Children's

. The First Fallen Leaf A single leaf begins to fall. He wants to be the first of all. His brethren strain to join his fun. For now he’s still the only one. He floats and sways inside the breeze, but,...

. Leave Above the land, suspended, green and grand and splendid, we furnish food for trees, whisper with the breeze till cold winds bluster in and we turn harlequin. Now that we’re on the ground, you tote...

. Beauty Flowers are the faded stars that fall from silver skies, Raindrops are the sacred tears that leak from angel eyes. The wind is but a melody the gods bestow to earth, The sunrise is an ember that has...

. The Stoat and the Old Goat This tale concerns a little stoat, With eyes of black and velvet coat, Who frolicked in the virgin snow, Above the village down below. This little chap, so short and lean, He...

. Probing for the Problematic Polyp Bob was testy yesterday. __A fractious, famished fellow. You would be, too, if all that you __consumed was juice and Jell-O. He downed the colon cleansing drink. __The...

. . Poetry for Children by Shaun C. Duncan . To speak of poetry for children might appear redundant at first. With rhymed and metered poetry hounded out of every "respectable" corner of the literary...

. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/87O4CNfrZ2M https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ufJcOO-y7Ho?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GG9J2oEEiyY?feature=share . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and...

. Poet Paul A. Freeman challenges you to write a nursery rhyme in the style of the Mother Goose classic "Jack and Jill." Below is his model example. Post yours in the comments below. . Nigel Neath Nigel...

. Belling the Cat The mice called a council to try to defeat A troublesome cat who would ruthlessly eat Any mouse in the house that she happened to meet. A young mouse spoke first. “Pay attention to...

. The Boy Who Cried Wolf Once there lived a shepherd boy who Despised his dull profession. His job was to alert the town When wolves would show aggression. One Saturday in late July, He thought it would be...

. The Outing . I Miss Deidre Ealing of Tiny Tots School, A woman who'd never be anyone's fool, Observing her charges like little buds sprouting, Decided the next day they'd go on an outing. Departure was...

. The Tortoise and the Hare in limericks A tortoise and hare were a-talkin’. Said Hare: “Why, your slowness is shockin’! __If we ran a race, __You’d be a disgrace. I’d win, even if I were...

. The Number 44: The Cookery Class Now, this is a tale of a cookery class; It happened in Battersea early one March. The teacher was Jane who though barely thirteen Already sought fame as a culinary...

. The Adventures of Verb At six, I had a dictionary Where I would meet a man named Verb, Superb and quite extraordinary, In every definition’s blurb, Right at the finish, did while doing, For example:...

. Runway Ready An Anorectic at a Playground . Scrawny, lean and teen Miss Annie sat upon her bony fanny, straddled ‘cross a teeter-totter, filling up on Fibre Water. From above, bungeed a spider, claimed...

. The Number 165: Emily Hyatt A Cautionary Tale . Now this is a story that all those should heed Who think the sole gustatory pitfall is greed. For hear now what happened to Emily Hyatt Whose pleasure by...

. Matters of Class . Saying hello The modest o’s the most polite of letters; But is he facing up today or down? Each day he questions those he calls his betters In order so he knows to smile or frown. A...

. The Number 151: Teatime in Cheam A Cautionary Tale . Now this is a story of two little girls; The older had pigtails, the younger one curls. They lived in the wonderful village of Cheam And both were...

. Columbus by Joaquin Miller (1837-1913) Behind him lay the gray Azores , Behind the Gates of Hercules; Before him not the ghost of shores, Before him only shoreless seas. The good mate said: “Now must we...

. A Few Special Letters . The mother goddess The m’s the mother goddess of the letters: Her shape exemplifies the female form. A bosom there for some, a bottom others; For warmth and comfort is...

. The Number 274: Timothy Pugh Now this is the story of Timothy Pugh Who woke up one morning in Regent's Park Zoo. He couldn’t recall what had happened before, Nor how he had boarded the 274. He couldn’t...

. The Mystery of Poetry The mystery of poetry __is found between the lines. The poet sends the signals while __the sentence shows the signs. Alliterative artifices __alert the adept minds. The power of each...

. The Tragedy of the p and the q . Lovers in eternity The p and q were two eternal lovers Who faced each other in the alphabet. To all else lost, oblivious of others, The ideal Romeo and Juliet. But though...

. The Number 17: Ondine and Lucien’s Great Adventure;  Or, The Kind that Can Float from The Bus Poems: A Tale of the Devil, currently in preparation. Now this is a tale of two very good friends; They lived...

. Poet Tree Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter narrative poem. In this excerpt, the adolescent hero Abelbee, who has to venture deep into the Great Wood to find wise Vallenbee, arrives at...

. The Number 128: The Picnic “Let’s go on a picnic,” the older one said; “We’ll take tins of salmon and slices of bread.” “We’ll set up a table away from the trees” “And sit in the sunshine...

. A Wild Horse Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter narrative poem written by Michael Pietrack. In this excerpt, the young and fearful protagonist Abelbee receives guidance from his father,...

. The Snuff Box from a true story told in My Mother by Fr. Bernard Vaughan (1847-1922) When I was just a little boy, My mother served us shepherd’s pie. We thirteen children sniffed with joy, With statue...

. SCP Members and readers are invited by poet Michael Pietrack to his Virtual Launch Party on Saturday, January 21 at 12 Noon EST.  The book---Legacy: The Saga Begins---is a complete novel-length adventure...

  The Players Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter narrative poem that is set to launch on January 21, 2023. This is an excerpt from Chapter 11 in which Vallenbee the Wise speaks to the main character,...

. Night Visitor Between the ticking of the clock I thought I heard a haunting knock. I pondered what I thought I heard, "Perhaps the tapping of a bird?" The hearth was warm and so was I, Until a cold draft...

. I Sailed Away to Ancient Greece I sailed away to ancient Greece In search of Jason’s golden fleece. I climbed aboard the Argonaut, But could not find the fleece I sought. Odysseus was waiting there And...

. Green Energy with apologies to Dr. Seuss I do not like green energy Don’t subsidize it, AOC. I do not like it in the dark, My solar panels will not spark. I do not like it with no breeze, Wind generators...

. The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, falls on Sept. 10 this year. A common tradition is to read riddles hung from lanterns while under the moonlight. The holiday usually corresponds to the harvest...

. Dog Tired, Cat on Top The cat sat on the mat, Been there, seen that. The cat sat on the chair, Seen that, been there. The cat sat on the dog, Well, that’s odd. The dog snored on the floor, Tell us...

. The Spoonerisms Man, or The Moonerisms Span His name was Mr. Spooner and he owned a service station. He kept our vehicles on the road, a noble occupation. So handy with the oily rag, the torque wrench and...

. 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...

. The Twins _Said one foot to the other, _“Please don’t nag, you’re not my mother, I am sick to death of listening to your woes. _You lament you’re always tired, _Whereas I am always wired, Quit...

. The Obsession of Emily Rose (A Cautionary Tale) Emily-May Matilda Rose, from the age of three, Acquired the habit of picking her nose wherever she might be. Though otherwise a child of whom her parents...

.   The Pear Pit I fell into a pear pitupon a summer’s day.I fell into a pear pitand whiled the time away. How sad will be the hunter,as sad as he can be,finding not a pitted pearbut finding only...