‘What I Learned from Tolkien’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society September 23, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 32 Comments . What I Learned from Tolkien The darkness comes and all seems bleak and wrong, My calm is rent, right burdens can’t be borne And Evil holds an...
‘Drunk on Compassion’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society September 9, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle 44 Comments . Drunk on Compassion How good it feels to open up your heart And groove on how compassionate you are! You advertise your causes on your car And list...
‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society September 2, 2022 Culture, Music, Poetry 20 Comments . Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition Although this mad world’s headed for perdition, Don’t cower or wring hands with misery. Spines...
‘Not the Third Reich… Yet’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society August 25, 2022 Culture, Poetry 34 Comments . Not the Third Reich... Yet It makes me burn to hear the left berate Good policy and leaders they dislike With claims the U.S. is a fascist...
‘Lullaby of New Mexico’ by Brian Yapko The Society August 11, 2022 Beauty, Poetry 29 Comments . Lullaby of New Mexico Duerme mijo---sleep my weary child As we drive south upon the interstate. My side-eye checks on you, my tired you. My...
‘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...
‘In the First Degree’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society July 14, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 11 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...
‘A Ballade on Being Commissioned’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society July 1, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 32 Comments . A Ballade on Being Commissioned Twixt Florence and the Holy See Of every artist you could hire You thought it meet to torture me. You gave no...
‘In Praise of Bollywood’ by Brian Yapko The Society June 16, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 20 Comments . In Praise of Bollywood To India! To visit from afar... My journey there would be a dream fulfilled. To visit Delhi, Agra, Bangalore, To ride an...
‘A Tribune to Mrs. Malaprop’ by Brian Yapko The Society June 7, 2022 Humor, Poetry 28 Comments . A Tribune to Mrs. Malaprop My fellow poets, lend me your arrears! Of arms and divan I sing. Let’s have three cheers For Mrs. Malaprop, that dole...
‘Where Your Treasure Is’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society May 25, 2022 Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Epic, Humor, Poetry 20 Comments . Where Your Treasure Is “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and...
In Response to the ‘In This House’ Sign: A Poem by Brian Yapko The Society May 11, 2022 Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry, Readings 29 Comments . Read by Susan Jarvis Bryant . In This House... In this house... We value science so much we accept that male and female chromosomes exist and...
‘In Honor of Birthing Person’s Day’ by Brian Yapko The Society May 8, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry 40 Comments . In Honor of Birthing Person's Day In gratitude and thanks I bless the one Who gave me life, who sacrificed each breath; Whose love unbounded warmed...
‘Apollo’s Lament’ by Brian Yapko The Society April 30, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry 31 Comments . Apollo’s Lament He pounds his naked chest and looks for bones Suspecting that the bay tree is a sham. At last he falls upon his knees and...
‘Sunrise at the Hollywood Bowl’ by Brian Yapko The Society April 17, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 14 Comments . Sunrise at the Hollywood Bowl A sleepy son, a father who mourned still. Their first time greeting Easter since she died. When illness came, Anne...
‘Sepulcher’ by Brian Yapko The Society April 15, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 14 Comments . Sepulcher Jerusalem is built of prayer and quarried stone, From yearning, heartache, sacred scrolls and ancient bone--- The shuls, the mosques, the...
‘The Street Cop’s Choice’ and Other Poetry on the Police, by Brian Yapko The Society March 20, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Triolet 32 Comments . The Street Cop's Choice Thanks for coming home to help me choose. I know my kids will always have my back. Today was rough. By now you’ve seen...
Three Poems on Jewish History, by Brian Yapko The Society March 10, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 43 Comments . The Arch of Titus The Arch of Titus was constructed in 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian to commemorate the victory of Titus and Vespasian, over the...
‘Salieri on Mozart’ by Brian Yapko The Society February 26, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry 26 Comments . Salieri on Mozart More wine, Signore... Should I say mein Herr? I know! French cognac. Spirits help me share Dark thoughts. Now listen. I take one...
‘Reflections on a Visit to Salem’ by Brian Yapko The Society February 15, 2022 Covid-19, Culture, Poetry 29 Comments . Reflections on a Visit to Salem I wander down a haunted, cobbled street And watch the sun rise red above the sea. The maple leaves have turned to...
‘Ode to Joy’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society February 5, 2022 Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Music, Poetry 29 Comments . Ode to Joy My final symphony---my best by far!--- Which crowns a challenged life of brilliant works. Vienna’s finest came! Some from...
