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Monthly Archives January 31, 2021

‘Anchises’ by Anna-Marie Ahn

The Society
January 31, 2021
Beauty, High School Submissions, Poetry
16 Comments
. Beneath the starry firmament so dark There lies tonight an old, forgotten tree Whose bark is peeling, wretched, cold and stark And has not heard since auld youth’s melody. The crooked, blackened branches...

‘Two Social Media Brothers: Jack and Zuck’ by Sarban Bhattacharya

The Society
January 30, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
7 Comments
. The world is ruled by two men­---Jack and Zuck, More than their strange appearance their deeds suck. Jack’s goatee truly suits a Marxist boss Who for free speech and thought gives not a toss, While Zuck...

‘Woman Is’ by Don Shook

The Society
January 30, 2021
Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. Changeable and fickle is the woman. Some things she says, and surely thinks are so, defy a logic with a bent to wander beyond the bounds of any truth we know. Her reasoning, like multi-colored...

‘Poetic Paraphrase of Martin Niemöller’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 29, 2021
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. First they came for the Jews, you see, And I did not speak out’ Because I wasn’t a Jew (not me!) I didn’t give a shout. Then they came for the Communists And I did not speak out; Seditious, Marxist...

‘Go, Fading Leaf’ and Other Poetry by Anna J. Arredondo

The Society
January 29, 2021
Beauty, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
12 Comments
. Go, Fading Leaf __Go, fading leaf, Tell him who thought my heart to spurn __That life is brief (But briefer still his love did burn __I fool enough was to return). __Tell him who sold Our shaky venture for...

‘Note Written Between Two Lives’ by C.M. Rivers

The Society
January 28, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
. Everything is gone, gone. ____No one’s ever stayed: the family and the friends I loved, ____the bread my mother made. Nothing’s ever gone the way ____I thought that it would go- springtime brought me...

‘B.C./D.C.’ and Other Humorous Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
January 27, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
. B.C./D.C. Where history and myth converge Two famous founders do emerge, Of nations that excelled at war. (Coincidence?  Or something more?) George Washington and Romulus Are equally eponymous, And...

‘How To Be Like Byron’ by Andrew Benson Brown

The Society
January 27, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
21 Comments
. How To Be Like Byron Bright butterfly, why do you fade Into that duller, browner shade That strays into the flame at night? You’ve lost your nature’s vibrant light And seek it in another source. For you,...

‘A Message from The Party of Unity’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 26, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Daily we vent and cement our position In righteous and virtuous words. Unity fails if each crucial decision Is left to the whim of the herds. Deplorable plebs are so flawed and naïve When treading the...

‘Ode to Spring’ and Other Poetry by Andrew Elliott

The Society
January 26, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
. Ode to Spring Oh glory be to things that grow! That burgeon, blossom, bud and blow In Springtime’s light and airy breeze, Which ruffles softly new sprung leaves. What tongue there be to justly praise The...

‘Father And John: How It Once Was’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
January 25, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. . Father And John: How It Once Was Before self-righteous rules, brash and insistent,There was a natural rhythm, quite unspoken.So when my father hired an assistantTraditionalist, he followed rules...

‘Verbum Dei’ by James Sale

The Society
January 25, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
51 Comments
. The Verbum Dei Retreat Centre on the Isle of Wight aims to be a place of encounter with God We took the ferry; darkness closed; Warm lights ahead; who knew the way? Crowded in a car, pilgrims led For God...

To Joe Biden: ‘Abiding the Storm’, by David Watt

The Society
January 24, 2021
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Well, you beat the odds against you, though I think you rather knew That with media assistance, and a counting scheme or two, There would be a sudden shifting, like a tide, upon a whim, Moving in the wrong...
poetry/homeschooling/teachers guide

‘Uninspired’ by Siri Espy

The Society
January 24, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. I fear my motivation’s dead; there’s no one home inside my head. I’ve looked for it from dusk to dawn; I tell you, it is really gone! The situation is quite dire; my neurons will no longer fire. I...

