‘To Winter’ and Other Poetry by James Sale The Society July 31, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 27 Comments . . To Winter for John Keats Where are the songs of spring? Now moving west All of us are into winter finally: Threadbare, lackluster, shorn-sheer, and with a limp Stepping down to die flatly, not...
‘Dog Tired, Cat on Top’ by Damian Robin The Society July 30, 2022 Children's, Humor, Poetry 13 Comments . Dog Tired, Cat on Top The cat sat on the mat, Been there, seen that. The cat sat on the chair, Seen that, been there. The cat sat on the dog, Well, that’s odd. The dog snored on the floor, Tell us...
‘The Photograph’ and Other Poetry by Chantal LaFortune The Society July 29, 2022 Beauty, Blank Verse, Poetry 5 Comments . The Photograph The snowflakes tumble down like frozen tears, Which fall from every eye this winter day; They heard the call and answered without fear, Their country to defend without delay. A couple stands...
‘Cordelia’s Choice’ by Brian Yapko The Society July 28, 2022 Beauty, Poetry, Shakespeare 18 Comments . Cordelia's Choice Ye gods, what should I do with such ill news? My father, once the king, is now insane And stripped of dignity. What must I choose To set things right? Yet, pray, why should I fain Raise up...
‘Online Research’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society July 27, 2022 Humor, Poetry 14 Comments . Online Research For how long grilling planks should soak __I checked the time online. A website that I noticed first __Called 15 minutes fine. But one more page I saw advised __To do it for an hour, So I...
‘Elegy for the Child Never Conceived’ by Joshua C. Frank The Society July 26, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 20 Comments . Elegy for the Child Never Conceived His would-be parents had but days; The procreative ship sat docked, And with the passengers’ delays, That ship is gone, forever locked, But if, instead, he’d been...
‘Forked: A Palindrome Poem’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society July 25, 2022 Humor, Poetry, Readings 39 Comments . . Forked a palindrome poem I’m a toxic-tongued witch with some bitching to weave. No trite tittle-tattle will make me believe My lips drip with syrup and never with sin--- That’s ludicrous...
‘Ballade of Pride’ by E.M. Schorb The Society July 25, 2022 Culture, Poetry 52 Comments . Ballade of Pride They’re a proud people. —The Frugal Gourmet Of every group whose food he shows, this Doctor of Diet, this Frugal Gourmet, this chef whose goodness simply glows and who doesn’t know...
‘Aftertaste’ and Other Poetry by Anna J. Arredondo The Society July 24, 2022 Acrostic, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry 37 Comments . Aftertaste Love at first sip was so cloyingly sweet, When I’d have gladly laid all at his feet, Sworn by the heavens his eminent worth, Followed him unto the ends of the earth. Tragic, how quickly he...
‘After Observing the Working Methods of a Very Important Artist’ by Shaun C. Duncan The Society July 23, 2022 Art, Culture, Poetry 34 Comments . After Observing the Working Methods of a Very Important Artist The aging fool stands deep in dirty water, Cradling the carcass of a native fowl To his bare chest like a tired, suckling daughter. He wears...
‘Creativity, Originality, and Eccentricity’: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi The Society July 22, 2022 Essays, Poetry, Shakespeare 38 Comments . Creativity, Originality, and Eccentricity by Joseph S. Salemi I don’t know why it should be so, but I have a propensity to attract the attention of eccentric persons. Three times, at three separate...
‘The Spoonerisms Man, or The Moonerisms Span’ by Jeff Eardley The Society July 22, 2022 Children's, Humor, Poetry 34 Comments . The Spoonerisms Man, or The Moonerisms Span His name was Mr. Spooner and he owned a service station. He kept our vehicles on the road, a noble occupation. So handy with the oily rag, the torque wrench and...
‘Three Literary Smiles’: Poems by James A. Tweedie The Society July 21, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry 12 Comments . Three Literary Smiles . Hemingway’s Oopsy “Up in my room the rain was coming down Heavily outside on the balcony.” I didn’t know if I should smile or frown At such a dissonant cacophony. It’s...
