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      The Society
      October 10, 2019
      Beauty, Poetry
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      June 20, 2025
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      June 20, 2025
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      ‘Enigma’: A Poem by Steve Cooper

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      June 19, 2025
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    • Announcing the 2019 Poetry Competition Winners

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      February 1, 2019
      Education, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
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      March 31, 2025
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      February 1, 2025
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Author The Society

The Society

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

Poetry on the CCP Virus (Covid-19), Including Peter Austin Sonnets

The Society
May 4, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
5 Comments
  Dear Governor, by C.B. Anderson Reopen every workplace, pretty please; Your "cure" has proven worse than the disease. Your lockdown's brought the people to their knees, And now they live in fear...

On Oxford University’s Classics Department Proposing to Drop Homer and Virgil, by Ted Hayes

The Society
May 4, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Homer, Poetry
10 Comments
  Oxford "University"? Its preference now: diversity. The Homers, Ovids, Virgils--- Now peanuts for the squirrels! This "school" now gives instruction In Western Civ destruction The classics?...

‘Approaching Storm, Night’ and Other Poems on Spring by Adam Sedia

The Society
May 3, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
  Spring Snow Tyrant Winter reaches __Beyond its frozen tomb, Dares cast its icy mantle __On bud and crocus-bloom. Long it reigned unchallenged __In dark and cold and ice; Thwarted now, it hurls...

A Poem on the Russian Submarine Kursk and Other Poetry by Rod Walford

The Society
May 2, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
7 Comments
Deep Regrets Dedicated to the memory of the 118 men of the Russian submarine Kursk, which exploded and sank in the Barents Sea on August 12th 2000. The protocols of men of power; Agendas passed in...

Three Poems on Spring by C.B. Anderson

The Society
May 1, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
  The Onus of Vernal Duty Surrounding fields and woods unfreeze, The air once more is filled with light, As springtime’s blanket amnesties Dispel the winter’s cheerless night. So long you’ve...

Online SCP Poetry Symposium 2020 – “A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme”

The Society
May 1, 2020
From the Society, Readings, Symposium
8 Comments
Due to the unprecedented circumstances regarding the CCP virus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Symposium has been moved online. The details of the event have been adjusted.   Sunday May 31, 2020 Session 1: 12...

A Sonnet on President Donald J. Trump, by Evan Mantyk

The Society
April 30, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
18 Comments
  Donald J. Trump They laugh at him and sneer as if his lack Of faith in modernism’s unholy gods Can justify each Philistine attack And drown out facts with which they are at odds. Yet from...

‘Human Beings Being Human’ by David L. Hatton

The Society
April 30, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  It takes patience to learn patience; It takes courage to be brave. One must first find mental freedom To no longer be a slave. Only faith can make us faithful; Truth alone can make us true. Life...

‘Vermont in April’ by T.M. Moore

The Society
April 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
  Vermont in April doesn’t seem to know quite how to dress. She thinks she ought to wear bright, flowery things, and yet, she cannot tear herself away from all the clothes that go with winter....

‘Diomedes Speaks’ by James Sale

The Society
April 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
We meet Diomedes, the Greek hero of Troy, trapped in a flame with Odysseus in Canto 26 of Dante’s Inferno. Odysseus speaks but Diomedes remains silent. Here, ironically, he speaks through his...

‘Winter’s Breath’ and Other Poetry by Angel L. Villanueva

The Society
April 28, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  Winter's Breath The sudden chill of winter's sigh Caresses me when autumn flees. My meager warmth she tries to pry, While planting kisses cold and dry; With icy breath she starts to tease. I'm...

A ‘Mock Praise Hymn’ for Zimbabwean Leader Robert Mugabe (1924-2019), by Sheri-Ann O’Shea

The Society
April 27, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
"Winner: Humanitarian Award" Mugabe’s universally adored. He made his people multi-millionaires--- Zim dollars are the answer to their prayers. Champion of the poor, the sick, the old; A veritable...

