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Culture

A Sonnet for the 100th Anniversary of the Leopold and Loeb Case, by Adam Sedia

The Society
May 31, 2024
Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Leopold and Loeb Or, the Consequences of Ideas A Frenchman’s thought-experiments Argued by Englishmen until A German stripped pure thought from sense; A second then conceived the will; And last, a third...

‘The Devotee’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
May 29, 2024
Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. The Devotee She moves from one devotion to the next, From this beloved statue to the text Of some obscure or justly famous saint Who’s good at whatsoever her complaint Parochial or personal may be That...

‘Surviving Caligula’: A Poem on the Roman Emperor, by Brian Yapko

The Society
May 28, 2024
Culture, Poetry
31 Comments
. Surviving Caligula Setting: Caligula’s Palace, the Palatine Hill, Rome Date: 23 January 794 Ab urbe condita (41 A.D.) The Matter: A Praetorian Guard contemplates Rome’s future under the Emperor...

A Sonnet for Harrison Butker, by Adam Sedia

The Society
May 27, 2024
Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Love and Vipers for Harrison Butker, the football player criticized for supporting traditional views of women in a commencement address How hated you are for proclaiming love---Not just your own, but love...

A Poem for an Orwellian Memorial Day, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 27, 2024
Culture, Poetry
44 Comments
. Memorial Day, 1984 2024 “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”  ---George Orwell Today we honor those who gave their all In monstrous conflicts in the name of peace; Those who...

‘The First and Usually Unspoken Rule of Great Writing’: A Poem by Phillip Whidden

The Society
May 27, 2024
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. The First and Usually Unspoken Rule of Great Writing The greatest rule of writing is to tell A truth, the truth if possible, within The scope of lines set out, to sound the knell Of honeyed feelings, not...

‘Betrayal’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 25, 2024
Culture, Pantoum, Poetry, Rondeau, Villanelle
21 Comments
. Betrayal a villanelle Today she spied the shadow of a snake Slither through the spreading family tree--- A curse her startled heart finds hard to take. She heard this serpent hiss. Though wide...

‘Eulogy to the First Ms. Brown’ and Other Poetry by Betsy K. Brown

The Society
May 24, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terza Rima
5 Comments
. Eulogy to the First Ms. Brown or a Divine Comedy of Educators . To my aunt—the second daughter of three, And first to leave us just two years ago: I picture you once sitting on Grandpa's knee And asking...

‘Newman, Alone’: A Poem by Adam Wasem

The Society
May 23, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. Newman, Alone Newman, thirty, alone, asleep in bed, Groans, yearning for his mother, years now, dead--- Alive, her vivid female acts above Had served as lodestar for his childish love. The women he’d...

‘Two Times Two Is Four’: A Poem by T.M.A. Day

The Society
May 23, 2024
Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Two Times Two Is Four Now Kierkegaard once wrote a book, __Entitled Either/Or, But for myself, I only know, __That two times two is four. For though the oceans brim with blood, __Foretold in ancient...

Three Love-Crossed Sonnets by James A. Tweedie

The Society
May 22, 2024
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
21 Comments
. Unopened Letters Unopened letters strewn across the floor Addressed to me with your name on the back. Left where they fell inside my slotted door. A postal service-aided sneak attack. I step on them with...

‘The Cleft’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan

The Society
May 22, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Cleft There’s danger for the harmless dove; she swoops Into the cleft of the great mountainside. Her heartbeat calms as she keeps still and mute Surrounded by the rock where she abides. If from her...

A Poem Based on Joshua Harris’s I Kissed Dating Goodbye, by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
May 21, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Chelsea a true story from I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris “Behold not everybody's beauty: and tarry not among women.” ---Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 42:12 That long-skirt, apple-pie brunette from...

‘AI’s Promise’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Kemper

The Society
May 20, 2024
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. AI's Promise What is the latest ingenious ability makers have made out as mental agility? Smoothly unveiling the newest utility, __though it effusively services whims, it reveals our fragility __more than...

‘He Lied About His Age’: A Poem by Joyce E. Rogers

The Society
May 18, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. He Lied About His Age 'Twas May of nineteen seventeen, our country now at war. Will had decided to enlist, this great world to explore. His lifetime numbered sixteen years, he'd lie about his age, His build...

