‘Look Up’: A Poem Inspired by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, by T.M. Moore The Society October 20, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 10 Comments . Look Up Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn on a world split apart The prophet scorned the academic dress of those who had invited him to their Parnassus of the Ivy League. Why wear their garb, when he intended not to...
‘Skellig Michael’: A Blank Verse Poem by James A. Tweedie The Society October 20, 2024 Beauty, Blank Verse, Poetry 14 Comments . Skellig Michael a remote island off the Irish coast A whispered, whistled wind resounds the echo Of the circling gannets’ raucous cry. While far below, the white noise, sea surge surf Collides with barren...
‘The Walk’: A Poem by Martin Elster The Society October 19, 2024 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 6 Comments . The Walk Whether you call it a walk or a run, some animals tread on the water for fun, to flee, chase their food, or show off for their mate. Grebes, doing a dazzling dance for their date, slap their lobed...
‘Tattered’: A Poem by Venessa Lee-Estevez The Society October 18, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 13 Comments . Tattered I watched a butterfly today, grappling with the barbarous breeze. She was suspended and entrapped under a canopy of trees. Her tattered wing was on display, a tragedy for all to see. Descending...
‘Apologies at Antoninus Pius’s Table, 155 A.D.’: A Poem by Christopher Fried The Society October 17, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 5 Comments . Apologies at Antoninus Pius’s Table, 155 A.D. . I. Rome’s Glory “Arriving at this feast, how proud I stand that Rome endures to succor those who dwell here in this citadel and those whose hands till...
‘To Melody, on Her Wedding Day’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley The Society October 16, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 16 Comments . To Melody, on Her Wedding Day And now the hour has come for you to fly, To leave your early nest and take the air For vistas yet unseen (though God knows where He’ll take you, as He knew in days gone...
‘Old Chestnut’: A Poem by Margaret Coats The Society October 16, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 16 Comments Old Chestnut I’m the spirited girl with the chestnut hair, Common countenance pale, smile occasionally stressed, High forehead and wide, sculpted jawline square, A pert single chin, curving neck...
‘Three Death Musings’: A Poem by Jeff Kemper The Society October 14, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 6 Comments . Three Death Musings . 1 One day the conqueror worm will conquer me And therewith render life the Joker's joke. Ensuing laughter will then posit the Arch-ruse and waft away the Joker's smoke As I emerge a...
‘Westward, with Columbus’: A Poem for Columbus Day by Paul A. Freeman The Society October 14, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments . Westward, with Columbus The North Atlantic Ocean was awashwith monsters and leviathans, or sowe fearfully supposed, and thought it toshby sailing west, to India we could go. Then Christopher Columbus raised...
‘To the Autumn Birches’: A Poem by Adam Sedia The Society October 12, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 16 Comments . To the Autumn Birches The languid light of waning day Glares undiffused by any cloud, Still strong, defying its decay, Then breaks on a dark colonnade— Oak, ash, and beech—a somber crowd Of mourners...
‘Ghosts of the Watchtower’: A Poem by Kyle Fiske The Society October 10, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rubaiyat 10 Comments . Ghosts of the Watchtower The end-of-summer breeze gives hint with cool caress Of coming autumn gales and forecasts of distress. But who beneath the sun, when halcyon days abound Imagines they will face the...
‘The Meaning of Pearl Necklaces’ and Another Sonnet by Phillip Whidden The Society October 10, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 5 Comments . The Meaning of Pearl Necklaces Most pearls are prized because the luster of Their loveliness lies held in shapely spheres— Though never perfect. Given with a love Strung out on strings of strength to...
‘Consideration in Friendship’: A Poem by Jeremiah Johnson The Society October 9, 2024 Beauty, Dante, Poetry 6 Comments . Consideration in Friendship In The Inferno Canto Twenty-Nine, When Dante pauses, looks with longing for His uncle’s son amid the suffering line Of falsifiers---Virgil, growing sore, Asks brusquely if he...
‘Remnants of the Spring’: A Poem by James A. Tweedie The Society October 5, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 16 Comments . Remnants of the Spring Lupine, Paintbrush, remnants of the spring Color summer’s browning meadows, splashing Renoir dots and drabbles along freshing Snow-fed streams whose whispered burbles sing Odes to...
Three Rhyming Haiku by Benjamin Cannicott Shavitz The Society October 4, 2024 Beauty, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry 9 Comments . Riverside Park—Labor Day An ambling river. Just a wheeze of gentle breeze. My soul aquiver. . . Desert Only sand and dread. Sunset looms in bloody red. Buzzards overhead. . . Chatter Throngs of...
‘Autumn Reversed’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman The Society October 1, 2024 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 18 Comments . Autumn Reversed Once snowflakes have recrystalized,__they rise from where they fell;in Earth’s alternate universe__it’s early winter’s knell. The frost unfreezes, rain unfalls,__leaves littering the...
‘Plowing’: A Poem by Margaret Coats The Society September 30, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 34 Comments . Plowing Plain plowing cultivates delight Of partnership with animals: Two horses and a man unite To draw behind them crows and gulls Feeding on worms in furrows found As a plowshare tears and turns the...
‘Downtown’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia The Society September 28, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 16 Comments . Downtown Like an iron maze, Clustered close, towers rise, Caging the very sky. Casting their cold gaze Through myriad glazed eyes Apathetically. Beneath, the streets swell With jostling crowds of...
‘Resolve’: A Poem by Maria Panayi The Society September 27, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 6 Comments . Resolve Much gain involves much pain and we can see, That discipline is hard, like pumping steam, Spending each glorious day sowing seeds Striving all summer to fulfil a dream. That’s tough, but leads to...