‘Bread and Circuses, Checks and Netflix’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 23, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
24 Comments
. Tyrants would distribute largesse, a bushel of wheat, a gallon of wine, and a sesterce: and then everybody would shamelessly cry, “Long live the King!” ---Juvenal Keep a mind that’s blind to widened...

‘Lament for Henderson’s’: A poem for Burns’ Night 2021, by Margaret Coats

The Society
January 23, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
.   January 25 is the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759–1796). On or near this day, Scots worldwide gather for a supper of haggis (traditionally made of sheep innards), whisky, and poetry....

‘Coats’ by Stephen Ramsek

The Society
January 22, 2021
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
4 Comments
. A coat of luminescent snow Descended on my patch of grass, And for a moment all its glow Inflamed my eyes like burnished brass. And in a moment it had gone, But not withdrawn; it nimbly turned Into a...

‘Long View Cottage’ and Other Poetry by Gregory Ross

The Society
January 22, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
 . Long View Cottage The view is long and dark atop the mountain where I roam. Birds sing a little sweeter in a high and softer tone. The people gave it many names; I only call it home. The fog hangs thick...

‘Earth Song’ and Other Poetry by Lawrence Fray

The Society
January 21, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
12 Comments
.   Earth Song We longed to see Norway's Northern Lights,That great, magnetic, celestial balletOf colour, one of nature's majestic sights:'Not to be missed at any cost'. The clicheWas ironic; we'd...

On Rembrandt’s ‘Return of the Prodigal Son’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
January 21, 2021
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Shakespeare
17 Comments
. On Rembrandt's "Return of the Prodigal Son" Three centuries have passed since it was wrought--- A work of art transcendent yet humane. The tender play of feelings Rembrandt caught: A wastrel son disgraced,...

Poetry on Piero della Francesca’s ‘History of the True Cross,’ by Michael Coy

The Society
January 20, 2021
Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
1 Comment
. The Death of Adam Excerpted from Musings on Piero della Francesca’s “History of the True Cross,” in the Church of San Francesco, Arezzo, Italy There’s always both: the sacred and profane. The right...

‘Priam, King of Troy, Addresses Cassandra’s Concerns about the Horse’ by Michael Vanyukov

The Society
January 20, 2021
Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Even then Cassandra, who, by the god’s decree, is never to be believed by Trojans, reveals our future fate with her lips.  —Virgil, The Aeneid (Kline translation) Surcease, Cassandra, stop that...

‘Stream’ and Other Poetry by Leland James

The Society
January 19, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
4 Comments
. Stream Above the bend, the water deep and clear, the current strong; seen from the Buckman Bridge, ten minutes walk for me, my cabin near, through pines down from a timeworn granite ridge —a lofty...

‘Childhood, 1919’ by David Whippman

The Society
January 19, 2021
Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
. Daddy came home from “the war to end all war” And seemed, at first, one of the lucky ones. He looked exactly as he had before, His flesh untouched by bullets, gas, or bombs. But not his memories…soon...
poem/frank/screens/phones

‘Virtual Propitiation: Sacrifice of the Quarantined Caregiver’ by Bethany Mootsey

The Society
January 18, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
Seven inches, simple dark design My modern mind disdains the notion That the measure of devotion Is the size or splendor of the shrine. Spilling supplications, meat and wine My ancestors with deep...

‘Meditation’ by Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), Translated by Joshua Mincio

The Society
January 18, 2021
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
6 Comments
. Be good, my Sorrow. You may rest assured; The Evening whom you called descends; Behold; The fall of dusk leaves some in towns obscured With newfound peace, yet some with cares untold. Through gauntlet...

‘Every Little Thing’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Kemper

The Society
January 18, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Poetry Forms
61 Comments
X Every Little Thing I. His Version She treasured every little thing that you                gave her: the sparrow necklace (hazel blueto match her eyes) the bracelet slipped insidethe box of...

‘For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 2021’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 18, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” ---Martin Luther King, Jr. “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically...

‘Rosarium’: A Sestina and Other Poetry by Benjamin Thomas Cepican

The Society
January 17, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Sestina
7 Comments
. Rosarium a sestina A rose arises red from its green sheath Adorned with swords that prick and pierce: the thorn, Whose vigil kept ensures its life's not brief. Unmatched in charm though fresh from garden...

