‘The Monkeys and the Dragonflies’ by Terry L. Norton The Society December 28, 2020 Children's, Culture, Poetry 20 Comments adapted from a Filipino folktale __Once, when the sun was at its height, A dragonfly thought she’d alight Upon a branch. The air was hot, And she fatigued. So, on that spot, Under the shade of...
20 Riddles by Evan Mantyk The Society October 23, 2020 Children's, Culture, Poetry, Riddles 42 Comments Post your answers in the comments section below. I. A place that never is in its own place And where it is is where it’s made to be; Not that it’s made from scratch within that space Where traces of...
On Troublemakers: Two Translations from Phaedrus, by Terry L. Norton The Society September 24, 2020 Children's, Culture, Essays, Poetry, Translation 9 Comments On Troublemakers: Two Translations* from the Latin Poet Phaedrus, Freedman of Augustus (first century A.D.) Translator’s Prologue These little tales from ancient Rome Concern those who would foment...
A Cat Monologue by E.V. Wyler The Society September 3, 2020 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 27 Comments 'I Shall A Mighty Hunter Be!' “I shall a mighty hunter be, The King of Kills, by God’s decree! Savannahs always guarantee a vantage camouflaging me. I’ll lie in wait with sharpened...
‘The Wolves and the Sheep’ by Terry L. Norton The Society August 28, 2020 Children's, Culture, Poetry 32 Comments adapted from Babrius, first century A.D., and Jean de La Fontaine, 1621-1695 __At least twelve thousand years (though likely more) Between the wolves and sheep had raged a war, Until the lupine clan...
Poetry Readings from 2020 SCP Symposium – ‘A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme’ (Session II) The Society July 28, 2020 Children's, From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video 1 Comment All of the below poems were read on May 31, 2020 at The Society of Classical Poets Symposium, which was held online due to the pandemic. Below are poems from Session II....
Three Monkey Tales in Poetry, by Terry L. Norton The Society July 27, 2020 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 4 Comments How Monkeys Came to Be adapted from a Palestinian folktale Monkeys and people once were one. For monkeys had from Adam come. As Adam's sons in every way, Those monkeys looked like us today. Yet...
A Rhyme of the Cities The Society July 10, 2020 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 13 Comments Editor’s Note: This poem was originally found in The Pebbles and Shells: A Book of Verses ,1909, edited by Donald Fraser. Another version was published in The Good Humor Book, by Robert Rango,...
A Dizi Gui Translation: Chinese Children’s Poetry The Society June 4, 2020 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Poetry, Translation 9 Comments The Dizi Gui (弟子规) is an ancient Chinese text for children that was written in the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (康熙帝) (1661-1722) by Li Yuxiu. Below are excerpts from the...
‘Mastering Magic’ and Other Poetry by Mike Bryant The Society May 22, 2020 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 20 Comments Mastering Magic Set the questing mind on fire with magic, Learn the ancient lore then follow through. Effortlessness must be automatic, Forcing sorcery will never do. Wizardry well done is...
“A Child’s Winter Inventory” and Other Poetry by Anna J. Arredondo The Society February 5, 2020 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 10 Comments A Child’s Winter Inventory Winter ‘87-’88 Twittering birds; Chattering teeth; Snow coats the trees In an icy sheath. Glittering snow, Bone-chilling breeze; The frost seeps in; Things begin...
Five Translations of Aesop’s Fables (from Phaedrus, First Century AD Latin Poet) The Society November 19, 2019 Beauty, Children's, Classical Literature, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Translation 16 Comments Translations by Terry L. Norton. Original Latin by Phaedrus follows each. The Red Kite and the Doves When doves had from a certain kite fled And by the swiftness of their wings escaped, The wily bird of...
‘Why Pterodactyls Make Great Pets’ by Mark F. Stone The Society October 12, 2019 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 36 Comments Choosing a pet can be vexing and yet it’s important to vet all the choices you’ve got. If you’re in search of a pet who will perch on your silver white birch, it’s the best of the...
A Fairy Tale in Poetry: ‘The Singing Bone,’ by Jan Darling The Society August 20, 2019 Children's, Classical Literature, Culture, Poetry 11 Comments This is a tale of sibling rivalry from the 1812 Brothers Grimm collection of Children’s and Household Tales. Similar stories exist in Danish, English, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Slovinian and...
A Riddle by Brian Douthit The Society July 7, 2019 Children's, Poetry, Riddles 9 Comments Stalks of brown and amber and gold, mighty when young, wither when old. Bleached by the sun and watered daily, Length may distinguish if lord or lady. Post your answer in the comments section...
A Riddle by Horus Hardtke The Society May 24, 2019 Children's, Poetry, Riddles 3 Comments Skin hard as jade, Mouth like a blade, I’m seldom dry, A dross lookst I, And hard to find, But my inside Has hidden treasure For woman’s pleasure. Put your answers in the...
