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      'Art Freezes Time': A Poem for National Poetry Month by Roy E. Peterson

      The Society
      April 16, 2023
      Art, Beauty, Poetry
      15 Comments
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    • ‘One Dumb Mistake’: A Sestina by M.D. Skeen

      The Society
      July 19, 2025
      4
    • ‘Not All Angels Play the Harp’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

      The Society
      July 18, 2025
      6
    • ‘Living Dead’: A Poem by James A. Tweedie

      The Society
      July 18, 2025
      10
    • ‘Martha’: A Poem by Scharlie Meeuws

      The Society
      July 17, 2025
      7
    • ‘The Harvest’: A Poem by Peter Venable

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      July 16, 2025
      3
    • ‘Unspoken Moments’: A Poem by Michael Pendragon

      The Society
      July 16, 2025
      8
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    • The Society of Classical Poets 2022 Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2021
      From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      17 Comments
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    • The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

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      June 21, 2025
      188
    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

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      May 13, 2025
      1
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      March 31, 2025
    • The Best Poems of 2024: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition

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

poem/winick/aging

‘O Say Can It Be?’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
July 14, 2021
Beauty, Deconstructing Communism, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
7 Comments
. O Say Can It Be? "How long you been suckin’ up oxygen, friend? For seventy years? Well now that’s gonna end! And moochin’ off Social Security too? The Great People’s Zoo is the next stop for...

‘Brimstone’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 14, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
35 Comments
. Brimstone I sniff a whiff of brimstone in the tone Of smooth effusions oozing from his tongue. A lick of sulfur clings like stale cologne To slickest syntax eloquently strung Like lustrous pearls...

Three Poems on Oölogists, by Peter Hartley

The Society
July 13, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
33 Comments
. A Black-Listed Species The avian community is glad He’s dying out, the mad oölogist. With every species on the British list He always wanted more eggs than he had, And on his checklist those he had to...

‘Birds in Flight’: A Pair of Poems by David Whippman and Evan Mantyk

The Society
July 12, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
. Birds in Flight by David Whippman “Free as a bird,” that's what we always say, "It's time to spread my wings and fly away, I have to find myself, fly high and free!" Birds are the metaphors of...

Turn a Famous Poem into a Limerick: Poetry Challenge

The Society
July 11, 2021
Humor, Limerick, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
153 Comments
. Choose a famous poem and write it in limerick form, putting the title of the original poem at the top. Please fit your chosen poem into one limerick (five lines) only. See "How to Write a Limerick." Post...

‘Riots Everywhere’ by Jeff Kemper, After Hank Snow’s ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’

The Society
July 11, 2021
Culture, Music, Poetry
28 Comments
. The below poem is a memoir of the summer of 2020, to be sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Everywhere,” with apologies to Geoff Mack and Hank Snow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6JSfp6Az3k . I was...

‘Dirge for a Dying Diva’ and Other Sonnets by Lionel Willis

The Society
July 10, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
12 Comments
. Dirge for a Dying Diva Who’s alive now who ever heard the voice That once adorned La Scala and The Met, A native of this land where we forget Artists quicker than books or melted ice? The wonder of her...

‘Sequoia Forests, Plexiglass, and Masks’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
July 9, 2021
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. This poem is inspired by a column in The Epoch Times written by John Falce, entitled “The Experience of Freedom” The rugged beauty of our land’s terrain Is varied, airy, beautiful, and wide, Reflecting...

‘The Best and Worst of Times’ by Cheryl Corey’

The Society
July 9, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Best and Worst of Times “It was the best of times, it was …” but how Can anyone forget those words once pearled By Dickens so very long ago; and now, Do we ourselves not live in such a...

A Poem on the Miss Nevada Contest Winner: ‘Disengendered’ by Michael Curtis

The Society
July 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. She is not a she in the Silver State. Never shall be. In the bones of her heart He will ever be he, unwombed by fate, Crafted by lies, makeup, the surgeon's art... __A petal falls, a stem is cut, a...

‘From the Bay of Naples’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. From the Bay of Naples To Titus Caesar and the Senate, Hail! Gaius Pliny brings you news most dire From Naples where your frightened people quail; Vesuvius has turned to molten fire! Pompeii is buried....