‘Dusk’: A Poem by C. Walker The Society September 26, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 6 Comments . Dusk Come down! you fading orb of heat, __Come down, and rest your head, I watched you in your slow defeat; __This day you had is dead. What marvel! that you lived at all, __What marvel, that we share, This...
‘Cutie Pie Cat’ and Another Sonnet by Phillip Whidden The Society September 26, 2024 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 6 Comments . Cutie Pie Cat The pink-nosed face of Prospero my cat, Pink nose and white fur face, is what he rubs Against me, purring. He does not know that I love him since he’s cute. My finger scrubs His whiskers...
‘Let Them Go’: A Poem by Elise Power The Society September 25, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 12 Comments . Let Them Go Children born around the world __some fifty years ago were free to roam and run and hide, __to ramble high and low. The bigger people stayed inside __and never really knew how far the little...
‘The Dying’: A Poem by T.M. Moore The Society September 24, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 7 Comments . The Dying It’s getting to be time again when all the leaves, their labors nearly done, prepare their legacy. We see them everywhere at work on this, the brilliant hues of fall announcing the new terms of...
‘Nothing Compares’: A Poem by Mark Stellinga The Society September 23, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 14 Comments . Nothing Compares Last year, on a private tour of Italy and Spain, I saw the Colosseum and cathedrals… so sublime. I found it hard to comprehend the patience and the skill It took to build those...
‘Storm Dog’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan The Society September 22, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 12 Comments . Storm Dog Thunder, bounding through the holler, shouts. The lights are flickering but are not out. My dog is terrified out in the rain, (My cats don’t mind or so their actions claim.) I let him in his...
‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ and Other Poetry by James A. Tweedie The Society September 21, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 14 Comments . Take Me Out to the Ball Game The game of baseball’s changed since I was younger, Back when the Giants played at Candlestick. A hot dog in my hand helped quench my hunger; The left-field stands were cheap,...
‘Devotions’: A Poem by Adam Wasem The Society September 20, 2024 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 4 Comments . Devotions Night after night, for nigh a year, When bedtime came, we’d watch our child Be overcome by his emotions: From glee, to rage, to childish fear, And us both stumped: What drove him so wild __And...
‘Lamplights at Dusk’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley The Society September 20, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 17 Comments . Lamplights at Dusk Along the tree-lined lane, I walk at dusk, On pavement gray, well-washed by autumn showers, And watch the fading day discard its husk, As countless leaves cascade from russet...
‘The Painter’ and Other Poetry by Shamik Banerjee The Society September 19, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 15 Comments . The Painter The moment when a painting is complete, He starts another piece without delay Like respiration—take a breath; repeat. Without this passion, he won't last a day. While Nature keeps on working...
‘The Last Petal’: A Poem by Alani Timmons The Society September 19, 2024 Beauty, High School Submissions, Poetry 10 Comments . The Last Petal In a garden old and wise, Where blooms and seasons intertwine, A rose stood tall against the skies, Its petals bright, its heart divine. But time, unseen, began to stir, A single petal loosed...
‘The Father of All Lights’: A Poem by James Sale The Society September 18, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 20 Comments . The Father of All Lights "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" ---James 1:17 How much more...
‘Oaks of Righteousness’: A Poem by D.R. Rainbolt The Society September 18, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 3 Comments . Oaks of Righteousness “That they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD…” ---Isaiah 61:3 What stories shared between these gnarled trees, What secrets shared twixt these and...
‘August, at Your Pleasure’ and Other Poetry by Paul A. Freeman The Society September 17, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 16 Comments . August, at Your Pleasure The year, by August, late in middle age,gives knowing winks to autumn as the goldof summer sun and wheat fields turn the page,as youth, prolonged by zest, lets loose its hold. Recall...
‘Follow the Miracle’: A Poem on the Trump Assassination Attempts by Brian Yapko The Society September 16, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 32 Comments . Follow the Miracle A random head-turn? Vector wind deflection? Or was it truly heavenly protection? His head came close to being torn asunder Yet he survived! I have to wonder If Trump was saved by divine...
‘Viracocha’: A Poem on the Incan Sun God by Daniel Pugh The Society September 16, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 3 Comments . Viracocha Viracocha made the world, __He made it in a day. A day in Viracocha’s life __Would leave you old and gray, So when he’d finished making it __He must sit down and play. Viracocha made the...
A Poem for Helen Vendler (1933-2024): ‘Valediction for a Critic’ by Margaret Coats The Society September 16, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 34 Comments . Valediction for a Critic "She can second-guess the sixth sense of a poem." —Seamus Heaney "I thought—and still think—that all people would like poetry if they were only brought up with it and shown how...
‘To September’ and Other Autumn Poems by Adam Sedia The Society September 14, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 13 Comments . To September Your fields and groves are lushly emerald still; Your flowers still waft their scents and vaunt their flair; Your blazing rays still generously spill; Your winds still gently breathe their balmy...
‘Solitaire’ and Other Poetry by Stephen M. Dickey The Society September 12, 2024 Beauty, Poetry 17 Comments . Solitaire A fresh tableau gives hope of gaining traction In the builds. Shortly, though, you see you’re beat. It’s like life: strangely rich the satisfaction Of having dealt your own unique...
‘Over the Hill’: A Trimeter Villanelle and Other Poetry by Cheryl Corey The Society September 11, 2024 Beauty, Poetry, Villanelle 12 Comments . Over the Hill Now that you’re "over the hill," Relax. Enjoy the view. Life’s a beach, so chill. Work? You’ve had your fill. It’s time to just do you; And now that you’re over the hill, You’ve...
‘Flora’s England’: A Poem by Isabella Simmonds The Society September 11, 2024 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 18 Comments . Flora's England The hedgerows droop with bulbous berries black As feathers of the Raven in the sun Of August, glowing hot upon his back. He soars above the corn, its growing done. While Lammas songs are sung...