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    • 'Sepulcher' by Brian Yapko

      The Society
      April 15, 2022
      Beauty, Culture, Poetry
      14 Comments
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      July 16, 2025
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      July 15, 2025
      2
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      July 15, 2025
      4
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      July 14, 2025
      2
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      July 14, 2025
      14
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      July 13, 2025
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    • poetry/benson brown/readings

      CPL: Reading of FoFG Poetry Competition Winner, Interview with James Sale, and More

      The Society
      May 30, 2023
      Classical Poets Live, Epic, Human Rights in China, Interviews, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Readings, Video
      13 Comments
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    • The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

      The Society
      June 21, 2025
      169
    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2025
      1
    • 2025 Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Competition

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

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

      The Society
      February 1, 2025
      2
    • The Best Haiku of 2024: Winners of the 2024 SCP Haiku Competition

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      September 29, 2024
      14
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Author The Society

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

‘To Some Religious Brothers’: A Poem by Patrick Murtha

The Society
November 17, 2023
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. To Some Religious Brothers Beg! pray! or preach!  Or make one gravel-throated noise, Make murmur or a whimper or a single moan! Burble or belch or grunt!  The silence of your voice Unsettles souls and...
poetry/benson brown/readings

Classical Poets Live: Torquato Tasso, ‘King of Poets’

The Society
November 16, 2023
Classical Poets Live, Epic, Poetry, Readings
16 Comments
Classical Poets Live with Andrew Benson Brown Episode 8: Torquato Tasso, "King of Poets" If you enjoy this video, please like and subscribe on YouTube to support the...

‘What Do You Do When You No Longer Drink’ and Other Poetry by Geoffrey Smagacz

The Society
November 16, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
19 Comments
. What Do You Do When You No Longer Drink What do you do when you no longer drink, no tossing out the empties in a bag as one by one you hear that cautious clink then wipe end tables with a beer-soaked...

Poems Based on Kamala Harris Speeches, by Jeff Kemper

The Society
November 15, 2023
Poetry, Satire
31 Comments
. Assorted Sonic Salads (i.e., Kamalisms) being the first installment of a repository of wisdom from the Vice President of the United States of America. Edited by Jeff Kemper . Space! Exciting insight cited...

Three Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
November 15, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
. Poetry A poem, subscribing to a plan, Flies higher than the highest planes, Seems safer than a rose-red tan, Or traffic in the fastest lanes, Where people die in random crashes. And yet how dangerous are...
poem/bryant/culture

‘It Seems Like Only Yesterday’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
November 14, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. It Seems Like Only Yesterday Votes and virtue did not yield Control of our own border, And context did not supersede A breach of law and order. Most people thought the playing of Our anthem was the...

‘Sounds Like Paradise’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
November 14, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Sounds Like Paradise Kids are in the backyard playing; __The dog is playing too. I think that sounds like Paradise--- __Doesn’t it to you? Wife is in the kitchen humming, __Making pumpkin pies. Husband...

‘Beware the Lion’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 13, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. Beware the Lion "Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" ---1 Peter 5:8 Beware the lion! Stealthily he creeps By dark of night, or camouflaged by day In leafy...

A Poem for Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 12, 2023
Culture, Poetry
96 Comments
. Superior Pontiff for Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, deposed November 11, 2023 Our Father in heaven gives the Bread On which the need of souls is fed. With doctrine and devotion rife, I am he, the...

‘The Navy’ and Other Love Poems by Paul Fort, Translated by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 12, 2023
Love Poems, Music, Poetry, Translation
10 Comments
. The Navy by Paul Fort (1872-1960) translated by Joshua C. Frank We find them all again in brief In little loves that last one day, Every joy and care and grief Of loves that shall forever stay— The...

Two Poems for the Indian Holiday Diwali, by Rohini Sunderam

The Society
November 12, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
12 Comments
. Glow Brave little candle, shining bright! You send out rays of hope all night. Within your heart you hold a flame, A yellow flame, with loving aim, A flame that banishes the dark, Dispels despair and lights...

‘London, 11-11-2023’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 11, 2023
Culture, Poetry
45 Comments
. London, 11-11-2023 As wreaths of poppies roar in rebel red Commemorating all our noiseless dead, The streets of London buzz with blatant hate Inflamed by fiends who have a lust to sate--- That ferrous...

