
- cremains scattered to the four winds)
in Paterson,...

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Columbus In The New World

Three ships sailed under Spanish colours
(The Santa Maria, Niña and La Pinta)
And dropped anchor off the shores of San Salvador,
For Columbus and his crew to man-the-oars
To set foot on Terra firma...

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America
I´m here to bring you
What you don´t need
Another heartfelt poem
Another heartsick plea
Worth less than
Chewed gum
America I’m tapping
At your window
At 3 am
With a bag full of
Sour wine
And a shopping list
Of grievances
America wake up
It´s me and I...

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this place... Weymouth - a small tranquil village! 
How far is my Stratford from here? 
my Stratford-on-Avon! 
The Shangri-la of a dramatist's imagination!

Assuming, I had a very very long slumber…
the world has completely changed!
This area looks so distant...

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Love in Kyiv
by Natalka Bilotserkivets
translation by Michael R. Burch

Love is more terrible in Kyiv
than spectacular Venetian passions,
than butterflies morphing into bright tapers–
winged caterpillars bursting aflame!

Here spring has lit the chestnuts, like candles,
and we have cheap...

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We’re (my pose is gathered this Saturday morning because I made a pancake and bacon breakfast) listening to a Britney Spears song, off one of Leong’s playlists. “I remember when I was about 8,” I...

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2025.2.26
Dear A, today would have been your 90th birthday.
Thank you for being my friend, neighbor, and be your carergiver.
I remember all those songs,
You sang in your language.
You had such strong lungs and soprano voices.
I also...

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“This is what I believe: That I am I. That my soul is a dark forest. That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest. That gods, strange gods,...

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A venetian red yearling’s head
Pops up
From behind a fallen log
Licks rouge from its lips
And the syrup sipped from dark maple bark
Ears tweaking
To the snow-crunch creak
Of my dog and me approaching
From down the trail

Forest
Tamed by these...

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I can still recall the look upon His face

Each thought still makes me go to that enchanting place

The vernal air was floral sweet and honey breezed

 We roamed along Venice's zigzagged lanes and cobbled streets

On...

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Written: March 2nd, 2024
                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wingbeats on warm whisper wavelength
wasteland, waves of wasabi writhe
with wilting, whimpering, witless wring...

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casino thoughts

Sitting in a casino of the damned
Somewhere on the Las Vegas Strip
Playing the slots
Watching the crowd go wild
Watching the machines watching me

Drinking the free drinks of the damned
20 drinks too sober

And the gamblers on...

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I've wandered many islands,
    Seen countless shades of blue.
But none compare, my friends, to where
    The glass and lace ring true.
Let me paint you a picture,
   ...

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Unable to somehow escape this castle of want

As an apparition endlessly roaming its corridores

From room to room and door to door; up and down its spiral staircase

Looking at the paintings upon the walls, of another...

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Vivid contrasts emanate lively hues
from the brilliancy of colors,
to radiate skin, hair and eyes;
and these are the wishes of all lovers!


He's a handsome man in a dark suit well-pressed,
and she's a beautiful woman in a...

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Phantom of the Opera

   I stand and watch  from my box five
And listen to the most beautiful Nightingale
I could stay awake till  wee hours of dawn gale
Listening to her melodic voice...

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Oh, Marianna Grazia...
was my friendly neighbor,
a lovely lady in her eighties!
She became a widow when her
husband died of a brain tumor,
he was a sailor of many oceans;
how evident was the sadness
of Marianna Grazia!


She had a...

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You Dream
You dream me a dream.
You and I careen,
wide-eyed and screaming 
wild cries, clutching the sides
of our Thunder Mountain cart
on its rickety wooden rails
that fail
and we swoosh--like a flume
into a silent lagoon of silver water,
our...

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As an aperitif to understand the essence of thought
Blood of a young tortoise touched my lips
Seldom as it is - pure ichor – I whisper’d in a trot
Let me get drunk on it while deifying...

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