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      The Cultured Hedonist: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      August 13, 2023
      Essays, Poetry
      31 Comments
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Beauty

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Poetry
Beauty

‘The Sky with Birds Just Lately Born’ by Peg Glynn

The Society
January 4, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
8 Comments
. The Sky with Birds Just Lately Born Sometimes there’s a sadness in my heart. A stone, a thought, a fearful start. Yet I rise and see the morn, The sky with birds just lately born. So brave they try their...

‘A Broadside’ by Peter Lillios

The Society
January 3, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
17 Comments
. . A Broadside Drawn up before us, proud and sure, Costumed in their haute couture, And sporting all the best coiffures, With colours purple and azure, Loom the powers of disarray, Armed with bromide and...

‘A Holy Picnic’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
January 2, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
32 Comments
. A Holy Picnic A small child had a vision in the light Of day, while sitting square upon the rug. It seemed as if she rose to a great height, And there, her senses gave a mighty tug As if to warn her there...

‘Dark Sky’ by Joseph Stuart

The Society
January 1, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
6 Comments
. Dark Sky Back home, the dark is overborne By a billion busy diodes Emitting artificial light, Thence seeping out into the night. But, up here, there are auroras, Constellations, and nebulae--- Or so the...

‘Calendar Poems’: An Essay by Margaret Coats

The Society
January 1, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Found Poem, Poetry
39 Comments
. Calendar Poems by Margaret Coats January loves what goblets hold, And February complains of cold. March plows the fields with furrows new, And April nurtures each flower’s hue. Dew on the grass, and leaves...

Two New Year’s Eve Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 31, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire
30 Comments
. Same Old New Year   I bid adieu. You shuffle out. A new you shimmies in--- A you without the frown and pout, A happy you of zip and clout, And once again I’ve little doubt You’ll make me rich and...

Poems Against Birth Control, from Joshua C. Frank

The Society
December 30, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Found Poem, Poetry, Rondeau
21 Comments
. Two Empty Chairs “We did the NFP bit for awhile ... and have felt revulsion over it ever since. During that time we might have had at least two more children.”  ---Letter to the Editor, Seattle...

‘Where Ever-present Joy Knows Naught of Time’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
December 29, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Dante, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
25 Comments
. “Where Ever-present Joy Knows Naught of Time” ---Dante, Paradiso, Canto X, D.L. Sayers translation a rondeau redouble Where ever-present joy knows naught of time, The music of infinity is sung In...

‘Freedom in Forgiveness’: A Villanelle by Dan Tuton

The Society
December 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Villanelle
17 Comments
. Villanelle for Timothy When chains of cold resentment in the end Entangle souls and circle ‘round to bind, There’s freedom in forgiveness, my dear friend. When grievance woos the wounded to offend And...

‘On Attending a Holiday Ensemble with My Wife’ by Jeremiah Johnson

The Society
December 27, 2022
Beauty, Music, Poetry
8 Comments
. On Attending a Holiday Ensemble with My Wife We’re gathered in a colleague’s home, Invited to this performance; Watching musicians’ fingers roam, I’m taken to when providence Crossed mine with Dr....

‘Wisdom’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
December 26, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
24 Comments
. Wisdom When young I dreamed of someday being wise, And pictured brilliant input holding sway. But via jolts of life now realize, There’s wisdom also in what you don’t say. . . No One Fully Measures...

‘St. Joseph’s Hymn of Praise’ and Other Christmas Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 25, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
27 Comments
. St. Joseph's Hymn of Praise Matthew 2: 10-15: “And when the Magi were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee...

‘Glory in the Night’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
December 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Glory in the Night It was a night like any night, when in the evening chill Cold shepherds sat by bonfire's light on many a naked hill To warm themselves while watching over flocks of wandering sheep That...

‘The Animals on Christmas Eve’ by Sally Cook

The Society
December 24, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
27 Comments
. The Animals on Christmas Eve Some boarded dogs stayed for a while Until their owners took them home; I walked them all, in single file, But left the cows and pigs alone. My mother went the extra mile For...

