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Culture

Home
Poetry
Culture

Poems on the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Captain Ahab, by Brian Yapko

The Society
January 2, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. The Hunchback The belfry beckons. Once again it’s time. This is my cross, the task I’m forced to bear. “To the Cathedral! Hear the noon bells chime!” I summon all of Paris here for...

‘In The Beginning’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
January 1, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. In The Beginning We’re stuck in the middle, unsure of the ending but guessing the outcome by how things are trending should make it apparent it’s foolish to frolic and cause us to worry and be...

‘Nero Redivivus’: A Poem by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
January 1, 2024
Culture, Epic, Poetry
20 Comments
. Nero Redivivus Others suppose that he was not killed, but withdrawn instead so that he might be supposed killed and that he is still alive and in concealment in the vigour of age he had reached at the time...

‘On Turning the Page of a New Year—2023-2024’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
December 31, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. On Turning the Page of a New Year---2023-2024 The hour-glass is almost void of sand,a rounding of the sun described in grainsthat drain away. Now little time remainsas New Year stalks the browns and greens...

‘Woke Christmas’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
December 30, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire, Triolet
6 Comments
. Woke Christmas We dream of Christmas like we used to know, With Santa Claus and sleigh rides in the snow, Big families all together, super-sized, But leftist thinking has metastasized And each says,...
poetry/homeschooling/teachers guide

‘After the Stroke’: A Poem on Aphasia, by Mary Gardner

The Society
December 30, 2023
Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. After the Stroke Aphasia: an impairment of a previously held ability to produce or understand spoken, written, or signed language, due to disease or injury of the brain. With pencil at the...

‘Anniversary Pastoral for Benedict XVI’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
December 30, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Anniversary Pastoral for Benedict XVI Trustworthy Shepherd of all shepherds, hear Today’s renewed appeal in concord made For Benedict, departed now one year. That he to restful comfort be conveyed, His...

Mythological Limericks on Defloration by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
December 29, 2023
Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry
31 Comments
. Mythological Limericks on Defloration . Venus and Adonis Adonis was cute as a berry And Venus was sexy and merry— __The boy said “No dice” __But without thinking twice She jumped him and popped the...

A Poem on Frozen Embryos and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
December 29, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Triolet
12 Comments
. They Have Our Genes They have our genes; they’re human beings, Our fifteen frozen embryos. Regardless of your disagreeings, They have our genes; they’re human beings. They must be born, by God’s...
poem/music/Burns/auld lang syne

An End of the Year Poem and Christmas Musical Medley by Jeff Eardley

The Society
December 28, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
22 Comments
. Christmas Medley performed by Jeff Eardley . . Absent Friends The Christmas lights are twinkling on the houses all around. All we need’s a frosting and some snow upon the ground. But as this old year...

‘The Evening The Times Newspaper Turned Into Jane Eyre’: A Poem by Lucius Falkland

The Society
December 28, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. The Evening The Times Newspaper Turned Into Jane Eyre My life had become like a broadsheet,__The Telegraph, maybe The Times:The financial section---prose sober and neat;__Inflation---the yen falls and...

‘I Know Them Well’: A Villanelle by Mike Ruskovich

The Society
December 27, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
8 Comments
. I Know Them Well Don't preach to me of heaven and of hell expecting me to tremble and to cower. They're here on Earth, and yes, I know them well. I do not need to hear your church bell knell from high atop...

‘Christmas Hallelujah’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
December 25, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Christmas Hallelujah sung to the melody of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen When I hear a song of destiny, Of peace and love and harmony, From deep within I feel an Hallelujah. When I can feel a tingling...

‘The Ancient Christmas Tree’: A Poem by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 25, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
28 Comments
. The Ancient Christmas Tree A Dream Memory . The ridge out the window was blanketed white With snow that had fallen that long winter’s night. A lad of eleven, I woke to the noise Of far-away shouts from...

‘The Ultimate Christmas Gift’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 25, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
. The Ultimate Christmas Gift “Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store.” ---Dr. Seuss This gift winks in the sparkle of the star That tops the twinkling tree with spangled joy __In...

New Lyrics and a New Musical Arrangement for a Familiar French Carol, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 24, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
6 Comments
. Author/Composer’s Note: The noël, