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Home
Poetry

‘Therapy’: A Poem by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
June 30, 2025
Culture, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
. Therapy ---After "Help! I Can’t Stop Speaking in Iambic!" by Cynthia Erlandson Help! I can’t stop writing psychobabble!No matter what I pen, it comes out gabble. I scribble nonsense verses all the...

‘Every Square Inch’: A Poem by Frank Rable

The Society
June 29, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Every Square Inch Her every square inch, her breath, and her voice, In all this and more my soul can rejoice. The beat from her heart, the wink from her eye, The times she is bold, and then she is shy. The...

Two Poems on Cardinals, by T.M. Moore

The Society
June 29, 2025
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
9 Comments
. Cardinals The cardinal is my favorite bird.They mate for life, or so I’ve heard.You hear them sing antiphonally—it’s like a game they play, you see,because they like to keep in touch.But be apart?...

Report on Results of the SCP Survey of Poets

The Society
June 28, 2025
From the Society, Poetry
11 Comments
. Report on Results of the SCP Survey of Poets by Roy E. Peterson and Evan Mantyk The survey had 60 respondents, about 1/3rd of them were SCP Members. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of basic...

SCP Poetry Competition Winners’ Symposium—You’re Invited! (Updated with Link)

The Society
June 28, 2025
From the Society, Poetry, Readings
3 Comments
. The SCP Poetry Competition Winners’ Symposium Join the Symposium here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4772266878?pwd=V0lGeUFuSGFkeExOaTM4NlZ6NWRlUT09   You're Invited!  Who: Everyone is invited to attend,...

‘Rolling the Dice’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
June 28, 2025
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Rolling the Dice “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist.” ---Stephen Hawking, The Grand Design At the start of creation, before...
poem/bonham/culture

‘A Whale Is a Whale’: A Poem after Ogden Nash, by Jonathan Bear

The Society
June 27, 2025
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
. A Whale is a Whale ---after Ogden Nash While laughing aloud at Ogden's smart rhymes, I was struck by a way to interpret his lines. Though Nash's reputation was not as a Buddhist, An ode to signlessness might...

‘Hope’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
June 27, 2025
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Hope ---in homage to Langston Hughes Hold steadfastly to hopeFor if hope should subsideLife’s a slippery slopeWhere dreams only collide. . . Equal Wisdom I dreamed of the ability_To say things that were...

‘Dad and I’ and Other Poems by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 26, 2025
Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
. Dad and I Our sessions last an hour or two at most, for we get through them just as fast as can be managed, trying not to stir the ghost of hurts supposed to help me be a man. When Dad was young, he knew...

‘Rodrigo’s Lament’: A Poem by Damon Rose

The Society
June 26, 2025
Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Rodrigo’s Lament The legendary knight El Cid duels with his fiancé’s father. His rasping knavish voice profanes my good name. It grates my ears, now content I am no more To let insult to me like this...

‘New York, New York’: A Poem on the NYC Mayor Race, by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 25, 2025
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. New York, New York “Give up Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island too…” (with apologies to Rodgers & Hart) How many songs about New York are in my repertoire?I don’t think I can sing them now....

‘A Sonnet for My One True Love’ and Other Poetry by Aaron Nydegger

The Society
June 25, 2025
Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Sonnet for My One True Love Forever let the night go on and on, My body to your softness gently pressed, Nor let the touch of shameful, blushing dawn, Wake me, part us, and end a lover’s rest. How I...

‘Gruesome’: A Poem on the LA Riots of 2025, by Adam Wasem

The Society
June 24, 2025
Poetry, Satire
17 Comments
. Gruesome Grinning Gavin smooths his tie, Makes sure he’s framed against blue sky. He pats his hair—one’s out of place; He frowns to note there’s still a trace Of imperfection in his mien, But knows...

A Poem on John Duns Scotus, by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
June 24, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Doctor Subtilis ---Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265--1308) A proud and canny Scot from Duns am I, an infant when Franciscans reached our coast. These friars gave me tools to weigh the why of doctrines puzzling...