‘Saturn’: A Poem by Alan Orsborn

The Society
May 17, 2024
Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
14 Comments
. Saturn "When we have shuffled off this mortal coil" —Shakespeare "According to medieval thought, the worst planet was Saturn,  sponsor of death, destruction, darkness, and disaster." —Michael Ward When...

A Poem for the 30th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
May 17, 2024
Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
. Rwanda, April 1994 Inside Nyamata Church the pews are piledwith clothes, the blood that drenched them dull and dry.What demon turned sane men and women wildwith bloodlust that ten thousand here would die? A...

‘Herman the Cripple’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
May 16, 2024
Culture, Music, Poetry
44 Comments
. Herman the Cripple A body helpless in deformity Was mine, though loving parents carried me Full seven years in sick infirmity, Then placed me in the monks’ academy. Their island abbey Reichenau became My...

‘The Dead’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
May 15, 2024
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Dead They’re pretty but the dopamine Has hollowed out their pale blue eyes. They sit there, staring, silent, numb, (They only need to move their thumb…) Intent upon the tiny screen. There’s no...

‘And Yet We Wash Our Hands’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
May 14, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. And Yet We Wash Our Hands When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, butthat instead an uproar was starting, he took waterand washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I aminnocent of this man’s...

‘Look Homeward, Sweet Afton’: Poem by Brian Yapko, Set to Music by Jeff Eardley

The Society
May 14, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Song Lyrics
32 Comments
. Music by Jeff Eardley . Look Homeward, Sweet Afton after Robert Burns Look homeward, Sweet Afton, back to thy green braes, Recalling with pride Britain’s glorious days. Then forward flow strongly, I pray...

A Poem on D.C.’s S.W.A.M.P., by Warren Bonham

The Society
May 11, 2024
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. S.W.A.M.P. Soulless, Warped, And Monstrous People look at us as smelly “sheeple.” Easily manipulated. Otherwise, we’re mocked and hated. Those revolting, loathsome creatures, all have normal-looking...

‘Hookerville School’: A Poem on the One-Room Schoolhouse by Phil S. Rogers

The Society
May 11, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Hookerville School Built just before the Civil War, employed till twenty-nine, This one-room school that stands today withstood the test of time. Turn back the clocks to times long passed, so many years...

‘Orpheus’: A Poem by James Sale

The Society
May 10, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. Orpheus We want the heroes back so we can learn: Herakles smashed his way to hell and stormed By violence the ferryman and three-faced dog; Even yanked Theseus from his deep-rooted seat Without a...

’10/7/2023′: A Poem on the Attack on Israel, by Michael Vanyukov

The Society
May 10, 2024
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. 10/7/2023 More than one has risen up against us to destroy us. Rather, in every generation they rise against us to annihilate us. —The Passover Haggadah The world is killing Jews, again. There are too...

A Poem on Scotland’s New Hate Crime Law, by Cheryl Corey

The Society
May 8, 2024
Culture, Poetry
47 Comments
. On Scotland Police were inundated with over 7,000 calls in the first week following the passage of Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act last month. Where tartan, tweed, and Highland Games began: The...

‘Truth Is Not Beauty’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
May 5, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
31 Comments
. Truth Is Not Beauty “What is the worst mistake you ever made in bed?” Reply: “My son.”  (Actual dialogue on social media) I learn the truth; I’m more and more aggrieved. There’s nothing left, no...

‘Bridgerton’s DEI vs. Historicity’: A Poem by Drilon Bajrami

The Society
May 3, 2024
Culture, Poetry, Reviews
20 Comments
. Bridgerton’s DEI vs. Historicity They sacrifice true historicity, So DEI trumps authenticity. But Bridgerton and Netflix, they don’t care, Because those ethopaths with neon hair Give fat cats in their...

‘Reservoir’: A Poem by Stephen M. Dickey

The Society
May 2, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Reservoir Those who can still see through accreting years Are getting scarce, those who can lift such veil To remember when the Corps of Engineers Dammed a minor river to end its tale Of flood and misery...