‘The Soldier’: A Veterans Day Poem by Richard Lackman

The Society
November 11, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Soldier He started as a little boy from any small hometown. He loved to throw and hit a ball but never gained renown. His parents taught him right from wrong and how to do his best, So he grew up a...

Real War Stories, Retold in Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 11, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. War Paths in honor of veterans I have known through the retelling of their stories. . “Any Man’s Death Diminishes Me” Preface “Be killed or killed! Be cursed or cursed!” __A lose-lose battle...

‘Returning Soldiers’: An Armistice Day Poem by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
November 10, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Returning Soldiers With hedgerows, fields and trees the soldiers of a forward trench have rested with unease, reduced beyond a carcase stench. Beneath a one-time, war-torn land they’ve lain---forgotten...

‘Carving Fingers’: A Poem by Daniel Kemper

The Society
November 10, 2023
Art, Beauty, Poetry
27 Comments
. Carving Fingers "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." ---St. Paul Percy exhales with a scowl and he spits. In his hickory fingers, an obstinate block; in his critical snicker, a grin; on his...

‘Until You Try’: A Poem by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
November 9, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Until You Try "You’ll never know Until you try…" Make this mindset Your battle cry! Your first few steps, A paper route. Try out for sports. Doors all about! Reach out your hand, And make a friend, And...

‘Free Press’: A Poem on the Media, by Warren Bonham

The Society
November 9, 2023
Poetry, Satire
13 Comments
. Free Press Our founding fathers fought the fight __to conquer tyranny. Once won, the Congress met to write __new laws to keep us free. They knew that governments all gained __voracious appetites. To keep...

‘Israel: A Leftist’s Guide’ by David Whippman

The Society
November 9, 2023
Poetry, Satire
21 Comments
. Israel: A Leftist's Guide Hamas atrocities? Don't say a word,To point them out would be an act of treason.A level playing field? Don't be absurd.Make sure your slogans take the place of reason. Remember:...

‘The Moon Hung Low…’: A Poem by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
November 8, 2023
Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. . “The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull.” ---Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray . The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull, A glowing goblin with a garish grin And pathos in its...

‘Alfie’s Answer’: A Poem by Peter Duff

The Society
November 8, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Alfie’s Answer “What’s it all about, Alfie?” ---Hal David Not selfish pleasure, as I thought, but love For isolated pleasures quickly sour. Love feeds a hunger nothing else avails The power of love...

‘The Stream of Love’: A Sonnet by Daniel Howard

The Society
November 7, 2023
Love Poems, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Stream of Love Like swollen streams in Spring, young love will roarThrough every obstacle that checks its flow,Though not so fast that winter cannot slowIts great vitality, ‘til frozen o’er;But...

‘Treasure in Heaven’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
November 7, 2023
Poetry, Satire
13 Comments
. Treasure in Heaven "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths...

‘Ecstasy and Me’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
November 6, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
. Ecstasy and Me I’ve not, I fear, the spiritual thrust To quite propel myself to mystic heights; To taste the inconceivable delights That saints have savored, hallowed and nonplussed By drawing near to...

‘The Miasma Enshrouding Disneyland’ and Other Disney Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 6, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
35 Comments
. The Miasma Enshrouding Disneyland I came here as a fairytale-struck child; The tickets cost less than a week of pay And we would spend a carefree, joy-filled day. The park was clean; the rides were fun...

‘Ode to Old Tom’: A Poem on the British Ale, by Jeff Eardley

The Society
November 5, 2023
Humor, Poetry
33 Comments
. Ode to Old Tom Old Tom he stalks the English Dales, The Patron Saint of potent ales. He makes you wobble when you walk, He makes you gobble when you talk. He warps the function of your brain, The...

Traitors on Ice: Canto XXXII of Inferno, Translated by Stephen Binns

The Society
November 5, 2023
Dante, Poetry, Translation
5 Comments
. . Traitors on Ice: Canto XXXII of Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . If I could summon up such raucous rasp __in rhymes as could apply to that sad sluice____Ninth Circle of...

‘Beyond the Shadows’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 4, 2023
Alexandroid, Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. Beyond the Shadows  The light from above may be blinding And cause us to shelter our eyes, But promises God makes are binding, For laggards as well as the wise. At last we get used to the...

