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Monthly Archives November 30, 2022

‘Pope-Lion’ by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
November 30, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
8 Comments
. Pope-Lion by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (1791-1863)translated from Romanesco by Joseph S. Salemi Before Pope Genga went down to the grottoTo be four slabs of cured ham on the bone,He was thought by everyone in...

‘Pearls at the Wake’ by Peter Venable

The Society
November 30, 2022
Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
. Pearls at the Wake I must admit I glance at the obits.Is there someone I know? Someone close-knit?I see faces of strangers I don’t know—I pray they rise to be with God, then goTo the cartoons. No...

‘Late Autumn Twilight’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 29, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
24 Comments
. Late Autumn Twilight The still earth beckons sweetly.  I must go. The dry reeds on the creek have gathered round. The waters, in suspense, have ceased to flow. Along the bank, no creature makes a...

‘From Left to Right’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
November 29, 2022
Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. From Left to Right I started out a liberal, __Just like my family was. It made me feel superior, __That’s what leftism does. But once I moved from school to work __I saw with my own eyes, Most leftist...

‘FTX & Other Damn Scams’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 28, 2022
Poetry, Satire
8 Comments
. FTX & Other Damn Scams If you want to make some money Dangle golden dreams like honey And then claim that you can turn dross into gold. When you claim the future’s sunny Don’t let on you think it’s...
poem/erlandson/culture

‘For HE Who Is The Light’ by Gail Kaye Naegele

The Society
November 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. For HE Who Is The Light There's been a spell of nightmares since He left. Like Job, I am the likeness of distress. I pine in piles of crumbling stones bereft; deprived of Him I'm worn in wretchedness. When...

Thomas Payne’s ‘Liberty Tree’ Set to Music by Jack DesBois

The Society
November 27, 2022
Culture, Music, Poetry, Song Lyrics
7 Comments
. A contextual note: The American patriot Thomas Payne wrote "The Liberty Tree" early in the American Revolution; it was published in the Pennsylvania Magazine in July 1775. Payne wrote the song to be sung to...

‘Somewhere in Time’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 27, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Science
32 Comments
. Somewhere in Time . Tuesday, August 13, In the Year of Our Lord 1895 Dear Wells, despite your sober apprehension, I’m grateful that you’ve granted me the boon Of borrowing your brilliant new invention. I...

‘Ode to Winter’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 26, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
. Ode to Winter A honeypool of sun seeps from the skies. The crisp and clingy leaves have lost their grip. __My scarlet spirits dip As gold and russet highs bid cold goodbyes. I feel your icy bite in...

‘Vanity Falls’ by Miera Rao

The Society
November 26, 2022
Humor, Limerick, Poetry
12 Comments
. Vanity Falls I’m feeling a little lightheaded; I’ll confess it’s what I’ve always dreaded: More hairs on the floor Than ever before, My ego and vanity shredded. . . Miera Rao is a writer living in...

‘God’s Finger on Whittaker Chambers’ by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 25, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. God’s Finger on Whittaker Chambers My baby miracle so dear Smeared oatmeal on her face; I saw her perfect seashell ear, Curving like a vase, The pinkest little fiddlehead, In spiral like a scroll. How...

‘Thanksgiving 2022’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
. Thanksgiving 2022 Today’s the day we gather and embrace The chance to join in praise for gifts we share. We cuddle, chat and chortle---face-to-face. We’re social souls not meant to sit and stare At...

‘I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
November 24, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
. I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving I am thankful for Thanksgiving, A special holiday That doesn't require atonement, Or starvation, by the way. There are no gifts I need to give, Less money to be spent. Just...

‘Thanksgiving Memories’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Thanksgiving Memories A honeyed ham impaled with clove; Mashed yam with bits of sweet pecan; A turkey lurking in the stove With tryptophan to make us yawn. Tomato juice with horseradish Lime Jell-o mixed...