‘Carmen’: A Poem by Théophile Gautier, Translated by Bruce Phenix

The Society
May 2, 2024
Culture, Poetry, Translation
13 Comments
. Carmen by Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) translated by Bruce Phenix Carmen is thin—a dark-brown line Of bistre rings her gipsy eye. Her black hair bodes a dark design, The Devil gave her skin its...

‘Easter Evening Appearance’ and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
May 1, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
8 Comments
. Easter Evening Appearance Luke 24 Sealed up within my upper room, Absorbed by morbid discontent And fear, I questioned everything I’ve done and wondered what it meant. Though slim perspective chided me And...

May Songs from Miracle Plays, Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
May 1, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Song Lyrics, Translation
19 Comments
. May Songs . I. Where does loyalty take its rest? Where is charity’s portraiture, Except in you, sweet virgin pure? Where has virginity possessed The honor due its high allure? Where does loyalty take its...

‘Throughout American Academies’: A Poem by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
April 29, 2024
Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Throughout American Academies One hears throughout American academies a strainthat is at once belligerent, intolerant, and strange.It drips with antisemitism all across the land.What new “Mein Kampf” is...

A Poem on Being Openly Jewish in London: ‘Lie Low, Jew!’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
April 29, 2024
Culture, Poetry
41 Comments
. Lie Low, Jew! Echoes and Irony The Hamas flags are raised on London streets By swarms that seethe with scorn and blaze with hate. This nasty nod to History’s evil greets  A Londoner reminded of the...

‘How Many Wrongs Make a Right?’ and Other Poetry by Warren Bonham

The Society
April 28, 2024
Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. How Many Wrongs Make a Right? The left rights wrongs by doing wrong, but wrongs so fixed don’t stay fixed long. When things re-break, they wrong once more, and hope thereby they can restore things back to...

A Poem on Anti-Israel Encampments at U.S. Universities, by Cheryl Corey

The Society
April 28, 2024
Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. On Student Protestations They protest on behalf of Gaza from afar— Why won’t they do the same regarding Myanmar? To speak of Falun Gong and China’s Muslim Uyghur Will get you vacant stares—the...

‘Jerzy and Cyla’ and Other Holocaust Poetry by Peter Austin

The Society
April 27, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Jerzy and Cyla Jerzy, a Polish teen in World War Two, Arrested for suspected membership Of the resistance, faced a one-way trip To Auschwitz. There, where womenfolk were few, Labouring in a storehouse used...

‘The Knight of Monticello’: A Poem on Thomas Jefferson by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
April 25, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. The Knight of Monticello Everywhere and always, Jefferson read. His library stocked a sage’s daily bread. Four volumes, leather-bound, well-thumbed, perused: Don Quixote, his most peculiar muse. He...

‘Theópneustos’: A Poem by Peter Venable

The Society
April 25, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. . Theópneustos Greek, “God breathed” . The Word of God is absolute— __Or else, some claim, it’s obsolete. Many hold it in disrepute, __Dismiss it as myth and deceit. . I say it’s for the...

A Poem on China’s Belt and Road Initiative, by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
April 24, 2024
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
16 Comments
. When the Dragon Spreads Its Wings Millennia, the Dragon stayed at home, Consumed its own, kept dissidence at bay, Until it felt a gnawing urge to roam, To make its global domination play. With Belt and...
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  1. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Bayesian Hubris v. Mercy Seat 11A’: A Poem by James SaleJuly 1, 2025

    As an academic with the equivalent of two more MA degrees in history (minus the theses), I remember these well…

  2. Emily Meng on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 1, 2025

    1. Pink little blossom, swaying in the gentle breeze, tells of fruit to come. 2. Old and enduring, white light…

  3. Russel Winick on Report on Results of the SCP Survey of PoetsJuly 1, 2025

    Thank you to Evan and Roy for all of your work, and to all who posted comments here. Very interesting…

  4. Fred McIlmoyle on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 1, 2025

    Sunlit dreamy days Float through golden summer haze Into memory Musky amber scents Swirl in sultry wistful air Infusing my…

  5. Russel Winick on ‘Rolling the Dice’: A Poem by Warren BonhamJuly 1, 2025

    I ditto both Roy and jd. Brilliant work Warren!

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