‘Another Species’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
June 23, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Another Species Each time you felt some shame you could confess The sins you had committed, but instead You whispered a revision, something less In someone’s ear in yet another bed. That is to say, you...

‘Six’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

The Society
June 23, 2025
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
9 Comments
. Six Bitter were the crimson seeds, Beautiful they were to me, Sparkling like ruby beads, In his palm of ivory. Dark they were to look upon, Rivers rushing down to mix: Phlegethon and Acheron, Lethe, Cocytus,...

‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ by Rilke and ‘Reconciliation’ by Goethe, Translated by Josh Olson

The Society
June 22, 2025
Ekphrastic, Music, Poetry, Translation
9 Comments
. Archaic Torso of Apollo by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) translated from German by Josh Olson We cannot know that enigmatic head in which his eyes once ripened. Even so, his torso bears a candelabra...

‘The Prayer Blanket’: A Poem Based on the Real Experience of Tim Cassar

The Society
June 22, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Prayer Blanket ---as related to me by my friend Tim Cassar, who recently survived a brain cancer operation by Brian Yapko The paramedics came. They took my friend To where there was no earthly pain or...

The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

The Society
June 21, 2025
Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
76 Comments
. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate,...

‘Together’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 21, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
24 Comments
. Together The windows of our dawning day_Let light in through the dew,But outdoors ambling in cool air,_I knew that I’d find you. Close comfort, venturing apart,_We played our separate games,Dreaming the...

‘I Would Say Yes’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan

The Society
June 20, 2025
Humor, Love Poems, Pantoum, Poetry, Villanelle
15 Comments
. I Would Say Yes ---a villanelle for Larry on our 36th Anniversary We were young and rather stupid then, But still I see that we were meant to be. I would say yes a thousand times again. From the first...

‘The Comings and Goings of Heaven and Earth’: A Poem by David L. Williams

The Society
June 20, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
. The Comings and Goings of Heaven and Earth Clouds’ movement in the sky, the sight of birds, phenomena that draw an upward glance, may sometimes leave us at a loss for words, uncertain if we’ll get...
poetry/mantyk/don quixote

‘Tilted Tales’: Three Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 19, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Triolet, Villanelle
21 Comments
. Clueless ---a villanelle How can I tell what is and isn’t true In daffy days that stupefy the wise? I’m sifting through the chaos for a clue. As brain cells dwindle to a fruitless few All down to AI’s...
poem/anderson/beauty

‘Enigma’: A Poem by Steve Cooper

The Society
June 19, 2025
Love Poems, Poetry, Shape Poems
5 Comments
. . . Steve Cooper is a retired professional career counselor. He lives near Salem, Oregon. He has one traditionally published picture book on Amazon, Don’t Eat Your Seed Corn, and several of his pieces...

‘Periwinkle’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
June 18, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Periwinkle Don't know that I was on the spectrum, no, But I was weird. I read too much and played Pretend too much. My mind too often strayed To places so interior they’d glow With something strange and...

‘A Winter’s Tale’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
June 18, 2025
Children's, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. A Winter's Tale There’re many strange and spooky tales, That come from England’s hills and dales. When Winter tightens up its grip, As feet and fingers start to slip. For on a cold December day, I...

‘Get Along, Little DOGE-ie’ and Other Social Commentary Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
June 17, 2025
Poetry, Satire
19 Comments
. Get Along, Little DOGE-ie Should come a day my fortunes be increased, It’s guaranteed such bounty will be fleeced. For government, like vacuum cleaners, sucks, And takes one-sixth of all my hard-earned...

‘Salmon Skin’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

The Society
June 17, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. Salmon Skin _Laid temptingly Upon a china dish, _Poached perfectly, A long, pink flank of fish. _Its scents amaze. Fork poised to dig right in, _I stop and gaze, Fixated on its skin: _Smooth gradient From...

‘What Is a Man?’: A Poem by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 16, 2025
Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. What Is a Man? “Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child?” ---Jeremiah 30: 6 The prophet’s statement clearly is sarcastic; That men cannot birth children is well-known. But now...

