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    • 'If He Came Now…': An Easter Rondeau by Susan Jarvis Bryant

      The Society
      April 4, 2021
      Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
      20 Comments
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      May 14, 2025
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    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

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      May 13, 2025
      1
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      May 12, 2025
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      ‘Ogre Food’: A Poem by Steve Cooper

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    • 100 Days of Dante Poetry Contest

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      December 3, 2021
      Dante, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
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      May 13, 2025
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      March 31, 2025
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      February 1, 2025
      28
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      February 1, 2025
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    • The Best Haiku of 2024: Winners of the 2024 SCP Haiku Competition

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      September 29, 2024
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The Society of Classical Poets was founded in New York in July, 2012.

‘Moon Song’ and Other Poetry by Michael Curtis

The Society
May 24, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
5 Comments
. Moon Song Selene to Endymion Night, for ever, ever night. __Sleep as the Gods would sleep, __Beautiful boy; sleep; sleep; Rest ever in the cool night. I shall smile on you moon-bright, __Lay beside you and...

SCP Spring 2021 Poetry Reading Videos

The Society
May 23, 2021
Poetry, Readings, Video
19 Comments
...

The SCP Spring 2021 Poetry Reading, Online

The Society
May 23, 2021
From the Society, Poetry, Readings
10 Comments
. Videos of this event now available here. You are invited to a reading of exquisite poetry and conversations with the poets. This reading is part of a quarterly series of online poetry readings planned for...
Nubien, King of Armenia

‘On Turning Seventy’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
May 23, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
37 Comments
. Today I will be turning seventy, An age I’ll claim with some temerity. I’ll welcome it with both serenity And sober, grave, austere solemnity. I’d hoped to celebrate my destiny By jotting down some...

‘Sunset’ by Michael Miller

The Society
May 22, 2021
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
7 Comments
. A life alone is at its center bare, A quiet conversation with myself, A single, threadbare suit I always wear, A volume set aside upon life's shelf. A time or two fate's hands would find me...

‘Climate Charge’: A Poem for Pentecost by Margaret Coats

The Society
May 22, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terza Rima
36 Comments
. The Spirit blazes in an upper room; A hundred twenty flames spout sparks to cast Christ’s wildfire on the earth, and make it bloom. The Magdalen, apostle unsurpassed, Conveys her fragrant nard to salve...

‘The Winds of War Now Howl’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
May 21, 2021
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. May 12, 2021 The weakness of this president’s admin Has put us in the mess that we are in. The winds of war now howl all over the place From Israel to UFOs in space. The hombres cross the border with such...

‘The Good Shepherd’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
May 21, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
. My count of sheep was off as twilight fell And father’s friend, Ben Ezra’s lamb was gone! I had to find her! Searching past the well I climbed the rocks exhausted but pressed on. Delay could mean her...

‘The State of Art’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
May 21, 2021
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. The State of Art The art world has completely turned around. Now critics blind themselves, or close their eyes, Shout how their contacts and their creds abound, And laud sick rancid leavings to the...

A Woke Version of Cole Porter’s ‘Anything Goes’ by Julian Woodruff

The Society
May 20, 2021
Culture, Humor, Music, Performing Arts, Poetry
26 Comments
. Everyone Knows Fog and smoke! Such confusion we’re subject to! So much danger to me and you From the yahoos without a clue! Now we’re woke! It’s high time that we reassess This society’s thorough...

A Poem from Storm-Hit Texas, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 19, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
. My Texas Tempest Silver Lining  It’s said that during times of heightened pain Your world contracts. You’ll find it’s apt to shrink--- A small domain; no fuss, no stress, no strain--- A place for you...

Two Poems about Stone, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
May 19, 2021
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Isolde and the Men of Stone Who could believe, except on ancient trust? The stones grew pliant, yielding into shape When softer nature touched them; human forms Emerged, as marble figures...

