• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Thursday, December 18, 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

‘Ponderings on the Porch’: A Poem by Peter Venable

September 26, 2023
in Beauty, Poetry
A A
7
poem/venable/beauty

.

Ponderings on the Porch

The chutes of light this autumn day
__Beam down between the leaves.
Sun’s equinox has long since passed—
__Dew drips from grass and eaves.

This sacred porch! Secure and safe
__From wasps and snakes and mice.
Decaying pine straw rides the breeze—
__I sip green tea with ice.

The dogwoods’ first blush into red.
__The old wood fence tilts right.
Another season turns a page
__And sooner falls twilight.

The autumn of my year arrives.
__A butterfly flits by.
Sunrise. Sunset. A waning moon.
__A spider traps a fly.

The future bids: despair or hope?
__The grave—is it? Or more?
Today is one day near the last.
__Dark doom or heaven’s door?

.

.

Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48) and the Society of Classical Poets.

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/frank/culture

A Poem Inspired by Kimberly Hartke and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

poem/flott/culture

'Abortion Notes': A Poem by Phil Flott

poem/almadhi/humor

'Labyrinthine Bag' and Other Poetry by Wael Almahdi

Comments 7

  1. Paddy Raghunathan says:
    2 years ago

    Very very nicely written.

    Reply
  2. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    2 years ago

    That is a beautiful poem of observation in the fall while sitting on what seems to be an old but beloved porch. I love the feel of nostalgia and the vividness of what was seen.

    Reply
  3. Cynthia Erlandson says:
    2 years ago

    Lovely imagery! I was especially taken by the first two lines.

    Reply
  4. Linda Alice Fowler says:
    2 years ago

    Such a soft seasonal poem. I felt the breeze while musing on the future. A bit of nostalgia. A bit of melancholy. Very nice!

    Reply
  5. David Paul Behrens says:
    2 years ago

    This poem has a nice flow to it. Well done!

    Reply
  6. David Hollywood says:
    2 years ago

    This very affecting poem is beautifully written. Wonderfully reflective with a fateful calmness. Many thanks.

    Reply
  7. Peter Venable says:
    2 years ago

    Thanks to all. Amazing how some just flow on the page.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

  1. Bob Elkins on ‘Advice to a Cigar Aficionado’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. SalemiDecember 18, 2025

    Joseph - I especially liked "Advice...", it brought back memories of illicit smokes! But didn't all the good makers flee…

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘Canzone at Evening’ by Francesco Petrarch, Translated by Margaret CoatsDecember 18, 2025

    Thank you, Joseph. That last line was the most difficult to translate, as it speaks literally of where the poet…

  3. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Advice to a Cigar Aficionado’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. SalemiDecember 18, 2025

    Thank you for your comments, Margaret. There still is a market for cigars, but it is now very upscale and…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Advice to a Cigar Aficionado’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. SalemiDecember 17, 2025

    Your period piece on cigars, Joe, brings to mind the era just previous, when I entered first grade in a…

  5. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Advice to a Cigar Aficionado’ and Other Poems by Joseph S. SalemiDecember 17, 2025

    Well, you know me, Kip -- I really don't give a damn about reader response. I just hammer away at…

Receive Poems in Your Email

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

Join 1,624 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.