‘Eyes Right’ by David Whippman

The Society
April 26, 2020
Beauty, Poetry
5 Comments
  They march in an imaginary parade, All of the dear ones I have ever known, Relatives, friends, impressively arrayed, Saluting them, I stand here all alone. This is no show of military...

Poems on Life During CCP Virus (COVID-19) Lockdown

The Society
April 25, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry
31 Comments
  The Back-to-Work Protesters Limerick by Mark F. Stone Our minders with power and pensions can rob our hopes, while the Fourth Estate calls us a "mob." They would be less scornful and also more...

‘Beyond His Ken’ and Other Poetry by Peter Austin

The Society
April 25, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
  Beyond His Ken based on a true story The plane was in the skies above Beijing When, let us call her Joy, a stewardess With China Eastern Airlines, saw the ring And heard the heartfelt words, and...

‘Basho’s Frog’ by Conor Kelly

The Society
April 24, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  That day a dark, vermillion, winter sky, like a Turner water-colour, was seen reflected in an old pond where, nearby, the poet Basho watched a small, unclean and speckled frog jump in the evening...

A Poem for St. George’s Day 2020, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
April 23, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
32 Comments
  For England & St. George In praise let’s raise our flagons to the conqueror of dragons to the Saint who fought for all he thought was fair. Let’s fly our flags and bellow for that bold,...

‘Golf’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
April 23, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
1 Comment
  Golf My friends love golf so much But I do not share the allure. There’re many other ways for me To function like manure.     It’s Love Last night we watched old videos Our...

‘The Statutes of Liberty’ by Martin Hill Ortiz

The Society
April 22, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
  The statue stands and holds aloft her torch, the Kalahari moon, the Northern Star. A lantern glimmers on a Southern porch; a balefire beacon signals war. These are unbroken shafts of light...

‘Earth Day 2020’ and Other CCP Virus (COVID-19) Poetry

The Society
April 21, 2020
Covid-19, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry, The Environment
12 Comments
Earth Day 2020 Poet's Note: April 22 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Earth Day is an annual celebration on which events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for “environmental protection.”...

‘The Watchskulls of Erringtide’ by Joe Spring

The Society
April 21, 2020
Beauty, Poetry
140 Comments
  Seven skulls sit side-by-side atop the wall of Erringtide. Their salted sockets watch the wide expanse of waves within which hide the devils Marax, sixes each who’d seek to storm the sandy...

‘Puzzle Box’ by Mathew Wenham

The Society
April 20, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
  The empty sonnet frame’s a puzzle box into whose elaborate maze ideas are dropped. They press its walls and work to plot a path through dark till final light appears. Escape demands ideas adapt...

‘Sonora: The Desert’ and Other Poetry by John Marmaro

The Society
April 19, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
  Sonora: The Desert Harsh sunlight beats upon the thirsty land And glares upon the limestone cliffs and sand, While waves of heat rise shimmering, above The parched loam where the great saguaros...

Three Poems on Spring, by Martin Rizley

The Society
April 18, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
The March of Spring O, hear the bold approach of spring, who marches, stamping, blowing! He startles all the birds that sing above the fast streams flowing. They take to wing and soar on high Where white...

Poetry from the 2020 Coronavirus Quarantine

The Society
April 17, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle
44 Comments
Mayor Rules Chocolatier "Essential Business" by Mark F. Stone Our craving for chocolate is serious. Deny us and we will be furious. Withholding confections could alter elections for mayors in ways...

‘Saint John Southworth’ by Peter Hartley

The Society
April 17, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
41 Comments
  So here he lies as he has lain in state These ninety years in this cathedral crypt At Westminster. We come to venerate The relics of a martyr: his heart, ripped Out of his chest at Tyburn for a...

