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    • 'An Old Man's Wallet' and Other Poetry by LaVern Spencer McCarthy

      The Society
      August 23, 2022
      Beauty, Poetry
      12 Comments
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      ‘Whistling Woman’ and Other Poetry by Linda Arntzenius

      The Society
      July 27, 2025
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      July 26, 2025
      3
    • ‘Of Cats and Cardinals’: A Cat Funeral Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

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      July 26, 2025
      10
    • ‘The Gospel of Wives’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

      The Society
      July 25, 2025
      15
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      ‘History’s Rondel’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

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      July 24, 2025
      18
    • ‘Aubade at Seven AM’: A Poem by Bruce Dale Wise

      The Society
      July 24, 2025
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    • Friends of Falun Gong 2020 Poetry Contest Winners Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2020
      Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Readings, Video
      2 Comments
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      The Society
      July 26, 2025
      3
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      June 21, 2025
      235
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      The Society
      May 13, 2025
      1
    • 2025 Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Competition

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      March 31, 2025
    • The Best Poems of 2024: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition

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      February 1, 2025
      28
    • Winners of 2024 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced

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      February 1, 2025
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Author The Society

The Society

The Society of Classical Poets was founded in New York in July, 2012.

2017 Poetry Competition

The Society
September 1, 2016
Education, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
8 Comments
Submission Instructions Submit three to five poems, each of which does not exceed 50 lines. Email as a word file or in the email body to [email protected]. Put “Poetry Competition Submission”...

‘The Poet’s Purpose’ and Other Poetry by Gleb Zavlanov

The Society
August 31, 2016
Beauty, High School Submissions, Poetry
11 Comments
  The Poet’s Purpose A poet praises all of nature’s treasures, He seeks to find the pathway to her core, To laud the rarest beauty in spring’s pleasures And marvel at the waves that kiss the...

‘Such Was My Prayer’ and Other Poetry by James Sale

The Society
August 29, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
Such Was My Prayer Such was my prayer. And she, so far away, Or so it seemed, looked down at me and smiled; Then to Eternal Light she turned once more. -Paradiso 31.91-93, Dante Such was my prayer – she...

‘Skaters’ by Conrad Geller

The Society
August 28, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
3 Comments
  Phantom skaters in the park turn, and glide, and never fall, faces clouded, figures dark. They are phantoms, after all. Turn and glide with awful grace, leave no measure, make no sound, out...

‘Ice’ and Other Poetry by Michael Curtis

The Society
August 26, 2016
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
3 Comments
  Ice I open my golden flowing fins,     I dance beneath the ice, I dip and twirl and pose and spin:     Tell me, don’t I look nice? Look at me! a...

‘The Garden Guest’ and Other Poetry by Lorna Davis

The Society
August 25, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
6 Comments
The Garden Guest Gaia has entered my garden today, She moves with a rustling of leaves. I can see her pass where the branches sway, I can feel her breath on the breeze. She laughs in the splashing of...

‘Defining Blue’ by Geoffrey Pippin

The Society
August 24, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
  Capturing all that isn’t blue, The sky, extending out of view, Pitches over the gathered green, Its grassy sheen Draped, reflected, along the hills, While quietly its wideness spills Wider,...

‘Blaschka Glass’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
August 22, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Terrorism
4 Comments
Blaschka Glass By Beau Ecs Wilder So beautiful they are, the lovely Blaschka glass displays, exquisite floral blossoms and marine invertibrates; such fragile, magical designs, and educational, as if...

‘A Hero’ and Other Poetry by Evan Mantyk

The Society
August 21, 2016
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
18 Comments
  A Hero These are the weathered shoes worn by the Jew, So cracked from all the miles walked since he fled. These are the slave’s strong legs like trunks that grew And worked so hard until he’s...

‘A Song to Some Lady’ by Justin T. Monelt

The Society
August 20, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
  If I were to have been conceived Beneath a greater star, My sorrows would have been reprieved By powers great and far. Were I to have been born as strong As storm and fire and sea, Your royal...

‘The Desire for Revenge’ by Anne Whitehouse

The Society
August 18, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
Inside the desire for revenge is a painful vulnerability, a reminder of damage that won’t leave, and you wish for satisfaction, or just acknowledgment of the wrong. Instead, frustration grows with...