‘Everyday Care’: A Poem by David Ram

The Society
June 16, 2025
Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Everyday Care PCA: personal care assistant When the latest PCA discovers wet towels in the washer, a baguette inside its paper sleeve on the parquet and cat pee in the foyer, she hovers beside the leather...

A Poem for Father’s Day: ‘The Weight of a Father’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 15, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
30 Comments
. The Weight of a Father . I. The Smell of Sawdust On bawling-brother, busy-mother days, The saint who slew the dragons in her dream Whisked her through the fuss-and-fluster maze To realms where fathers shine...

‘Shakespeare’ and Other Poetry by Lee Evans

The Society
June 15, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Shakespeare
13 Comments
. Shakespeare The Master strolled upon the beach, __And stooped to find Among the shells washed up in heaps, __Mere husks of Mind— Selecting them to suit his sense __Of what would score To entertain an...

‘Florida Beach Vacation 2025’: A Poem by Evan Mantyk

The Society
June 14, 2025
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Florida Beach Vacation 2025 They buried me in pale white sand. _They took away my phone. The mouse was wrested from my hand _And now I’m all alone. Swift salty tears of Oceanus _Comingle with my...

‘Term Limits’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
June 14, 2025
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Term Limits Without term limits, nothing prevents the eruption of bribery, graft, and unbridled corruption. Too few of our founders felt our preservation depended on forced periodic rotation. Our lives are...

‘When the Child Appears’: A Poem by Victor Hugo, Translated by Bruce Phenix

The Society
June 13, 2025
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
8 Comments
. When the Child Appears by Victor Hugo (1802-1885)translated from French by Bruce Phenix When the child appears, the family’s loud praiseBursts out in claps and shouting. His sweet, bright gaze__Makes...

‘Boomerang’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
June 13, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Satire
24 Comments
. Boomerang He was a very handsome guy, Cute girls would stick to him like glue, And his interest in them was high, But only for a night or two. Eventually he settled down, A pretty young wife came one...
poem/erlandson/culture

‘Ode to Chronic Pain’ and Other Poetry by Dan Davis

The Society
June 12, 2025
Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Ode to Chronic Pain I curse your name and spit as you supply these diverse proofs that I am not divine— and yet I should embrace you for the same, so keep me still and resting, Faithful Pain. . . The...

‘Reading in Bed’ and Other Poems by Martin Briggs

The Society
June 12, 2025
Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Reading in Bed Crowded years from now, and late one wintry night, a certain turn of phrase or trick of poetry will summon me. Pillowed in the warm lamplight perhaps you’ll look up from your book, and,...

‘Stealthy Slayer’: A Riddle by Asther Kane

The Society
June 11, 2025
Poetry, Riddles
12 Comments
. Stealthy Slayer Stealthy slayer, murderous sneak, A crafty trick, or lifeless freak--- I slip behind your walls unseen Despite the guards whose eyes are keen To spot, to seize the crafty foe, Whose guise...

‘Durus Frater, Alma Mater’ and Other Poems by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 11, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
. Durus Frater, Alma Mater Spring forward to where former arch-rivals Fall back on tall stories of the travels They enjoyed after two years of college, Before graduation sealed the knowledge Of how little...
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  1. Jeff Minick on ‘Therapy’: A Poem by Mary Jane MyersJune 30, 2025

    Hilarious and brilliant. I broke out laughing in the coffee shop where I sometimes write.

  2. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Therapy’: A Poem by Mary Jane MyersJune 30, 2025

    A nice collection of psychobabble terminology. I find it good practice to get up and walk away whenever someone uses…

  3. James A. Tweedie on Report on Results of the SCP Survey of PoetsJune 30, 2025

    In support of Milton et al, I shall be submitting another blank verse poem forthwith!

  4. Snigdha Agrawal on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJune 30, 2025

    bow-tie neatly pinned his love pre-tied and fastened all through the season's ---- broken hornet's nest sting in his words…

  5. Warren Bonham on ‘Therapy’: A Poem by Mary Jane MyersJune 30, 2025

    I'll add more applause so you can claim your well-deserved bliss. No misses with your couplets here.

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