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      Beauty, Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
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Author The Society

The Society

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

On the Recent Overturning of Roe vs. Wade, by Alena Casey

The Society
July 13, 2022
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. “Hosanna,” All The Children Cried “Hosanna,” all the children cried, And Christ was pleased to open wide For them his hands and feet and side, The devil’s will to override. “Hosanna,” all the...

‘The Automated Phone System’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
July 13, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Humor, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Automated Phone System I called up a business But no person answered, I got a phone system With multiple options Some rather confusing; I kept getting transferred, Spent most time just holding; Then...

‘For Then’ by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera, Translated by Cheryl Corey

The Society
July 12, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
14 Comments
. For Then by Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera (Mexico, 1859-1895) translated by Cheryl Corey O, to die upon the open sea At sunset, facing heaven, where agony Is but a dream; and soul, the essence of me, Is like a...

A Translation of Horace’s Barine Ode, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 11, 2022
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Sapphic Verse, Translation
20 Comments
. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, Odes, II.8 “The first thing we learn about Barine is that she is in the habit of making and breaking promises (of love and fidelity, presumably) and that she is never punished...

‘ While Pondering Pope’s Ode’ by Lucia Haase

The Society
July 11, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
. While Pondering Alexander Pope’s "Ode to Solitude" Grateful am I in solitude while reading Pope’s inspiring ode, a time for pause---an interlude ____________in my abode. I’m whisked into the distant...

‘A Hopeless Rondelet’ and Other French Form Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 10, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau, Rondel, Villanelle
27 Comments
. A Hopeless Rondelet  All trust is dead, Killed by lies in love’s disguise. All trust is dead--- It’s buried in a sigh of dread. Its memory spills from mourning eyes. Can Truth rekindle sunless...

‘In the City’ and Other Poetry by Adam Wasem

The Society
July 10, 2022
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. In the City The city, where the liars are in charge And all the criminals are still at large: The just have been imprisoned, brought to heel: Grateful as dogs, oh, how we rush to kneel For the littlest...

‘The Drive to Reconcile’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
July 9, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. The Drive to Reconcile __We never wish to eat a bug __Or force an unexpected hug, But intimacy doesn’t come without A cost, and those who disagree, no doubt, Are lost.  But nonetheless we cannot see Why...

‘Back in My Day’ and Other Poetry by David Whippman

The Society
July 9, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Back in My Day I tested my courage---well, no, not really. The heroic stuff had been done before. My generation was all touchy-feely. It was our parents who’d fought the war. The post-war population...

‘Free Verse’ by Clive Boddy

The Society
July 8, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Free Verse Let us free verse from "free verse" while we can;A pile of branches does not make a tree,And fruit squashed on a plate does not make jam.While words strung down a page can never be,As eloquent...

A Definition of Formal (or “Classical”) Poetry: A Short Essay by James A. Tweedie

The Society
July 7, 2022
Essays, Poetry
22 Comments
. A Definition of Formal (or “Classical”) Poetry by James A. Tweedie One of the frequent comment threads on SCP involves the subject of the nature of poetry, including what it is and how it exists as an...

Percy Bysshe Shelley Poem Put to Music for Death Commemoration, by Guntbert Markefka

The Society
July 7, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Music, Poetry
5 Comments
. . Introduction Percy Bysshe Shelley was born August 4, 1792 and died in a boating accident on July 8, 1822. To mark the 200th anniversary of his death, Guntbert “Gunny” Markefka and the Powerpoets...

On the Recent Destruction of the Georgia Guidestones, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 6, 2022
Culture, Poetry
51 Comments
. America’s Most Mysterious Monument The first of the anonymously funded Georgia Guidestone’s guidelines: “Maintain humanity under 500,000,000” “The world population is over 8,000 million. According...

‘The Pigeon’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain

The Society
July 6, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, The Raven
22 Comments
. The Pigeon Once upon a workday morning, sleepy-eyed and loudly yawning, I was splattered without warning by a pigeon from the shore. At my half unconscious stupor, this unpardonable pooper, Took his aim just...

‘Pets and People’ and Other Poetry by Julian Woodruff

The Society
July 5, 2022
Children's, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
. Pets and People Do cats and kittens ever wonder Why their owners have no fur? Do dogs think it was blind fate’s blunder That the likes of humans were Afflicted with this vile condition, Curse of their...

‘O Say, Can You See?’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 4, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. O Say, Can You See?   Let’s think as we sink into star-spangled wonder, Intolerable acts were the reason to fight Each pillaging bully who’d brazenly plunder The treasures of those who were drawn to...

‘Anew’ and Other Poetry by Talbot Hook

The Society
July 3, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Anew Whisk me away to the mountainside. __Spirit me far to the glen. For I long to find that secret place __Where I can begin again. All of us long at least once in our lives __To flee from all that is...

Two Riddles by Jack DesBois

The Society
July 2, 2022
Poetry, Riddles
11 Comments
. Riddle This tiny thief Has ground to grief Many a mighty poem, No wiser for The learned lore He nibbles, tome by tome— But though he'll munch My words for lunch, He never eats his own. . . Name the...