‘The Attempt to Curse J.K. Rowling’ by Brian Yapko The Society January 26, 2022 Culture, Poetry 46 Comments . The Attempt to Curse J.K. Rowling Once upon a time the stars aligned To strike a writer bound for King’s Cross Station As if by magic with this...
‘The Ninth Day of the Emperor’s Wrath’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society January 7, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé 22 Comments . The Ninth Day of the Emperor's Wrath a rondeau redoublé The stadium roared at the end of the fight. In triumph the victor uplifted his sword. The...
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ by Brian Yapko The Society December 24, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 17 Comments . It's a Wonderful Life The forecast promised luscious, gleaming snow; Instead the sky pours bitter, freezing rain. The lights are strung but half of...
A Fake News Pantoum and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society December 9, 2021 Culture, Humor, Pantoum, Poetry, Rondeau 9 Comments . What Is Truth? a pantoum To keep us blind and riven You falsify the facts. You will not be forgiven--- These are a tyrant’s acts! You falsify...
A Poem on Huckleberry Finn Being Canceled for Mark Twain’s Birthday, by Brian Yapko The Society November 30, 2021 Culture, Humor, Poetry 41 Comments . On Mark Twain's Birthday He piloted a Mississippi steamboat, Then panned for gold and sailed around the world. He authored tales of rogues and...
‘One Miracle After Another’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society November 17, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 28 Comments . One Miracle After Another A misty morning greeted by the sun Whose dappled rays arouse the drowsing Earth; The grandeur in the web a spider’s...
‘From a Classified Location in England’: A Veteran’s Day Poem by Brian Yapko The Society November 11, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 25 Comments . From a Classified Location in England Dear Jim---my son---I write from far away. From England, Spring of 1944. June first! That means you’re six...
‘The Mystery of the Amber Room’ by Brian Yapko The Society November 4, 2021 Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry 21 Comments . A fabled place adrift in history Which makes the spirit ache for what was lost; A masterpiece destroyed in mystery Then resurrected at a crippling...
‘The Battle of Glorieta Pass’ by Brian Yapko The Society October 18, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments . I’m old, my young ones. Soon I’ll have to leave. But ere we part I have just one tale more To share---a tale of valor. Never grieve A grandpa...
‘City of Holy Faith’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society September 23, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 21 Comments . City of Holy Faith The time to weep is over. Turn away From somber matters of this sordid age And turn your pilgrim gaze to Santa Fe--- Garbed in...
‘Cancel Madame Butterfly’ by Brian Yapko The Society September 17, 2021 Culture, Humor, Performing Arts, Poetry, Villanelle 29 Comments . Cancel Madame Butterfly today! Such racist music cannot soothe the soul. Let’s never show another hate-filled play. The King and I must also...
‘The Secret Garden’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society August 22, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 29 Comments . The Secret Garden Beyond these ivied walls grows naught but heather Gorse and broom, the moors engulfed by blows Of bitter, wuthering wind and...
A Transgender Fable and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society July 22, 2021 Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 10 Comments . The Lion Who Thought She Was a Zebra a fable East Africa is where this lion’s tale Takes place---a land of rugged plains of grass, Acacia trees...
‘From the Bay of Naples’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society July 8, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 29 Comments . From the Bay of Naples To Titus Caesar and the Senate, Hail! Gaius Pliny brings you news most dire From Naples where your frightened people...
‘When the Statues Were Felled,’ a Rondeau Redoublé by Brian Yapko The Society June 21, 2021 Culture, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé 32 Comments . When the statues were felled the crass multitude cheered. Historians wept while the rioters yelled. Society crumbled. Debate disappeared. Where...
‘The Good Shepherd’ by Brian Yapko The Society May 21, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 27 Comments . My count of sheep was off as twilight fell And father’s friend, Ben Ezra’s lamb was gone! I had to find her! Searching past the well I climbed...
‘The Dove Returned’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society May 18, 2021 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 12 Comments . The Dove Returned The dove returned! The Earth is dry; A golden sun lights up the sky. This ark shall rest on land again Each creature freed from...
‘Anastasia’ by Brian Yapko The Society April 23, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry 33 Comments . Martyred daughter of a libeled Czar, You for whom St. Basil’s bells have rung, Condemned to die dishonored and unsung, Yet gentlest of the...
‘Magnificat’ by Brian Yapko The Society April 3, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments . Praise Him for the lightning in the gale,For balmy winds, for crystals in the snow.Wonder at the gaudy peacock’s tail,Observe how huge the...