‘On the Anniversary of My Father’s Death’ by Jeffrey Essmann The Society July 21, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 6 Comments . On the Anniversary of My Father's Death These rainy mornings have a subtle saltTo them that even in the city canBring back the pier, its rugged paint-chipped spanStill wet with early rain, where by...
Two Poems on China Nowadays, by Cheryl Corey The Society July 20, 2022 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 4 Comments . I’m Not Too Keen On China Nowadays I’m not too keen on China nowadays: The moves they’ve made against Taiwan of late; The way they treat their citizens, negate Their freedoms, torture, torment,...
A Poem on Nostradamus’s July 1999 Prediction, by Daniel Magdalen The Society July 20, 2022 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 4 Comments . A Prophecy the East Fulfilled The year 1999, seventh month, From the sky will come a great King of Terror: To bring back to life the great King of the Mongols, Before and after Mars to reign by good...
Two Courtroom Sonnets by Carl Kinsky The Society July 19, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 6 Comments . Self Defense When he pulled out his knife I thought I had No choice so I pulled out my gun and shot Him twice, then ran the streets for miles, too glad That he lay there dead and that I did not. I got...
‘To Serve and Protect’ by Julian Woodruff The Society July 18, 2022 Culture, Poetry 12 Comments . To Serve and Protect Of all the events that fill the history of quiet, little–known Uvalde town, there cannot be a greater tragedy than that which gave it sudden world–renown. The dreadful act, so...
‘Apology’ by Myrlin A. Hermes The Society July 18, 2022 Culture, Poetry 6 Comments . Apology I’m sorry if you feel like you were hurt. Not everyone in life is going to be As nice to you as you think you deserved. And he sometimes got physical with me, Too---I'm no victim. So he was...
On the UK Heatwave: ‘Keep Calm and Carry On!’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society July 17, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry 105 Comments . Keep Calm and Carry On! “UK heatwave: Temperatures to rise to 41C amid extreme heat warning” ---BBC News “The first Red Extreme heat warning issued” ---British Met Office The BBC is roaring like...
‘Mistress’ by Michael Pietrack The Society July 17, 2022 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 39 Comments . Mistress Within those sheets, my mistress lay, her flawless form with perfect feet. One last embrace; I cannot stay! I hear her heart in metered beat. Her voice, a ballad siren song with lyrics begging my...
‘The Pale Rider Comes’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley The Society July 16, 2022 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 10 Comments . The Pale Rider Comes “So then give to Caesar what is his,” our Lord and Master said, __“And to God give what is his---your sacred soul!” Yet despite these limits placed on him, with drawn sword...
‘Sumo’s Winning Ways’ by Margaret Coats The Society July 15, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 24 Comments . Sumo's Winning Ways Fierce frontal impact clenches victory In less time than an untrained eye can blink, But connoisseurs of sumo’s treasury Prefer discriminating knack. They wink When force through fine...
‘In the First Degree’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society July 14, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 13 Comments . In the First Degree Had the bullet’s trajectory veered half a foot to the right, It might not have extinguished the life of this innocent youth Who had just turned eighteen. The Grand Jury moved fast to...
A Poem on Millet’s The Angelus and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann The Society July 14, 2022 Art, Beauty, Ekphrastic, Poetry 7 Comments . The Angelus, Jean-François Millet (Musée d’Orsay) How soft across the field the muted peal Has caromed off the setting sun, the air September-ripe, the earth upturned, a pair Preoccupied with what it...
On the Recent Overturning of Roe vs. Wade, by Alena Casey The Society July 13, 2022 Culture, Poetry 10 Comments . “Hosanna,” All The Children Cried “Hosanna,” all the children cried, And Christ was pleased to open wide For them his hands and feet and side, The devil’s will to override. “Hosanna,” all the...
‘The Automated Phone System’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society July 13, 2022 Blank Verse, Culture, Humor, Poetry 11 Comments . The Automated Phone System I called up a business But no person answered, I got a phone system With multiple options Some rather confusing; I kept getting transferred, Spent most time just holding; Then...