‘To Beauty’ and Other Poetry by H. Wendell Howard

The Society
August 17, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
To Beauty (Tribute to Sarah Lane, American Ballet Theater Ballerina) Who see you move across the stage Themselves are moved by easeful gifts That vivify as they assuage The day's reflux. Your grace...

Book Review: Woodland Poems by Douglas Thornton

The Society
August 15, 2016
Essays, Poetry, Reviews
1 Comment
By James Sale This is a curious collection from Douglas Thornton: ambitious, epic in its style, containing many great lines and ideas, but also strangely baffling, quirky, and—I have to say—awkward....

‘Unintended Consequences Gone Down a Half Century Before Brexit’ by Gerard Sarnat

The Society
August 14, 2016
Poetry
7 Comments
“London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down my fair lady.” During segregation grocery stores thrived inside Jackson’s ghettos. Then Brown v. Board of...

‘Against the Light’ and Other Poetry by Carol Smallwood

The Society
August 12, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
  Against the Light Watermarks are visible when held against light whispering quality, distinction, louder than a shout— are also used in banknotes ensuring they’re alright: some marks are more...

‘If You’re a Beggar, Be a Chooser Too’ and Other Poetry by Courtney Dowe

The Society
August 10, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
7 Comments
If You're a Beggar, Be a Chooser Too (Villanelle) If you're a beggar, be a chooser too, For less is more and more can be a curse. The world will offer anything to you. You must discern the useful from...

‘Once a Man, Twice a Child’ by Lucy Giardino Cortese

The Society
August 8, 2016
Humor, Poetry
1 Comment
Old age recycles the body An infant once pink turns blue Nature recalls with rapid speed To complete life’s circle anew Fuzzy hairs on baldy top Steps and thoughts are staid Alpha becomes Omega When...

‘Technology’ and Other Poetry by David Paul Behrens

The Society
August 6, 2016
Poetry
5 Comments
  Technology I am sick of this world Technology has gone wild I miss the peace of mind I used to have as a child Everyone seems so busy Having somewhere to go Information running rampant But what...

‘Petals in the Winter’ and Other Poetry by Zachary Dilks

The Society
August 4, 2016
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
2 Comments
Petals in the Winter Three petals on a lily like the snow were held aloft And though the wind through window whipped it so just one fell off Two petals on that lily blue lamented on the sill But through...

‘Nuptial Evening’ by Yousuf bin Mohammad

The Society
August 2, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
This eve set as elegant exhibit of skin deep beauty for old yearning stares, is time’s harsh labor’s brief retreat. The hands, henna-designed, serpentine snares to trap young wild and restless...

‘Questions for the Gods: Sisyphus’ by Alan Toltzis

The Society
July 29, 2016
Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
for Claudia Why didn’t Sisyphus simply walk away and climb, unencumbered, up the smooth cleft worn in the undulant hillside, up and over that crest bright purple with wild violets one brilliant...

‘Marv’lous Melody’ and Other Poetry by Sara Spry

The Society
July 27, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
Marv’lous Melody I read the words all leaping from the page And hear the joyful rhythm in my head But stop for you, an even-tonéd sage And listen to the words as they are said I could grow old to...

‘Javelin Ekphrastic​’ and Other Poetry by Alec Ream

The Society
July 25, 2016
Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
. . Javelin Ekphrastic Out of the air and shot from a thrust, Clout of the spear, forethought where it must, Wrought from the ancient and taut and released, Slaughtered and blatant, when caught be the...

‘Dieting Can Be Hell’ by Kathy Figueroa

The Society
July 23, 2016
Humor, Poetry
2 Comments
This dieting can be Hell With nary a late-night snack I wage a constant battle When the hunger pangs attack And should I dare venture out To the neighbourhood café The waitress takes my order And...

‘In Defense of the Aesthetic Sense’ and Other Poetry by Gil Hackel

The Society
July 21, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
  In Defense of the Aesthetic Sense When lovely melodies arouse and wake My dormant bliss, or true words do the same, Dark, dour-visaged men intrude to claim My bliss is false, awakened by...

‘Passing Through the Woods of Ash’ by Daniel Magdalen

The Society
July 19, 2016
Beauty, Human Rights in China, Poetry
3 Comments
Dedicated to Falun Gong practitioners who have peacefully resisted persecution by the communist regime in China for 17 years, since July 20, 1999.   When the world’s despondent spirit sets in...