Review: ‘Light In the Darkness—The Poetry of Peter Hartley’

The Society
July 7, 2021
Clerihew, Essays, Poetry, Reviews
19 Comments
Reviewed Book: Light In the Darkness—The Poetry of Peter Hartley, Dunecrest Press, 2021. by James A. Tweedie Peter Hartley writes poems. Good poems. Poems that sing, dance, and soar with the rhyme and...

‘Hunter Biden, New Millennial American Painter’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
July 6, 2021
Art, Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. Hunter Biden, New Millennial American Painter “It’s Generic Post Zombie Formalism Illustration”  ---Jerry Saltz “a…vaguely psychedelic vibe…Tomaselli…for dermatologist waiting rooms”...

Two Poems on Amber, by Margaret Coats

The Society
July 6, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. Amber Song I come from amber, Baltic gold, A gem but not a stone, And not a thousand ages old, A girl from pine sap grown, When fully cured, of warm physique And vibrant to the touch, A little sunshine...

A Poem in Memory Johnny Cash: ‘June’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
July 5, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
37 Comments
. June in memory of Johnny Cash (1932--2003) Johnny was no average guy, __The troubled man in black. His life, by evil, went awry, __And loving brought it back. The radio and Mama’s hymns __Filled up his...

‘Bird of Prey’ by Raymond Gallucci

The Society
July 5, 2021
Humor, Poetry
9 Comments
. In present, past and future, My parrot’s quite a moocher. She’ll eat whatever suits her __No matter whose it is. If what you’re eating tempts her, There’s nothing that preempts her From thinking...

‘Fireworks’ by Adam Sedia

The Society
July 4, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The roar of battle rends the moonlit skyWith distant thunder as of cannons booming.And bursting, crashing, popping salvos flyAbove the roar, the whirr of rockets zooming. The din deceives, for when it yields...

‘July Fourth, 2021’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 4, 2021
Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. Do you know as twilight gleams with showers; Fluorescent flowers, that rocket-red-glare flare, Wowing with their pyrotechnic powers That bloom then boom like bombs that burst in air And spangle white hot...

A Poem for Independence Day, July 4th, 2021, by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
July 3, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. The Future's Illumined by the Deeds of the Past inspired by a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville The future’s illumined by deeds of the past. Without history into darkness we’re cast To walk aimlessly, to...

‘Give It a Try’ by Amanda Hall

The Society
July 3, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
26 Comments
. Nothing’s had by show of fear, When another way is clear: Courage to pursue the best When one’s met with Nature’s test. Can one sell a good or skill Fighting hard and oft uphill? Does one have the...

Four Poems Possibly Written by Someone Else, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
July 2, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
. On Death and Life not by John Milton Ere Death’s foul fetters drag me to my tombAs fodder for the very maw of hell,Should not my weary, failing soul rebelAnd seek release from sin’s eternal doom? For...

A Review of James B. Nicola’s ‘Fires of Heaven’

The Society
July 2, 2021
Essays, Poetry, Reviews
7 Comments
Fires of Heaven, published by Shanti Arts, 2020, can be purchased here. by James Sale James B. Nicola is one of America’s brightest poetry stars. His poetry is restless, searching, and soaring. There is,...

A Planned Parenthood Version of ‘I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General,’ by Julian Woodruff

The Society
July 1, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlTisI_HSgw . The Head of Health and Human Services after W.S. Gilbert’s “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” We are the very humble head of Health and...

A Poem on Nevertire, New South Wales, Australia, by David Watt

The Society
July 1, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
. What’s In a Name? Useless Loop is a small town in Western Australia. Nevertire and Come By Chance are both located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. There’s a place I yearn to live in, before...

A Poem for Illinois Poet Laureate Angela Jackson and Other Freestylers, by Joseph Mason

The Society
June 30, 2021
Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry
22 Comments
. Ferdinand the Freestyler Angela Jackson is the Poet Laureate of Illinois and Jacqueline Jackson is a poet frequently published by Illinois Times. As I sit here chillin' and relaxin',There's some questions I...