Selected Poems from ‘Journey to the East’ by Evan Mantyk The Society May 13, 2019 Beauty, Children's, Classical Literature, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Short Stories 10 Comments A Journey to the East by Evan Mantyk is a historical and poetical fairytale adventure styled after Journey to the West, by Ming Dynasty writer Wu Cheng’en. The first nine chapters of the former may be read...
‘Lullaby’ by Kim Cherub The Society October 20, 2018 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Poetry 64 Comments Cherubic laugh; sly, impish grin; Angelic face; wild chimp within. It does not matter; sleep awhile As soft mirth tickles forth a smile. Gray moths will hum a lullaby Of feathery wings, then you and...
Three Limericks by Nivedita Karthik The Society October 10, 2018 Children's, Humor, Poetry 11 Comments An acrobat named Larry Loops was best among all circus troupes, But he quit one day and was heard to say, “My boss made me jump all those hoops!” There once was a man from...
‘Check-Mate by a Pawn’ and Other Poetry by Amy Foreman The Society September 20, 2018 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 29 Comments Check-Mate by a Pawn for my sons We parry, thrust: This game of wits, Where each pawn must Deflect your hits. My mounted knight Skips overhead, First back, then right; Your knight is dead. But...
‘The Ballad of the Poor Troubadour’ and Other Poetry by Chris Tessitore The Society August 11, 2018 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 7 Comments The Ballad of the Poor Troubadour I’m past my prime __and I’m out of time— I never made a dime from a rhyme. There ain’t much worse __than an empty purse— I suffered from the curse of the...
‘Bubbles’ by Ann Christine Tabaka The Society April 11, 2018 Beauty, Children's, Poetry 11 Comments Glistening orbs Dance on air Drifting skyward Without a care Iridescent spheres Shimmering bright Reflecting prisms In the sunlight Luminous globes Fragile and frail Constructed of A diaphanous...
‘The Wisest Poem Ever’ by J.J. Bitters The Society March 18, 2018 Beauty, Children's, Poetry 18 Comments The wisest poem ever Was written by my daughter, Although I’ve never known her To be much of a scholar. She’s only five years old now, But wise beyond her years. My daughter wrote a...
‘A Shen Yun Holiday Sonnet’ by Evan Mantyk The Society December 10, 2017 Beauty, Children's, Performing Arts, Poetry 8 Comments When Santa’s sleigh took to the sky, He saw a wonder by him fly: A Chinese Fairy dance on clouds And point to where there gathered crowds; A theater’s lights shone dazzling bright And beckoned him...
‘Grading Gumnuts’ by David Watt The Society September 14, 2017 Children's, Humor, Poetry 4 Comments One afternoon, ‘neath forest tall, where Sunlight dons disguise, I saw a sight few people see (unless they’re telling lies); For under Swamp Mahogany there stood attired in green, An amusing...
‘How Much Wheat Can a Woodchuck Eat?’ by Connie Phillips The Society March 21, 2017 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry How much wheat can a woodchuck eat? Or cabbage, carrots, and peas, Spinach, parsley, peppers, and kale, Tomatoes, lettuce, n’ beans? What if he brings his family n’ friends? A party they will...
‘Darkness’ and Other Poetry by Christine Lawson The Society February 25, 2017 Beauty, Children's, Poetry 2 Comments Darkness No longer did they see the need For things called books they used to read. Music—no longer symphonies, But simple tunes composed with ease. And what of Beauty? What of Grace? They...
‘Where is Alice’ by Paris Michael The Society February 19, 2017 Children's, Poetry 1 Comment Where was it that Alice went, One bright and shining day, A rabbit's lair, beneath the blare, A restless child at play, And where was it that Alice was, To greet a smoking bug, Who's pipe spelled...
‘Time (for Children)’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore The Society February 14, 2017 Beauty, Children's, Poetry 3 Comments Time (for Children) Time flies, as everyone knows and time marches on, as the saying goes and time will stand still now and then when we wish but does time ever swim for fish? And does it swing...
‘Witches’ Brew’ and Other Poetry by Susan Martin The Society December 17, 2016 Children's, Poetry, The Environment 1 Comment Witches’ Brew Round and round the seven seas go, In the putrid poisons throw, Double, double toil and trouble, dolphins die and oceans bubble. Extract of mercury, pcb’s, poison waters by...
‘Kitty’s Crime’ by David Schultz The Society December 12, 2016 Children's, Humor, Poetry Kitty staring at the tipped fishbowl (whoever felled it left not a hair), With no one home, what was, do you think, The mysterious force that toppled it there? I will honestly say I do not...
‘Ice’ and Other Poetry by Michael Curtis The Society August 26, 2016 Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry 3 Comments Ice I open my golden flowing fins, I dance beneath the ice, I dip and twirl and pose and spin: Tell me, don’t I look nice? Look at me! a...