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    • poem/dickens/ghost

      'A Christmas Carol,' after Charles Dickens, by Talbot Hook

      The Society
      December 24, 2021
      Beauty, Children's, Culture, Poetry
      15 Comments
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      The Society
      July 18, 2025
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      July 17, 2025
      5
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      The Society
      July 16, 2025
      2
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      July 16, 2025
      8
    • ‘The Hokey-Cokey—Chaucer Style’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

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      July 15, 2025
      14
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      July 15, 2025
      8
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      The Society
      February 1, 2022
      From the Society, High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests
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      June 21, 2025
      181
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      May 13, 2025
      1
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      March 31, 2025
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      February 1, 2025
      28
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      February 1, 2025
      2
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      September 29, 2024
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The Society

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

poem/stellinga/culture

‘A Villanelle for Robert Hoogland’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
August 27, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Villanelle
32 Comments
. A Villanelle for Robert Hoogland Hoogland was imprisoned for calling his daughter female Their mouths are gagged, their hands are bound; Their children taken by the state, These parents have no legal...

‘Ode to Poets of the Past’ by Joe Kidd

The Society
August 26, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. Ode to Poets of the Past I do agree with the sights__that I have seen:the warm and comfortable steps__where love has been and with the sounds of truth__that I have heard—the whisper and the song__between...

A Conceit or Just a Similitude? Two Brief Illustrations from Sir John Suckling, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
August 25, 2022
Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. A Conceit or Just a Similitude? Two Brief Illustrations from Sir John Suckling by Joseph S. Salemi One of the earliest things one learns in poetry is the distinction between a simile and a metaphor. In...

‘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 state--- “A Nazi nation just like the Third Reich.” Invoking...

On Insects and Worms for Food: ‘Snub the Grub’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 24, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
61 Comments
. Snub the Grub upon reading news of a beetle burger, The Daily Mail, August 24, 2022 I scan the menu (a la carte) To find that I can take no part In scarab chowder with a pinch Of millipede. It makes me...

‘Daedalus’ and Other Poetry by Morrison Handley-Schachler

The Society
August 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
7 Comments
. Daedalus Icarus, you have disobeyed, As all men do, and dearly paid. Too recklessly your heart did fly Between high seas and louring sky. The wings I gave you, it is true, But what would you have had me...

‘An Old Man’s Wallet’ and Other Poetry by LaVern Spencer McCarthy

The Society
August 23, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
12 Comments
. An Old Man's Wallet His wallet holds the scraps of yesterday with faded photos dearest to his heart; A raffle ticket, notice of a play attended when his daughter had a part; A stub from some wild party in...
poem/gosse/humor

‘Poetry Lessons’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 22, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
26 Comments
. Poetry Lessons The poet said he’d show and never tell--- His imagery would mesmerize and blaze. In quatrains laced with Aphrodite’s spell, His sibilance would scintillate and daze. The poet said...

‘Thank You Note from An Assisted Living Facility’ and Other Poetry on Aging by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
August 22, 2022
Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Thank You Note from an Assisted Living Facility Thank you for the Happy Birthday. Never thought I'd live this long. Though my hair is turning gray I still can hear a clanging gong. I thought my cake was set...

‘On Rainy Nights’ by Janice Canerdy

The Society
August 21, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Rondeau
14 Comments
. On Rainy Nights On rainy nights, in pensive thought, I claim the respite I have sought but seldom found on sunny days. Cool drops soothe more than brightest rays in times when life's with trouble...

‘Ruby Jubilee’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
August 21, 2022
Beauty, Chant Royal, Love Poems, Poetry
47 Comments
. Ruby Jubilee We’ve made a grand tour of exuberance, Repeated as our hearts reverberate, Imagining abodes where we might dwell For seasons long enough to celebrate Red-letter days our travel plans...

‘Vital Signs’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
August 20, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
. I. My body heat is at a modicum: Say, ninety-eight point two or one or so. Foreboding naught particularly glum Except a disposition to succumb To fevers only cooler heads can know. . II. Some other hand has...