A Poem Inspired by Music from Aandhi, 1975: ‘Paths’ by Paddy Raghunathan

The Society
November 4, 2023
Love Poems, Music, Poetry, Villanelle
12 Comments
. Paths —Inspired by “Is Mod Se Jaate Hain” (see below) by Gulzar from the film: Aandhi, 1975 Sheer multitudes of paths diverge from here— Some are jet setters, some meander slowly— Which one among...

On Paintings by Hunt and Millais: Two Ekphrastic Poems by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 3, 2023
Art, Ekphrastic, Poetry, Shakespeare
17 Comments
. Two Ekphrastic Poems . The Light of the World, Holman Hunt As predawn darkness shrouds the land, With warm-lit lantern in his hand The risen Jesus stands before A rusted, weed-choked, shuttered door And...

‘Icarus Sings’ and Other Poetry by Paris Michael

The Society
November 3, 2023
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
6 Comments
. Icarus Sings I’ve tempted fate, And sought the sun, I’m Icarus, I’ve come undone. My wings have failed, For what it’s worth, My long descent, Shall end on earth. I tempted fate, I, fate did...

‘Jack and Jill’ Style Nursery Rhymes Challenge

The Society
November 2, 2023
Children's, Humor, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
55 Comments
. Poet Paul A. Freeman challenges you to write a nursery rhyme in the style of the Mother Goose classic "Jack and Jill." Below is his model example. Post yours in the comments below. . Nigel Neath Nigel...

‘Child’s Laughter’: A Poem by Jane Schulert

The Society
November 2, 2023
Beauty, High School Submissions, Poetry
13 Comments
. Child's Laughter It bubbles forth from deep inside his soul; Joy twinkles brightly through his youthful eyes, For any pain he knows, his laugh defies: This shattered world has briefly been made whole. It...

Two Poems for Dia de los Muertos, by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 1, 2023
Poetry
31 Comments
. To Dance with Death I caught the fierce gaze of the trickster, Death. He charred bleak Aztec ruins with his breath And shadowed me through pueblo, plaza, palace, With knife in hand---a Mexican Macbeth. The...
poem/coats/beauty

‘All Saints Day’ and Other Spiritual Sonnets by Coignard, Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 1, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
19 Comments
. All Saints' Day by Gabrielle de Coignard (c.1550–1586), translated by Margaret Coats O Saints, you have your heritage in hand Because you battled Satan’s sanctimony! Though burned or tortured, you gave...
poem/hayes/culture

‘The Legend of Ole Stingy Jack’: A Poem by Kevin Matthew Hayes

The Society
October 31, 2023
Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
. The Legend of Ole Stingy Jack Do you recall Ole Stingy Jack?Whose tricks cost him a great set back?They say he tricked the Devil twice,But when he died he paid the price. At first denied the pearly...
poem/bryant/culture

‘Word Witch’ and Other Halloween Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
October 31, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle
19 Comments
. Word Witch She’ll tease and tempt with mystic words, __This foxy sorceress. Her syntax soars like sun-bound birds--- __This wizard poetess Casts slick linguistic spells that sing __Of Cupid’s carnal...

‘The Great Sonnet’: A Poem by Prison Inmate Bob H. Cook

The Society
October 30, 2023
Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Great Sonnet I set myself to write a sonnet. I labored hard and long upon it. Sweet verse some maid might shed a tear at, More ere's than one could shake a spear at. I spoke of luv, both hers and...
poem/yapko/humor

‘Mrs. Cyclops’ and Other Odyssey Inspired Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
October 30, 2023
Homer, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
34 Comments
. Mrs. Cyclops Ain’t really gonna leave. I’ll just pretend, Brontesa. Cy and I are bound. I simply Can’t bear to turn a blind eye to my mate--- Not even if our love-life’s off of late; Not even if his...

‘The Democratic Party Dressed for Halloween’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
October 29, 2023
Poetry, Satire
34 Comments
. The Democratic Party Dressed for Halloween The Democratic Costume Party is held on Halloween With Hillary as Jezebel, the dangerous sleazy Queen. Joe Biden comes as Dracula, the vampire looking flushed, Who...
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