‘For Then’ by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Translated by Cheryl Corey The Society July 12, 2022 Beauty, Poetry, Translation 14 Comments . For Then by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera (Mexico, 1859-1895) translated by Cheryl Corey O, to die upon the open sea At sunset, facing heaven, where agony Is but a dream; and soul, the essence of me, Is like a...
A Translation of Horace’s Barine Ode, by Joseph S. Salemi The Society July 11, 2022 Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Sapphic Verse, Translation 20 Comments . Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes, II.8 “The first thing we learn about Barine is that she is in the habit of making and breaking promises (of love and fidelity, presumably) and that she is never punished...
‘ While Pondering Pope’s Ode’ by Lucia Haase The Society July 11, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 15 Comments . While Pondering Alexander Pope’s "Ode to Solitude" Grateful am I in solitude while reading Pope’s inspiring ode, a time for pause---an interlude ____________in my abode. I’m whisked into the distant...
‘A Hopeless Rondelet’ and Other French Form Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society July 10, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Rondeau, Rondel, Villanelle 27 Comments . A Hopeless Rondelet All trust is dead, Killed by lies in love’s disguise. All trust is dead--- It’s buried in a sigh of dread. Its memory spills from mourning eyes. Can Truth rekindle sunless...
‘In the City’ and Other Poetry by Adam Wasem The Society July 10, 2022 Culture, Poetry 16 Comments . In the City The city, where the liars are in charge And all the criminals are still at large: The just have been imprisoned, brought to heel: Grateful as dogs, oh, how we rush to kneel For the littlest...
‘The Drive to Reconcile’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society July 9, 2022 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 15 Comments . The Drive to Reconcile __We never wish to eat a bug __Or force an unexpected hug, But intimacy doesn’t come without A cost, and those who disagree, no doubt, Are lost. But nonetheless we cannot see Why...
‘Back in My Day’ and Other Poetry by David Whippman The Society July 9, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry 18 Comments . Back in My Day I tested my courage---well, no, not really. The heroic stuff had been done before. My generation was all touchy-feely. It was our parents who’d fought the war. The post-war population...
‘Free Verse’ by Clive Boddy The Society July 8, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 14 Comments . Free Verse Let us free verse from "free verse" while we can;A pile of branches does not make a tree,And fruit squashed on a plate does not make jam.While words strung down a page can never be,As eloquent...
A Definition of Formal (or “Classical”) Poetry: A Short Essay by James A. Tweedie The Society July 7, 2022 Essays, Poetry 22 Comments . A Definition of Formal (or “Classical”) Poetry by James A. Tweedie One of the frequent comment threads on SCP involves the subject of the nature of poetry, including what it is and how it exists as an...
Percy Bysshe Shelley Poem Put to Music for Death Commemoration, by Guntbert Markefka The Society July 7, 2022 Beauty, Love Poems, Music, Poetry 5 Comments . . Introduction Percy Bysshe Shelley was born August 4, 1792 and died in a boating accident on July 8, 1822. To mark the 200th anniversary of his death, Guntbert “Gunny” Markefka and the Powerpoets...
On the Recent Destruction of the Georgia Guidestones, by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society July 6, 2022 Culture, Poetry 51 Comments . America’s Most Mysterious Monument The first of the anonymously funded Georgia Guidestone’s guidelines: “Maintain humanity under 500,000,000” “The world population is over 8,000 million. According...
‘The Pigeon’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain The Society July 6, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, The Raven 22 Comments . The Pigeon Once upon a workday morning, sleepy-eyed and loudly yawning, I was splattered without warning by a pigeon from the shore. At my half unconscious stupor, this unpardonable pooper, Took his aim just...
‘Pets and People’ and Other Poetry by Julian Woodruff The Society July 5, 2022 Children's, Humor, Poetry 20 Comments . Pets and People Do cats and kittens ever wonder Why their owners have no fur? Do dogs think it was blind fate’s blunder That the likes of humans were Afflicted with this vile condition, Curse of their...