Five Poems for My Mother, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
August 19, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. Five Poems for My Mother by James A. Tweedie Poet’s Note: My mother, Marjorie Schlatter Tweedie, passed away on June 18 at the age of 101. She was still mentally alert, moving about with her walker and...
poem/rainbolt/culture

‘There Is No God?’ by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
August 19, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
22 Comments
. There Is No God? “There is no God,” Some men do say. This doubt, some voice, And claim this day. If God is myth Who gave us eyes? Who gave us joy? Who paints blue skies? Have they no dog, Have they no...

‘Un-Justice Merrick Garland’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
August 18, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Un-Justice Merrick Garland “Garland is a moderate,” Obama swore, We all can see his moderation now--- The Trump raid tactics never used before, Which Garland must have learned from Chairman...

‘Chitchat’ by Norma Pain

The Society
August 18, 2022
Humor, Poetry
33 Comments
. Chitchat If only I could find a man, I’m lonely since Sebastian, That loser, left me for another. Still, I didn’t like his mother Anyway, so no big deal, And honestly, I really feel We just weren’t...

Persia, Ferdowsi, and the Shahnameh: An Essay by Adam Sedia

The Society
August 17, 2022
Culture, Epic, Essays, Poetry, Rubaiyat
3 Comments
. POEMS THAT BUILT A NATION PART II. Persia, Ferdowsi, and the Shahnameh by Adam Sedia A previous essay highlighted how the Finnish national epic poem, the Kalevala, spurred the development of Finnish culture...

‘Persistence’ by David L. Williams

The Society
August 17, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
. Persistence It seems when flies get in from the outside, They never find how to get out again; Instead they only buzz around and hide, A game that often is the death of them. At times hours pass when you...

‘A Stranger in Your Land’ by Damian Robin, After Dimash Qudaibergen

The Society
August 16, 2022
Beauty, Music, Poetry
12 Comments
. A Stranger in Your Land after Dimash Qudaibergen’s song “Stranger”  A lonely stranger in your land__where you are strange to me,underfoot, your rock and sand__enfold your land, your sea. I haul my...

‘An Anti-Evolution Song’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
August 15, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire, Science
31 Comments
. An Anti-Evolution Song Evolution Is False. God Is True. inspired by the writings of Zhang Tianliang How probable is it, however you spin it, __That man has evolved out of nothing? Do I look like a schmuck...

‘Images of Darwin, post-1859’ and Other Poetry by Damian Robin

The Society
August 15, 2022
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Satire
13 Comments
. Images of Darwin, Post-1859 1859: The year the ponderously titled On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle For Life was published. A fat,...

A Poem for Salman Rushdie: ‘Mightier Than the Sword?’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 14, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
49 Comments
. Mightier Than the Sword?   His Eighties searing splash of fiery ink Scorched the skin of those who won’t allow The flare of feisty words. His weren’t in sync With those of kowtow howls. He wouldn’t...
poem/taormina/beauty

‘As Day Transitions to Night’ by Alexander Lazarus Wolff

The Society
August 14, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
5 Comments
. As Day Transitions to Night for "JD" and Margaret Coats There is none of the daylight’s verve— __no ripples of the sun in the brook streaming ‘round the curve. __The day will come undone, splitting at...

‘Lament of the Little White Horse’ by Paul Fort, Translated by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
August 13, 2022
Beauty, Music, Poetry, Translation
11 Comments
. Lament of the Little White Horse by Paul Fort (1872-1960) Translated by Joshua C. Frank The little horse in the weather so dread, What courage he had inside! A little horse as white as white bread, All...

A Poem on Taxes: ‘Give and Take’ by Norma Pain

The Society
August 12, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
19 Comments
. Give and Take Mr. Taxman, you’re a peach, Fill your pockets we beseech. Having money is a curse, Please take freely from our purse. We may catch up some time later, Certainly your need is greater. Money...