‘Phones’ After Poe’s ‘Bells’ and Other Poetry by Paul Buchheit

The Society
May 19, 2021
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
. The Phones with apologies to Edgar Allan Poe Phones, phones, phones, See the people with their phones, Silver, pink and paisley phones, On the subways and the buses and the sidewalks, all alone, Lost in...

An Interpretation of DarkSide Ransomeware’s Apology, by Bethany Mootsey

The Society
May 18, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
. Light Side an interpretation of the apology by the DarkSide ransomware hackers Our motives are mercenary, and apolitical.Putin puts in a good word; we’re good guys!We’re taken aback that we hacked...

A 2020 Election Allegory: ‘The Purloined Lectern’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
May 18, 2021
Culture, Poetry, The Raven
5 Comments
. The Purloined Lectern by C. Aubre DeWiles It was the fall, November, 2020, in the night. My friend, Earl Dolan Page, and I were chatting in low light. We sat within his little study in his little...

‘The Dove Returned’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
May 18, 2021
Beauty, Children's, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
12 Comments
. The Dove Returned The dove returned! The Earth is dry; A golden sun lights up the sky. This ark shall rest on land again Each creature freed from cage and pen, Each yearning bird released to fly! The old...
poem/freeman/uyghurs/propaganda

A Poem on Uyghur Concentration Camps: ‘All Aboard’ by Cheryl Corey

The Society
May 17, 2021
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
5 Comments
. Two by two, the Uyghur stand in long Lines. They carry nothing to call their own, The final destination, a great unknown, A distant, re-education labor camp, To spend their days and nights in toil For state...

‘I, Judas’ by Jeff Kemper

The Society
May 17, 2021
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. My erstwhile master taught me well And I supposed I could adjust As did the comrades in our cell, But when he said he’d bite the dust I levied that I’d say goodbye And champion another trust. I should...

‘Not a Sparrow Falls’ by Peter Hartley

The Society
May 16, 2021
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
21 Comments
. A portent for our loss, this bird, so nigh Its end. The slowly creeping dusk had dared It to emerge, its doughty spirit bared, Eyes bright as lightning in a sullen sky. The lesser creature never questions...
poem/essmann/beauty

A 100th Birthday Celebration Poem, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
May 16, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Unimaginable written in celebration of the 100th birthday on May 16th of the Poet's mother, Marjorie Tweedie, a resident of Walnut Creek, California I have a good imagination. In my mind’s eye, a spotted,...

‘A Woke Recipe for Disaster’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 15, 2021
Culture, Pantoum, Poetry, Rondeau, Villanelle
26 Comments
. A Woke Recipe for Disaster a villanelle Heap fresh and zesty chaos on despair. Rub salt in history’s wounds till hatred sticks, Then sugar discontent with bogus care. Pour rage and scorn on free-speech...

‘My Paola’s Love’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
May 15, 2021
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
5 Comments
. My Paola’s love is constant as the sun That daily sheds its beams on hill and dale; No sooner set, it hastes again to run With steady pace, the same unswerving trail. When cold winds blow, the warmth of...

‘In Praise of the Helicap’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
May 14, 2021
Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. in response to Mike Bryant's "CDC: New Guidance" “The Helicap’s a wondrous thing,” I heard the salesman say, I ordered one from Amazon, it came the other day. It fits just like a bathing cap; it's...

A Poem on the Near-Earth Asteroid Apophis and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

The Society
May 14, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Apophis Apophis is the name of a near-earth asteroid that passed by our planet a few months ago, a name it shares with the Ancient Egyptian evil serpent god and one of the Hyksos pharaohs of Egypt. Apophis,...

Winners of the Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Contest Announced

The Society
May 13, 2021
Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests
12 Comments
. Congratulations to the winners! Readings of the top three winning poems have been published here: . FIRST PLACE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69i-IfOt9-k Connected by Sasha Palmer I’m Russian-born, live...

‘On the Beating Up of Sarah Liang’ by Damian Robin

The Society
May 12, 2021
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
12 Comments
. Sarah Liang is a veteran reporter with the Hong Kong Epoch Times who was recently assaulted by communist agents. It seems there’s little hope to bless __as Hong Kong’s hard time hardens. Its skin-thin...