‘A Thanksgiving Offering’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. A Thanksgiving Offering We offer thanks to You who made this Earth The sun and stars, for health and love and mirth. For granting us the sacred gift of life Along with faith to overcome all strife; For...

On the Islamic Palestinians’ Recent Terror Attack: ‘Just Say It’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 23, 2022
Culture, Poetry
35 Comments
. Just Say It Two bombs exploded in Jerusalem Today. A boy of just 15 is dead--- A Jewish student on his way to school. And 18 more were wounded, all of them Israeli Jews at bus stops now streaked red. The...

‘When Light Begins to Dim’ by James Green

The Society
November 23, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
. When Light Begins to Dim When light begins to dim and color fades, the shape of things begins to matter more. An edge defines, the angles hint, and shades of layered grays I never knew before come faintly...

‘Heirs to Alexander’ and Other Poems on the Kalasha People by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Heirs to Alexander These snuff-brown mounds piled up ten thousand feet Gaze on toward Hindu Kush peaks twice their height; Green threads of valleys mark the rough retreat Wherein Kalasha keep their...

Prose-That’s-Really-a-Sonnet Poetry Challenge

The Society
November 22, 2022
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
51 Comments
. Construct a convincing paragraph of well-written, coherent prose that also happens to be a properly composed Shakespearean sonnet. This challenge and the below example come from poet James A....

‘Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner’ by Jeremiah Johnson

The Society
November 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner after Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper" Tonight, dear friends, you’re welcome to observe Another birthday dinner---and deserve To know it’s mainly an...

‘Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
November 21, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus And Peter, looking steadfastly against Simon, said: “I adjure you, ye angels of Satan, who are carrying him into the air, to deceive the hearts of the unbelievers,...

‘The Elders’ by John Creekmore

The Society
November 21, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Elders I watched them wilt, I watched them fade, I watched them pass In the evening shade, And now I tread The path they trod, Having walked the walk For seventy odd, And though I know The course is...

‘Clowns Teach Writing Classes’ by Janice Canerdy

The Society
November 20, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
25 Comments
. Clowns Teach Writing Classes Students’ attitudes were dismal; composition skills, abysmal! Desperate to make things better, teachers asked expert go-getters, “Will you please get their attention? What we...

‘Valiant Men’ by Angel L. Villanueva

The Society
November 19, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
5 Comments
. Valiant Men The sailors brave the angry storm __As waves the ocean brings. It seems to them one hundred years Of fighting death despite their fears, __Like ancient warring kings. The frigid water stings...

Science or ‘The Science’? A Poem by Mike Bryant

The Society
November 18, 2022
Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
. Science or “The Science”? “‘The Science' and science are opposites.” ---Richard Lindzen So you believe “The Science”? That is odd.Science cannot be about compliance.Scientists are skeptics....

‘Potina’s Charm’ by Michael Curtis

The Society
November 18, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Potina’s Charm In this excerpt from the screen novella, Potina, Lady of the Stag, Potina speaks to Kaptara, the god of the volcano that she approaches. She is an initiate in the mysteries and is a...

Three Poems on Mortality, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 17, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. Leaves Behind In size and shape and symmetry The leaves upon a maple tree Are like small selfies of the tree itself. And in their veins the leaves display The trunk and branches in a way That equals any...

‘A Sleepless Night’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Howard

The Society
November 17, 2022
Love Poems, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Sleepless Night Lest I should suffer sleeplessly this night Of loathsome loneliness, whose strength severe So weakens me that many a bitter tear Bewails my sweetless, ever souring plight; I call on my...

‘No News Is Good News’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 16, 2022
Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry
24 Comments
. No News Is Good News The world contrives, in many different ways, To overload the minutes of our days __With items that anesthetize __The sensibilities that filter Our sound ideas from the...

‘Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 16, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
. Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty upon reading this Atlantic article Today I hear a murmur of surrender--- A shifty whisper from the cutting edge Of vicious tongues (sword-sharp with...