‘My No-Show Foes’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
August 11, 2022
Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. My No-Show Foes I whet my blade, anticipating mayhem. My enemies just whet their appetite On what they hope my manager will pay them For throwing down their knives without a fight. I hone my wits in...

‘Lullaby of New Mexico’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
August 11, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Poetry
33 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 calloused hand caresses your wheat hair. The radio sings dreams,...

‘Byrd in Flight’ and ‘Summer Sunday Baroque’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
August 10, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
24 Comments
. Byrd in Flight The surplice-vested, five-part choir, Like sparrows on a five-tiered wire, Gives flight to canticles of Byrd. The flocks of lightweight, living notes Ascend to where celestial thoughts Send...

‘Non Existent’ and Other Poetry by Gary Borck

The Society
August 9, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Shakespeare
12 Comments
. . Non Existent One day my body disappeared, __nor could I touch or taste, but I could feel the flood of tears __that filled my missing face. My presence was by no-one known. __Not felt, nor seen, nor...

‘Awake’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 8, 2022
Culture, Poetry
36 Comments
. Awake  At night I quake and lie awake in bed. My racing mind likes pacing to and fro. My thoughts, they peck and caw just like a crow. I’m in the grip of woe from tip to...

‘Tapestry’ by Mary Gardner

The Society
August 8, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
22 Comments
. Tapestry My grandfather Evangelos did trading with the Turks Of pipes and hookahs, hash, and cloths, and skillful carpet-works. A tapestry he gave his wife in Main in nineteen-ten, A secular non-Muslim...

Poems by Théodore de Banville (1823-1891), Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
August 7, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry, Rondel, Translation, Triolet
21 Comments
. Poems by Théodore de Banville (1823-1891) translated by Margaret Coats The Velocipede Half brain, and half a pair of wheels, Transcending anthropology, Calf poised on manufactured heels, Half brain, and...

‘Some Mornings’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
August 6, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Some Mornings Some mornings it’s just tough to find that place, That slippery perspective where I view The world as not entirely unbraced From all that’s good and beautiful and true. I can’t quite find...
poem/salemi/reading

‘Byron Swims the Hellespont’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
August 6, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
43 Comments
. Byron Swims the Hellespont On May 9, 1810, Lord Byron swam across the Hellespont from Sestos to Abydos to duplicate the legendary back-and-forth trips made by the mythical Leander on visits to his lover...

Five Love Sonnets by Daniel Joseph Howard

The Society
August 5, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
7 Comments
. Forsake Me Now Forsake me now, and say your last farewell While my misfortune’s in its full career, By circumstances forced to part from here, And in the furthest land from this to dwell; Forsake me as...

‘Fishing on the Fly’: Three Poems by James A. Tweedie

The Society
August 4, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
21 Comments
. Deschutes River Reverie The river, swift and shallow, roils its way Beneath the outstretched arms of old-growth pines, Past bank-side willows diamond-dewed with spray, And hillside ferns and thimbleberry...

‘Don’t Laugh at a Christian’ and Other Poetry by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
August 3, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Don't Laugh at a Christian God looked down on Noah And said "Construct an ark Bigger than a boat, More like a zoo or park." Friends said he was crazy Until the rain came down. That is when we learned The...

‘Transgender Madness: For All the Children Beyond Repair’ by Karen Darantière

The Society
August 2, 2022
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Transgender Madness: For All the Children Being Harmed Beyond Repair inspired by When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson . I. At age 5: the tomboy I cared not for the Barbie dolls in pink; I chased the...

‘Camena Interrupta’ and Other Poetry by Peter Venable

The Society
August 1, 2022
Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry
4 Comments
. Camena Interrupta The measured words of poetryRise round the mystic sphere,Sift through the dirt or sing divineIn strains that soothe or sear. But now the stanzas halt and freeze:Eternity is stilled—The...

‘A Happy 80th Birthday Wish’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
August 1, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
20 Comments
. . A Happy 80th Birthday Wish for the Poet's Father I wish for you the golden years Odysseus had Retired from life’s long strife, a sort of Trojan War: The births and deaths were bloody fights, some...
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