‘Tongues Spin and Weave’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
April 16, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
  Tongues Spin and Weave Tongues spin and weave their sophistry, a slick and silken tapestry, from golden throne and ivory tower and each elitist seat of power through labyrinths of history. Such...

‘What If My Time’ and Other Poetry by Theresa Rodriguez

The Society
April 15, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
  What If My Time What if my time is limited? if all That I have left is perhaps months, not years, All laden with the worries and the fears Surrounding what is death. Can I recall A time when all...

Life Under Quarantine: CCP Virus (COVID-19) Poetry

The Society
April 14, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
Costume Parties by Fiat? by Julian Woodruff ‘Round nearly vacant lots The cars grow fewer still. No traffic tied in knots, No malls in which to mill. The numbers in the market Are smaller day by...

‘Alexander’ by Daniel Kemper

The Society
April 14, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
  As Alexander rose upon a hill, somewhere east of King Darius’s dust, at once a pure, serene and awful still undoes the man. For conquer all he must, but what is next? What if the field be...

‘Sonnet of the Silent Voice’ and Other Poetry by Gregory Ross

The Society
April 14, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
2 Comments
  Sonnet of the Silent Voice Unbounded power marks a tyrant’s choice: He chains the infants up to keep his throne, Refusing freedom to the silent voice. Thus, he neglects his seeds that were once...

New Sally Cook Art Exhibit Can Be Visited Virtually

The Society
April 13, 2020
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
  The painter and poet Sally Cook has a new exhibition at UB Art Galleries. Because of the current coronavirus pandemic, UB Art Galleries has put the entire exhibition online so that you can actually...

A Verse Translation of Piers Plowman C, Passus XV, lines 62-105

The Society
April 13, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
6 Comments
  Translation by David O'Neil Translator’s note: Piers Plowman is a late medieval allegorical narrative poem, believed to be authored by William Langland, which describes several visions experienced...

Poems for Easter Sunday 2020

The Society
April 12, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
  Easter by Joe Tessitore Behind the stone of timeless wait He rose alone despite its weight and strode from darkness into light; Eternal Day dispelling night.   Like Christ and...

A Poem by an Emergency Physician and Other CCP Virus (COVID-19) Poetry

The Society
April 11, 2020
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
  Dulcius Ex Asperis by Andrew Ross Invisible and terrible A virus stalks the land. It floats across the atmosphere And moves from man to man. A tickle in the throat perhaps, A muted sneeze to...

Ecclesiastes 4, Recast in Classical Poetry, by T.M. Moore

The Society
April 11, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terza Rima
6 Comments
  No One to Comfort Them after Ecclesiastes 4 Just look around: Oppression everywhere exists beneath the sun, and the oppressed cry vainly for relief, but who will care? The slaves, the poor, all...

‘Good Friday’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
April 10, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
  Sullen, somber skies— Heavy leaden tears are shed in sorrow. Heaven cries. Thunderous sobbing grief— Thrashing, crashing; Flashing, gnashing; Death defying belief. Salvic memories— Rise...

Translation of Pushkin on Cholera Quarantine and Poetry on the CCP Virus

The Society
April 9, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry, Translation
16 Comments
  Time Is the Measure of Every Pleasure a coronavirus limerick by Mark F. Stone The State took a stand that we practice techniques to maintain our distance and clean till it squeaks. But can such...

Review: ‘The Stargazers,’ A First Book of Poems by James McKee

The Society
April 9, 2020
Essays, Poetry, Reviews
by T.M. Moore James McKee, The Stargazers (Atmosphere Press, 2020), $17.99 James McKee’s inaugural foray into verse publishing offers a panoply of poetic forms, themes, images, and delights. The Stargazers...

‘The Unknown Circle of Hell’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
April 8, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Dante, Epic, Humor, Poetry
28 Comments
  Personae and scene: Vergil and Dante, somewhere in the mid-region of Hell. Dante: Honored Vergil, tell me where we’re going— It’s hard for me to take in what you’re showing Without some...
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