‘Repaired’ by Dean Z. Douthat

The Society
November 16, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
12 Comments
. Repaired Debris drifts down my lacrimosa stream shards discarded when my life exploded. Her cheating ripped apart my every seam left a rubble heap she soon unloaded. Finding all my parts, your love resummed...

‘The Return of Trump’: A Poem by Evan Mantyk

The Society
November 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. The Return of Trump No matter how you try to stop Don Trump __He always will come back. __He’ll lie in wait then jump __In tiger-like attack. You put him in a box that’s wrapped in chains __And throw...

For Gene Cernan, ‘The Last Man on the Moon’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
November 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Last Man on the Moon for Gene Cernan My gaze was set toward the Western sky, To see if I could see him flashing by, I’d never felt so glad to be alive, With my model of the mighty Saturn five. With...

Henny and Sal: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
November 14, 2022
Education, Essays, Poetry
12 Comments
. Henny and Sal by Joseph S. Salemi My father, Salvatore J. Salemi, was a noncommissioned officer in G-2 (Military Intelligence) during the Second World War. Although he was 29 years old in 1942, he was...

‘Blake’s Tyger’ by Paul Buchheit

The Society
November 14, 2022
Poetry, Satire
18 Comments
. Blake's Tyger Tyger Tyger, burning bright, sorry if I'm impolite: What immortal put a hand to verse we'll never understand? Face it, face it, Mister Blake, 'Tyger' was a big mistake. What good reason could...

‘Writing a Poem’ by Sally Cook

The Society
November 13, 2022
Beauty, Education, Poetry
15 Comments
. Writing a Poem Our planet moves, and so do we, By forces that we cannot see. Rhyme, meter always seem to track The rhythm of the planet. Lack Of sense or sensibility Inhibits our ability To see. In every...

‘Lullaby of New Mexico, Part Two’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 13, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
34 Comments
. Lullaby of New Mexico, Part Two Part One can be read here. Duerme Papi---Dad, it’s time to rest. I smooth your blanket here at Desert Sage And look with worry at your wrinkled face. My calloused hand...

‘Do Not Return’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 12, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
26 Comments
. Do Not Return "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." ---Philippians 3:13 Do not return where once you were contented--- It is a trap to seal you...

‘No Extra Lives’ by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 11, 2022
Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. No Extra Lives While all his friends were learning skills To gain them wives or pay their bills, John fought with monsters on a screen, Got knighted by a game world’s queen, Amassing troves of...

‘Cop27—A Sonnetised Summary’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 10, 2022
Poetry, Satire, The Environment
54 Comments
. Cop27---A Sonnetised Summary upon reading the Cop27 VIP jet dinner menu  A swarm of jets belch fumes that blight the blue As contrails stripe the skies of Sharm el-Sheikh, Where greedy gluttons gorge on...
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  1. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘The Noble Train of Artillery’ from an Epic Poem by Andrew Benson BrownMay 22, 2025

    This is long, as befits a part of a great epic, but it certainly isn't boring. ABB has taken a…

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘The Noble Train of Artillery’ from an Epic Poem by Andrew Benson BrownMay 21, 2025

    Got it. I had figured out the mention of the Big Bertha gun, which came into being as a 5,000-pound…

  3. Frank Rable on ‘Eternity’ and Other Love Poetry by Angel L. VillanuevaMay 21, 2025

    Angel, my wife and I just celebrated our 47th, and with all my heart I pray that your poetic prediction…

  4. ABB on ‘The Noble Train of Artillery’ from an Epic Poem by Andrew Benson BrownMay 21, 2025

    Much thanks for your readership as always, Roy. As for the error you mention, you may notice that after Napoleon…

  5. Frank Rable on ‘Spring Has Sprung’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonMay 21, 2025

    Okay then, well let me just say that I enjoy a poem that makes me smile, and yours did. I…

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