Totentanz ---verse inspired by the 17th century death-cycle paintings preserved on the Spreuerbrüch Bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland. Death falls...

  "In God Is Our Trust" ---The Star-Spangled Banner Where were those words, those hallowed words, “In God We Trust”...

  Confession It’s not so much the telling of my sins (The inner battle stations I’ve assigned To flesh and...

  Religious Poetry, and Religionist Poetry by Joseph S. Salemi When a literary critic touches on matters of religion or...

  The Zingers of Adam Sedia A Review Sedia's New Work The Opening of the Mouth and Other Books by...

  A Paradox They're all too sharp and bright. Sedulous kids. Rich parents raised them. Teachers, old and wise, preserve...

  A Prayer of Aristotle "Anyone who wonders whether we ought to honour the gods needs a whipping." ―Aristotle Our...

  The Sparrow It started in the dark and early hours. Kyiv—asleep, enjoying blissful dreams. Then missiles streaked. Explosions. Debris...

  Chemo Refusal Doctor’s gown off. He looks again. Goes tough, speaks plain: "It’s back. Aggressive. Don’t deny. Without the...

  Deliverance Upon the bank, this waters wave, _And beckon you, "Come wade." You step into the chilly stream _And...

  Rain I felt like walking in the rain, _Can’t say exactly why. I make great efforts in the main...

  The Story of a Plague I sorrow at the darkness of the news Of mortal pestilence and storms of...

  Javert Derailed —In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, the police inspector Javert faces a moral crisis when the fugitive he...

  People Forget "Being unable to cure death, misery and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not...

  Good and Evil The professor was so proud Of his knowledge and his theories. He loved to prod his...

  The Royal Arse Hortillery Behold the English army as it marches off to war, Where the musket balls do...

  Who Hears a Robot's Prayer?   I. He said the stones themselves would start to sing But no one...

. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). Among members of...

  I This mystic draw, these pangs I feel for you--- Are they mere sparks, the scent of pheromones, Complex...

  Rasputina Confers with Her Cohorts “Rasputina” is the feminine form of the Russian name Rasputin. He of course was...

  Warfare by Remote Control Babies are screaming from the night time sky, preventing sleep amidst the blasted homes; twenty-four...

The Passing Place me not in a bed at my dying; _I'd rather a bench by the sea Or a...

  Of Webs and Whispers   I. The Myopic Eye ---a pantoum A spider spinning scripture for the flies--- It...

Reviewed Poetry Book: Canzoniere by Petrarch, Translated by A.M. Juster, Liveright (Norton) Publishing, 2026 by Margaret Coats A.M. Juster, longtime...

  What Folly Dares What folly dares inflict its spectral pow’r To grieve my love and I who burn to...

  Allegrezza In the harbor, the masts tilt left and right like metronomes conducting waltzes made of wind and wave,...

  The Lessons of Lot How long had my watch lasted at the city gate? For days (or weeks? or...

  Prophecy and Divine Intervention in Virgil’s Aeneid. by Kaitlyn Brown The divine, represented through both the supernatural power of...

  The Last Voyage of Barnaby Bear When first the winter twilight dimmed the pane And rain beat softly on...

  Impressions How often are impressions deemed profound, Accepted fully, carried all around, And stated with assertive satisfaction, From merely...

  The Reveal of the Rocks The August days of summer weighed in full Upon us, green and heavy with...

  Art Work First thing each morning, Susie makes the bed. I should say, “sculpts the bed”, because she treats...

  A Strange Sun The ships sailed up the river’s mouth, Against a steely, clear-eyed gale, Far from the vineyard...

  Shave Off Those Whiskers _I do not understand Why some men don’t shave their whiskers. _A beard or a...

  The Man from China The man from China struts around D.C. And silences the chatter about tariffs. He says,...

  The Ballad of the Ghost Mountain Boys ---to the “Ghost Mountain Boys” of World War II— especially the Iowa...

  The Threat of Virtue Falun Gong, which has faced persecution since July 20, 1999, has three main principles: Truth,...

  A Poet at the Tower Ah, what a perfect, golden, autumn day. The headsman’s brought the bearded ax, I...

  Florence Foster Jenkins “A Jenkins recital was never exactly an aesthetic experience--- only to the degree that an early...

  WINNERS & RANKINGS The Great American Poetry Competition Judged by Andrew Benson Brown, Joseph Bottum, Margaret Coats, Evan Mantyk,...