‘The Bunyip’s Spell’ and Other Poetry by David Watt

The Society
May 12, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. The Bunyip’s Spell A native girl of spirit strong, As graceful as the flitting fishes; Went swimming in a billabong, Against her mother’s stated wishes. And though the water, murky grey, Embodied trouble...

‘Epigrams for Today and Tomorrow’ by C.B. Anderson

The Society
May 11, 2021
Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry
24 Comments
. Raw Now, listen, if you want to know the truth: The world's a battleground of claw and tooth. . Spare the Details Elections, like the spawning of the salmon, Are something we would rather not...

‘Ode to Numbness’ by Thomas Benstead

The Society
May 11, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
7 Comments
. Piteous Fools! The time has comeWhen all men seek to be is numb.The toils of our daily lifeDo overwhelm us all with strifeWithin ourselves; we aim to findA refuge somewhere for our mindTo have its day of...

A Poem for Derek Chauvin, by Evan Mantyk

The Society
May 10, 2021
Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. An Angel Speaks to the Imprisoned Derek Chauvin “Although it has been difficult,__I know you’ll make it through.Of course you never were at fault;__There’s little you could do. The cards were stacked...

‘For a Friend Fighting Cancer’ and Other Poetry by Lee Goldberg

The Society
May 10, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
. For a Friend Fighting Cancer And so it seems before the dawn that darkness reigns and hope is gone. I understand that is the way you feel. But dawn will come, and then bright sun. One day your struggle will...

‘Precious Procedure and Process’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
May 9, 2021
Essays, Poetry
55 Comments
. When I was eighteen years old, something happened that had a profound effect on my view of the world. Next door to us in Woodside there lived an Irish family with two daughters, both of them under ten years...

‘How to Be Trendy on Campus’ by Sarban Bhattacharya

The Society
May 9, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
. Entering college is an easy way Of making lots of friends, a herd of mares; Just drink a toast to Lenin any day, Down vodka’s revolution with your cares. Attending climate rallies might just aid Your...

A Mother’s Day Poem from a Mother to a Son, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
38 Comments
. A Sonnet for My Son On Mother’s Day, I simply have to say I’m humbled by my role and heartened too. The gift of you has paved a wondrous way To seeing life through stirring points of view. I’ve basked...

‘The Praise of Age’ by Walter Kennedy (1450–1508), Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
May 8, 2021
Beauty, Chant Royal, Culture, Poetry, Translation
23 Comments
. At Matins’ hour, the middle of the night,I woke, and soon found I was not alone;A man who seemed past sixty to my sightThis sentence said, and sang it in good tone:O threefold God on the eternal throne,To...

‘I Am With Child’ by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
May 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
.For all my lifeI felt alone---Out on the road,As well as home. I saw couples With children near,Filled to the brimWith sweetness dear. But then it came,This life in me.I am “with child”---Now all can...

Split Nursery Rhyme Poetry Challenge

The Society
May 7, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
69 Comments
. Split a line from a nursery rhyme and use the halves to open and close a poem. Post yours in the comments section below. This challenge comes from Joe Tessitore, who offers the below two examples: . "The...

‘A Personal Relationship’ by Daniel Kemper

The Society
May 7, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Part II of the Coffee Trilogy. (Part I can be found here.) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.    ---John 1:1 A light without a shadow could exist like a lonely...

‘Ode to an Osprey’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 6, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
37 Comments
. Today I spied you, red in beak and claw.You perched atop a roadside pole to dineOn scaly prey with silver skin, pecked raw—A mullet dish of thrashing flesh; a fineBeachside feast; a smorgasbord of sweetAnd...

‘I Asked the Moon’ by David Irby

The Society
May 6, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. I asked the moon, "Do you feel all alone?" She said, "I have no time. I've lots to do. To all the stars, I am a chaperone. Tonight I'm in good company with you." I asked the moon, "Do you begrudge the...
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