‘A Chinese Epic, Chapter II’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
July 18, 2016
Epic, Human Rights in China, Poetry
1 Comment
Chapter II: Visions and Dreams (For Chapter I click here.) THE band and locals, totaling fourteen, Retired to rest before the looming day. Some went to sleep but most in silence sat, Now meditating,...

‘The Wayfarer’ by Edward Ahern

The Society
July 17, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
6 Comments
The waking’s spun with webs of urgent lure And sleep is shriveled dreaming marred by fear. The life allows the walker nothing sure Or level path to others once held dear. But many grasp at getting days...

‘C0d0s0’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dales Wise

The Society
July 13, 2016
Beauty, Human Rights in China, Poetry
2 Comments
  C0d0s0 By Leweca Derusbi The Chinese hackers who are known as the Codoso group are infiltrating sites across the Internetic loop. They're breaching banks, law firms, and varied...

‘Lost’ and Other Poetry by Mandy Moe Pwint Tu

The Society
July 11, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
Lost The angel’s cry, the devil’s kiss: How did you let it come to this? You claimed the darkness too: How when the world was screaming, You thought you’d best be dreaming; You thought the lies...

‘ A Meditation on Mohonk Ridge’ by Nathan Cayea

The Society
July 9, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  When the wind blows true through the land Rustled leaves hold trees that withstand Tempered gusts with vicious intent. So long lives the day when air’s spent Upon the ridge: that jagged...

‘Jaded I Lay’ and Other Poetry by Charles Eager

The Society
July 7, 2016
Beauty, Poetry
Jaded I Lay Jaded I lay prostrate in bands Constructed of my self-frustration: The morning waned; so too my elation, Jade-hued, whose kite flew out my hands. All joy is rocks, soon turned loose...

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Short Student Play Version

The Society
July 5, 2016
Education, Poetry
1 Comment
This rhyming adaption of the 14th century Arthurian poem is suitable for 4-6 students to perform and only takes about 10 minutes or so to perform.   Characters Narrator Sir Gawain Green...

‘Anasazi’ and Other Poetry by C. David Hay

The Society
July 3, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
Anasazi Mesa castles in the sky Where paintbrush blooms and eagles fly. A people's passage marked in stone; Artifacts of flint and bone. Cliffy cities - vanished host, Sanctum haunt of hawk and...

Poetry Competition: Four Lines for the Fourth of July ***Winners Announced

The Society
June 30, 2016
From the Society, Poetry Contests
51 Comments
Write a quatrain (four-line poem) on the topic of America. Post your submissions into the comments section below with your general location, such as city and state. When: From now (June 30) until July 24...

‘The Pharaoh’s People and the Locusts’ and Other Poetry by John W. L. Toivonen

The Society
June 29, 2016
Poetry
1 Comment
The Pharaoh's People and the Locusts We had our land covered by the locusts. On every leaf the hungry, magnet mouths drew the food in until we had to shout our harvest is gone, poisoned by the kiss that...

A Donald Trump Clerihew and Other Poetry by Dave Martin

The Society
June 28, 2016
Culture, Humor, Poetry
2 Comments
Related Content 'Trump' Presidential Prophecy Poem by Nostradamus Donald Trump (A Clerihew*) Donald “The Donald” Trump Surprisingly took to the political stump What is, perhaps, not as great a...

‘Cribbed Agency’ and Other Poetry by Frank De Canio

The Society
June 27, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
Cribbed Agency (After a grating entrée) No matter how I madly strove to make sense of the garlic clove the waitress gave me with my plate, it simply made me more irate. And thus, like a rambunctious...

‘Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach’ and Other Poetry by Alec Ream

The Society
June 25, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
. . Lone Cypress, Pebble Beach Crack of stone for rest and bed, Wrack of storm unpressed I tread, Sun and proud and bright and gold; Dun and shroud of night, I hold. . . Fraternal I have some friends I got...

‘Son of Europe’ by Carlos Perona Calvete

The Society
June 23, 2016
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
So turn whereto it dies, Pulse of a draining sun: The face of daylight’s guise The yield that night has won. See on the far-west front, Goes trotting godly fame: The bull called occident. His white...
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