‘Nativity Scene’ and Other Christmas Eve Poetry by Margaret Coats

The Society
December 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
43 Comments
. Nativity Scene The hour draws near to midnight, and a priest Completes his preparations for the feast, Assisting at last practice with the choir, Inspecting layout in a makeshift stable, Checking on the...

‘The Present—Tense’ by Damian Robin

The Society
December 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Present---Tense The partial thaw of yesterday now slips Beneath a crust of light that is white snow. This snow is hiding stumbling blocks that trip Intrepid elders' steps to broken hips As small-warmed...

‘Mother’s TV’ and Other Poetry by James Kirkpatrick

The Society
December 20, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Triolet
15 Comments
. Mother’s TV It numbs regretBut, better yet,Helps her forget,Lest devils spawn. It quells each thoughtOf folly’s rotLost, sold, or bought,From dawn till dawn. Time Confounder,Siren Sounder,Demon Drowner...

‘The Tartini Tones’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
December 18, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
26 Comments
. The Tartini Tones Combination tones generated by violins of good quality can be easily heard, affecting the perception of the intervals. The harmonic content of the dyad is enriched by the combination tones...
poem/Sedia/winter

‘Winter’s Perfection’ and Other Poetry by Carl Kinsky

The Society
December 18, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
8 Comments
. Winter’s Perfection A Zen aesthetic guides winter’s perfection--- uncluttered, austere, natural, still, subtle, embracing flaws and daring introspection, a quiet season, slow, without the hustle of...

‘The Portrait’ and Other Poetry by Lionel Willis

The Society
December 17, 2022
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Portrait   I dreamed I was an artist, and had made A likeness of the one I loved for all To wonder at, and, that the homage paid Might grow, I hung it on a trendy wall. It was a likeness, but had...

‘Toward Yehuling, 1211’ by Talbot Hook

The Society
December 15, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Toward Yehuling, 1211 Unfolding steppes emerge as flattened plains Of long grasses of gold and April-green, While crystal streams, like bold and careless children, Careen away through boundless fallow...

‘Lessons in Love’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
52 Comments
. Lessons in Love  inspired by William George Falconer (1922 – 2006) I. The First The photo flew from Grandad’s falling wallet. It fluttered to the floor within my reach. I picked it up and saw the...

‘Supplication to Erato and Melpomene’ and Other Poetry by K.S. Anthony

The Society
December 15, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
6 Comments
. Supplication to Erato and Melpomene Erato, decked in crimson roses; green branches of myrtle, Help me forge the words to win her heart: My crippled pen can summon not the words that might make fertile Barren...

A Poem on the Season of Depression: ‘Yet’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 14, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
13 Comments
. Yet The withered dune grass slumps beneath a sere Gray frozen sky, as winter tag-teams fall And nighttime frost compels the Black-Tailed deer To seek out warmer lairs beneath the tall, Cone-laden Sitka...

Upon the Death of the Poet’s Brother: ‘Gathering in the Names’ by Martin Hill Ortiz

The Society
December 12, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Gathering in the Names for Michael Vincent Laureate Ortiz Hill (1957-2022) I'll add names to my life until I'm subtracted, And my name is as long as this poem. There's a scroll with a list of the lives I've...

‘Tuesday Afternoon’ by Jonathan Shoulta

The Society
December 12, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Tuesday Afternoon I sit beside a lake and fish, And read The Captive Mind. An hour gone, I stand and switch My bait for a new kind. But cheddar cheese and crawdad square For catfish work the same: In wind...

‘Sister Thérèse Scatters Flowers’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 11, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Sister Thérèse Scatters Flowers Soeur Madèleine has brought me this bouquet--- Vermillion, scarlet, each rose bright and pretty. She’s kind to join me in my cell to pray, But I cannot accept her...

‘Child’s Garden’ by Paul Buchheit

The Society
December 10, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
22 Comments
. Child's Garden  To never end, we thought, the morning light that kissed our eyes, and breezes whispering with cherub voices, pausing to invite us to a secret world, and conjuring the whims of pussy willow...

‘Elegy for Miran Sutherland’ by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
December 9, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
28 Comments
. Elegy for Miran Sutherland Miran Sutherland was miscarried at 14 weeks. Read his story here. His earthly life a hundred days, He died inside his mother’s womb. His tiny eyes would never gaze On lights that...