‘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 weight to my desire But quick to wield the Church’s...

‘On Palestrina’s Music’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 30, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
28 Comments
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHUuaA8DKiQ . On Palestrina's Music Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, Ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. Psalmus 41:2 As the deer desires springs of water, So my...

Haiku Competition 2022

The Society
June 29, 2022
Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
612 Comments
. Our 2023 Haiku Competition is on now HERE. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members...

How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku?

The Society
June 29, 2022
Education, Essays, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
53 Comments
. How to Write Haiku What Makes a Good Haiku? by Margaret Coats The required 5-7-5 syllable form alone does not make a haiku. A good haiku ⦁ presents an observation of nature, or of human activities in...

Freedom in China Open Poetry Reading

The Society
June 29, 2022
Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings
2 Comments
. You are invited to a reading of poetry that shines a light on the plight of ordinary, innocent people in China today who are unjustly persecuted by the communist government---a government indirectly funded...

‘Gleam by Any Means’ by David Watt

The Society
June 29, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. Gleam by Any Means The poem that I seek to write, the piece with flair and form, Which raises spirits high as clouds on zephyr breezes warm, Or states a truth in such a way that brings a tear to the...

Poems on Sexualizing School Children, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 28, 2022
Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Groomers   The words the school kids speak are not their own--- Fiends mold the untrained brain till every thought Is hostage to their noxious sexual drone. Their toxic tongues are rife with hype that’s...

‘Life Is a Dream’ by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Translated by Elwin Wirkala

The Society
June 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
6 Comments
. Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681) Translated by Elwin Wirkala The king dreams he is king, and lives with this deception ordering, disposing of and governing, and all the applauses...

‘On Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
June 27, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Science
21 Comments
. On Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields Are we just rats within a maze? Perhaps. But then perhaps there’s more to rats than what We know. Take for example rats completing A water-maze within a lab at...

The Classical Figures Poetry Reading – Video

The Society
June 26, 2022
Poetry, Readings, Video
5 Comments
. https://youtu.be/DIhS6QTHh90 . Hosted by British poet James Sale and held by the Society of Classical Poets, the theme of this reading is classical figures in the broad sense. The 100 Days of Dante Poetry...

‘The Requisite’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
June 26, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
. The Requisite I may have made a great mistake In my pursuit of solitude and grace; Perhaps have stumbled unaware Into an all-too-human ache I don’t know I’ve the fortitude to face Or honesty its source...

‘Abiding Senescence’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 25, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Abiding Senescence My energy and physical abilities Will not again be limitless as once they were. To those more qualified to ponder facts like these, Without a single qualm or doubt I will defer. They tell...

‘Upon These Boughs that Shake Against the Cold’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 25, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. “Upon These Boughs that Shake Against the Cold” ---Shakespeare, Sonnet 73 Her script was always lovely and unique, And still unique when it began to wobble, Along with spoken words. Increasing...

‘There Is a Quiet Place’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
June 24, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. There Is a Quiet Place There is a quiet place Where we can go to hide. A place where no one sees us, That cannot be denied. There is a quiet place Where we can go to think. A place to solve our problems And...

‘Advice from the Untalented’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
June 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Advice from the Untalented They smugly said I’d never make much money From playing with my words and making art, That it would be a waste to spread such honey So any fool could tear the thing...

‘Australia in 2022’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
June 23, 2022
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. Australia in 2022 written on the eve of a federal election where everything is at stake but nothing is on the agenda. A nation now in name and nothing more, Misruled by milquetoast...

‘In God We Trust’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
June 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. “In God We Trust” The motto for our nation boldly states, “In God we trust,” Which is, of course, a matter for each person to decide. We can’t assume such faith is held by all, nor is it just To...

‘Tongues as of Fire’ and Other Poetry by Phillip Whidden

The Society
June 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
4 Comments
. Tongues as of Fire If men desire to find belief, to sing It out through throats works best to make the soul Embrace it.  This will make the sought faith zing Behind their hearts and manliness’s whole. The...

‘The Duke D’Alençon Meets Joan of Arc’ by Ben Broussard

The Society
June 21, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. The Duke D’Alençon Meets Joan of Arc What task from the dauphin comes to me hence? A lowly maid now seeks his audience. This Joan, a girl from province unheard of, They say she can hear voices from...

‘An Open Poem to Evil’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
June 20, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
. An Open Poem to Evil “Gravity is real... it’s hard to keep a bag of shit in the air forever.” ---Alex Wilhelm You goofy spoofin’ kooks are pitchin’ poop. You’re selling poison no one wants to...

‘Apollo in Retirement’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 20, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
42 Comments
. Apollo in Retirement Quite early he approached a humble hut, With saxifrage and canneberge sun-brewed To melt the stone that galled the shepherd’s gut, And brighten him with warmth of health renewed. The...

‘A Glass for My Father’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
June 19, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. A Glass for My Father Marie-Maurille de Virot, Mademoiselle de Sombreuil (February 14, 1768—May 15, 1823) My father was the Marquis de Sombreuil: An old man when it happened, but back then The Revolution...
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