• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
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

‘Be Still and Know . . .’: A Poem by Peter Venable

December 21, 2024
in Beauty, Poetry
A A
4
poem/essmann/beauty

.

Be Still and Know . . .

Gulls brawl over a chip and squawk.
__Waves wash shell shards on sand.
On the sea shore, a morning walk.
__I wade through tidal strands.

Colossal clouds roll overhead.
__A pelican glides by.
Like sails, its silent wings outspread—
__Then rises to the sky.

Between the stems of coastal grass,
__Soaked by the ocean brine,
I spot a piece of green sea glass—
__That waves and sand ground fine.

How insignificant am I . . .
__On this deserted shore.
I am sea glass, sand grain blown by—
__drowned by the ocean’s roar.

.

.

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, and Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48)

ShareTweetPin
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
Read Our Comments Policy Here

RandomPoems

‘What Did Paul Revere?’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore
Covid-19

‘What Did Paul Revere?’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

October 10, 2021

. What Did Paul Revere? Listen, my children, and shed a tear, Because everything that he held dear Did vanish...

poem/poetry/civil war/antietam
Culture

‘Antietam’ and Other Poetry by Vicki Roberts

January 10, 2023

. Antietam It was the bloodbath battle of the Civil War; Scores of men died, by musket, the gore; Was...

Next Post
Three Christmas Sonnets by Phillip Whidden

Three Christmas Sonnets by Phillip Whidden

‘The Interview’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

'The Interview' and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

A Christmastime Poem by Gigi Ryan, Sung to the Tune of ‘Sterling’

A Christmastime Poem by Gigi Ryan, Sung to the Tune of 'Sterling'

Comments 4

  1. Yael says:
    2 years ago

    The lovely luminous sea shore painting fits this poem perfectly and transports me into the scene painted by the poem as if I were there. Great job! I can totally relate to the feeling of insignificance, which I have also felt on many a sea shore walk. I enjoyed reading this, thank you.

    Reply
  2. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    2 years ago

    Excellent use of alliteration and vivid imagery to convey feelings on a quiet day at the seashore contemplating one’s smallness on the scale of things.

    Reply
  3. Margaret Brinton says:
    2 years ago

    God’s omnipresence is palpable.

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats says:
    2 years ago

    A sensitively worded observation and reflection, Peter. Wishing you a blessed Christmas!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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


  1. Russel Winick on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    Roy, again you have aptly captured one of life’s great truths. Thanks for the nice morning read.

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    I love your reference to the Louisa May Alcott quote!

  3. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    I appreciate your comment, Sephen.

  4. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    So true, Briana. Thank you for your comments.

  5. Mary Jane Myers on ‘The Walking Wounded’: A Poem by Jeffrey EssmannOctober 21, 2026

    Jeffrey This “philosophical” poem is artfully constructed. You have written three 6-line stanzas exact rhymed a-b-c-b-a-c; iambic pentameter (5 )…

Subscribe to Daily Poems

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

Join 1,661 other subscribers
No Result
View All Result

Resources

       1. A Guide to Writing Poetry

      2. The Best Poems of 2020      

      3. Poetry and Writing Contests

      4. Journals Accepting Formal Verse

Recent Poems

  • ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • ‘The Siege on Castle Hill’: A Poem by Apollo Clark Co
  • ‘Every New Pantheon’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘Biblical? Emblematic?’: A Poem by Stephen DiLauro
  • ‘The Valley’: A Poem by Briana Reavis
  • The Blobfish—‘Mr Blobby’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘Nature’s Family’: A Poem by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The River & The Sea’: A Poem by Rohini Sunderam
  • Poems by Derzhavin, Akhmatova, and Tyutchev, Translated by Kevin Rainbow
  • ‘After-Action Report’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘The Walking Wounded’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann
  • ‘Their Words, My Fault’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick
  • ‘Lazarus I’: A Poem by Jason Hunt
  • Poetry Challenge: Dictionary Delights
  • ‘In Defense of Rhyme’: An Essay by Euphrates Moss
  • ‘Gun Control’: A Poem by Kevin Ahern
  • ‘Power of a Pen’: A Poem by Janice Stanley
  • The Best Haiku of 2026
  • ‘One Night in Bangkok’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • ‘Invocation’: A Poem by D.R. Rainbolt
  • ‘Enjoy the Peace, Prepare for War’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • Faust Part Two, Act One: ‘A Pleasant Landscape’ by Goethe, Translated by Josh Olson
  • A Song Inspired by Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’, by Gunny Markefka
  • ‘Reappraisals of Mortality’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘What Is the Measure of My Days?’: A Poem by Peter Venable
  • ‘Polar Coordinates’: A Poem by Adam Sedia
  • ‘It Never Lies!’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘The Mahjong Flowers’: A Set of Sonnets by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Cassian’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘Mind Versus Beauty’: A Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Translated by Eric v.d. Luft

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Alliterative
  • Art
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Classical Poets Live
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Educational
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
    • Interviews with Poets
    • Poetry Reviews
  • Featured
  • From the Society
  • Great Poets
    • Dante Alighieri
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Homer
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Robert Frost
    • William Blake
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
  • Human Rights in China
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
    • Beauty
    • Children's Poems
    • Culture
    • Ekphrastic
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Humor
    • Riddles
  • Poetry Challenge
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
    • Curtal Sonnet
    • Haiku
  • Poetry Readings
  • Rhupunt
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Rubaiyat
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Sonnet
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

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.