On Ford Madox Brown’s ‘The Last of England’: An Ekphrastic Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
December 7, 2022
Beauty, Ekphrastic, Poetry
5 Comments
. On Ford Madox Brown's "The Last of England" Their balcony beringed with cabbages, They fix their eyes on the receding shore And blankly call to mind the ravages Now past and wonder at the ones in store. The...

‘Grifters’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
December 6, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire
19 Comments
. Grifters With smug, aggressive faux urbanity __They do their worst to seize control. They think it signals perfect sanity __When they adopt a regal role, Expecting us to stroke their vanity, __Lest our good...

A Poem for Donald Trump: ‘Nessun Dorma’ by Monika Cooper

The Society
December 6, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Music, Poetry
4 Comments
. Nessun Dorma after the Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni  The aria "Nessun Dorma" was played for Donald and Melania Trump's first dance at their wedding in 2005. No sleep tonight.  The...

‘Aunt Helen’ by Geoffrey Smagacz

The Society
December 5, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Villanelle
16 Comments
. Aunt Helen Aunt Helen told me it was time to go. It hurt her to sit upright in the bed, a fact I'd rather that I didn't know. It's OK, I can turn this gear below. Please don't; a flattened mattress hurts my...

‘Advent Poem’ by Alena Casey

The Society
December 4, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. Advent Poem When October leaves have fallen and November skies are grey, The stores proclaim that Jesus, hope, and joy are on the way. The virgins hear and heed the call (this world they long to flee), And...
geese flying

‘What Geese May Teach’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
December 4, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. What Geese May Teach My mother had the power that knowledge wields, So questions such as—Would you like to go? Were never invitations, but commands To fly away, cross yellow fields and low, Like summer...

‘Last Letter from Florence’ by Lionel Willis

The Society
December 3, 2022
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Last Letter from Florence A recent incident recalls the fears Your letters have expressed: that seven years In this art-laden place might rob me of Whatever you once thought that you could love: The flat I...
poem/lillios/death

‘Instructions Set in Bone’ and Other Poetry by Peter Lillios

The Society
December 2, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry, Readings
21 Comments
. . Instructions Set in Bone With my own knife, by my own hand, I carve these words in no-man’s-land Upon the skull of my late foe, Who sheltered here some weeks ago. He’d only paused to rest a...

‘Boots Before Us’ and Other Poetry by Julian Woodruff

The Society
December 1, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Boots Before Us a sequel to "Shear Wickedness" The time had come. Poor Boots was sinking low, and further down no fitting place to know. Our burden was to fix the bottom floor and see our old friend gently...

‘Late Autumn Twilight’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 29, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
24 Comments
. Late Autumn Twilight The still earth beckons sweetly.  I must go. The dry reeds on the creek have gathered round. The waters, in suspense, have ceased to flow. Along the bank, no creature makes a...
poem/erlandson/culture

‘For HE Who Is The Light’ by Gail Kaye Naegele

The Society
November 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. For HE Who Is The Light There's been a spell of nightmares since He left. Like Job, I am the likeness of distress. I pine in piles of crumbling stones bereft; deprived of Him I'm worn in wretchedness. When...
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  1. Margaret Coats on ‘Family Affair’ and Other Poems by Russel WinickJuly 14, 2025

    Russel, I can't criticize anyone who shows up to honor the dead. Especially when it was a long life, the…

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘Together’: A Poem by Margaret CoatsJuly 14, 2025

    Warren, thank you immensely for this comment that I've waited so long to answer. You've helped me hold a place…

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘The Flower’s Refrain’: A Poem by Ulysses ArlenJuly 14, 2025

    "The Flower's Refrain" presents a rich and exquisite poetic meditation. While it offers many commonplaces of nature, these are powerfully…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Optimism’: A Poem for the Graduating Class of 2025, by Benjamin Daniel LukeyJuly 14, 2025

    In one college commencement address this year, optimism was counted as an American virtue. When citizens anywhere have it, their…

  5. jd on ‘The Flower’s Refrain’: A Poem by Ulysses ArlenJuly 14, 2025

    A lovely poem, Ulysses, with many beautiful images and a pleasing rhythm throughout.

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