‘The Carnelian Ring: A Still-Life’ by Joseph S. Salemi, and ‘A Note on the Objective Correlative’

The Society
June 29, 2021
Art, Beauty, Blank Verse, Essays, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Carnelian Ring: A Still-Life Footfalls echo in the memoryDown the passage which we did not takeTowards the door we never openedInto the rose-garden. —T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton I think of a walled...
poem/arredondo/niobe tears/crying

‘The Weight of a Tear’ by David D. Irby

The Society
June 29, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
. A teardrop's such a little thing, __and yet its burden varies depending on the weight of the __emotions that it carries. One's tears of joy are very light, __yet tears of grief are heavy. And tears of love...

‘Ill Wind’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 28, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. Ill Wind The wind, no friend, assaults us so unkindly And suffers nothing to abate its force, Though boys who fly their kites adore it blindly, As if it were a deity from Norse Mythology.  For those of us...

A Poem on Father Francis Gloudeman of California, by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 28, 2021
Culture, Poetry
38 Comments
. A Sign of the Spirit Poet’s note: These heroic couplets paraphrase the conclusion of a recent sermon for which the preacher, Father Francis Gloudeman, was expelled by Bishop Alberto Rojas of San...

Society of Classical Poets Journal IX Published

The Society
June 27, 2021
From the Society, Poetry
3 Comments
. The Society of Classical Poets Journal IX has been published. It features poetry selected from poetry published on the SCP website between February 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021. It also features exquisite...

‘A Prayer from Babel’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 27, 2021
Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. Set forth your true and lively word, O Lord, Amidst this false and deadly earthen tongue With which we are surrounded. For a horde Of men with senseless syllables comes among Us, trampling down your truth,...

‘Nil by Mouth’ by S.A. Todd

The Society
June 26, 2021
Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. All criticism of me is now hate speech, not "opinion"--- A forced agreement tyranny, for good. A new dominion where intersectionality has purged the vile before Their upturned faces paving our safe spaces...

‘Inevitable’ by Norma Pain

The Society
June 26, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
. My eyes espied a little bird And in his mouth… a little worm, That screamed a scream but no one heard. To mourn a worm is quite absurd, I guess his life had come to term. That little bird… he sang a...

‘Pride Month’ by Sarban Bhattacharya

The Society
June 25, 2021
Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. To take a walk each day is good of course, But not in June, beware, for this I know: The youngsters march in rallies loud and hoarse, You might be asked to join their pretty show. If you refuse there is no...

Longfellow’s ‘The Arrow and the Song’ Put to Music by Gunny Markefka

The Society
June 25, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
4 Comments
. Listen to "Arrow Song" by Gunny Markefka, with lyrics from Longfellow. "Arrow Song" is from his album Arrow Songs, which features songs with lyrics from Shakespeare, Blake, Cowper, Milton, Byron, and...

Poetry Challenge: A ‘Raven’-like Poem on the Death of Edgar Allan Poe

The Society
June 24, 2021
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests, The Raven
32 Comments
. Edgar Allan Poe was known for strange and mysterious tales, in poetry and prose. Perhaps fittingly, the circumstances surrounding his premature death at the age of 40 were also strange and mysterious. (Read...

‘The Hanging Tree’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
June 24, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. The Hanging Tree The story of these bones is clear--- More than one deer was butchered here, Hung from this limb then skinned and bled By him the hunter, long since dead. Look yonder as the crow does...

‘A Progressive Englishman Speaks to Jews’ by Damian Robin

The Society
June 23, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
. In black and white terms, I would say, __You’re all more white than olive, Take Einstein, Rothschild, Proust, Bizet--- __all Western, bourgeois, stolid. Sephardic or Mizrahi breeds, __Hasidic,...

‘The Blackbird’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
June 23, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
18 Comments
. . The Blackbird So what can make this joyous songbird sing That cannot but proclaim its blackbirdhood? In fairest weather and in foul it could Convey nought but the utmost joys of spring. So fling right...

Fairytales in the Age of Transgenderism: Two Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 22, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle
22 Comments
. Grimm   The days of steering princesses from danger With sweet salvation’s life-sustaining kiss From shining-armored knight or regal stranger Are now considered horribly remiss. Young damsels in...
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