• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Sunday, December 14, 2025
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
No Result
View All Result
Home Poetry Beauty

‘Salesman of Salesmen’ and Other Poetry by Steve Cooke

February 24, 2019
in Beauty, Culture, Poetry
A A
0
poems 'Salesman of Salesmen' and Other Poetry by Steve Cooke

Salesman of Salesmen

Infectious spirit, everybody’s friend,
Hypnotic and fascinating, a force
Of pushy power, broiling to transcend
Objections fully, only to endorse
Positions he defends until the end.

A dragon slayer (real or fancy free),
Dynamic challenge underfoot emblazed,
Through every turn of life’s calliope,
Perfecting imperfections freshly glazed.

Impulsive danger feeds charisma’s fire—
Creative vision sold out by the pound,
Conquest, adventure, danger by desire,
Bad Temper, selfish chauvinism wound
So tight he feels he must retire.

Emotion holds with weakened bonds and kings
Prosperity will not divert his goal.
He shapes his world to match his dream of things,
Improving life in search of his hero’s role.


Feeling Blue

Your gloom has marked your face with sadness stains.
Avoiding hurt has left you far from glee
As well. The blues have colored life’s domains,
Depressing hope in listless lethargy.

To keep your head above the edge of doubt
And slog on through the day, you toil, no rest,
Nor pause, to think about your pleasure drought,
Performing tasks at yields less than your best.

With damage done and pain now mollified,
Your health returns in force with spirits high.
You start to smile and cope as tears have dried
And faith returns to give you peace hereby.

Your frame of mind improves and now the coop
Around your life should change as well—A trip
Will alter life’s perspective, loop the loop,
Emotions whirl you back within the script.


Steve Cooke has lived in Kearney Nebraska for over 5 years with his wife and two of his three kids.  He currently manages the Kearney Goodwill (Store of the Year) and am a Creative Writing, Poetry, and Microsoft Application instructor at Central Community College. He is a past president of the Kearney Area Arts Council, a member of Kearney Cultural Partners and a board member of the Kearney Children’s Museum. 

ShareTweetPin
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
Read Our Comments Policy Here
Next Post
poem/mckee/beauty

'The Oak' by Martin King

poem/freeman/alphabet

'Who Needs QU?' and Other Poetry by Raymond Gallucci

Three Love Poems by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

Three Love Poems by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Margaret Coats on ‘Firefly’ and Other Poetry by Ulysses ArlenDecember 14, 2025

    "The Silent Oak" tells a mysterious tale of love for an object entirely of another kind when compared to the…

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘Blooming Early or Late?’ and Other Poetry by Julian WoodruffDecember 14, 2025

    Hmm, Julian, it'll be interesting to see what the young tyro may be able to create from messy masses of…

  3. C.B. Anderson on ‘Ghost Lightning’ and Other Florida Poetry by Brian YapkoDecember 13, 2025

    All in all, this is how the game is played.

  4. Marnie on ‘Autumn in Pennsylvania in 2023’: A Poem by Jeff KemperDecember 13, 2025

    Really enjoyed this poem, Jeff! There are so many clever internal twists of words and pentameter! They subtly mimic the…

  5. Brian Yapko on ‘Ghost Lightning’ and Other Florida Poetry by Brian YapkoDecember 13, 2025

    Thank you for reading and commenting, Kip. Have I seen alligator on the menu? You bet, in almost every restaurant…

Receive Poems in Your Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,625 other subscribers
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Archive

Categories

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Submit Poetry
  • Become a Member
  • Members List
  • Support the Society
  • Advertisement Placement
  • Comments Policy
  • Terms of Use

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books

© 2025 SCP. WebDesign by CODEC Prime.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.