‘A Poet’s Strife’ by Sterling Osborne

The Society
January 17, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. My word will not survive a fire: the dust, the ash of paper singed by matches struck by fingers bent on silence. And it must rot here in summer heat in humid muck where mold will gnaw away at every page. My...

‘Malingerer’ by Ted Quarterman

The Society
January 16, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
. My inconsistent pharmacist, Administer that certain cure That can relax my hardened fist In doses sweet with taste impure. O give me something for the pain, My head thumps fast, my heart beats slow, Or...

‘Orchestra Tuning Up’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
January 16, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
6 Comments
_ Orchestra Tuning Up Is this the way the universe once sounded?A mass confusion of discordant trumpets,Flutes, horns, and violins like baffled cometsWithout a geometric course, confounded? Can this be how the...

‘The Victory of Donald J. Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
January 15, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
(All poems by Bruce Dale Wise) The Victory of Donald J. Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election by Erisbawdle Cue You can’t make something be so, if the numbers are all wrong. You can’t hide Waldo in a place...
poem/kemper/culture

‘Speak with Kind Gentleness’ by Mark F. Stone

The Society
January 15, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Stress can envelop, encircle, entangle. Strictures can pressure from every angle. Tripping and slipping to ways that are errant happen to all who endeavor to parent. What should you do when in need of a...
poem/macgregor/god

‘Portrait of God’ by Chateaubriand, and Other Translations by Adam Sedia

The Society
January 15, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
7 Comments
. Portrait of God drawn from Scripture by François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), translated by Adam Sedia Know you the jealous God, who dare engage In sin, whose impious deeds ignite his rage? His...

Two Poems of the Sea, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 14, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. Rapt “I must go down to the sea again,  to the lonely sea and the sky…” ---John Masefield  Today I felt the roil of sky and sea Merge to form a swathe of seamless blue, Where surge of...

‘Hearts and Clouds’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
January 14, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
22 Comments
  You can’t imagine what I saw,Some clouds that only God can drawWith pinks and reds and violet blue.He painted with a heavenly hue. Then from my mountainside retreatI had a special viewing seat.The distant...

‘Night’ by John Freeborn

The Society
January 13, 2021
Beauty, High School Submissions, Poetry
23 Comments
. Spacious spans the starlit sky; Silver shines its light; Vast the veil, Pearly-pale, Drawn o’er the dusky night; Silently the star-strewn brooks Through flow’ry meadows flow; Glitt’ring gleams On...

Two Poems on Benvenuto Cellini, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
January 13, 2021
Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
. Benvenuto Cellini’s Salt-Cellar A woman sitting back, just mildly curious To hear a man’s contrived, seductive patter, Waiting to see what fabrications spurious He’s dreamt up now. It doesn’t really...

‘Washington’s Grief’ by Alex Rubstein

The Society
January 12, 2021
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
10 Comments
. Behold the father of this infant land, Conductor of our daunting foe’s defeat, Now warmly laureled for his noble stand Through which our liberty was made complete. Yet Washington the praise did humbly...
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  1. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Double Rondel for Pentecost’ by Margaret CoatsJune 7, 2025

    How intensely burns your rondel that singes the soul and sears the heart. I have no idea what musical score…

  2. Frank Rable on ‘Roads of Potter County’: A Poem by Frank RableJune 7, 2025

    C.B., I've lived in Bucks County since 1962. I remember Langhorne Speedway (the big left turn) I bought cars at…

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘On Twenty Years of YouTube’: A Poem by Paul A. FreemanJune 6, 2025

    Thanks for the amusement, Paul! I learned of YouTube practically as soon as it came into being, because choir directors…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Two Love Poems’ by James A. TweedieJune 6, 2025

    Thanks, James, for posting the Tin Pan Alley style melody. There's the idea! Seems to me, if you ever do…

  5. C.B. Anderson on ‘Roads of Potter County’: A Poem by Frank RableJune 6, 2025

    Don't apologize, Frank, and never make excuses. Be what you are, because that's what you're best at. I grew up…

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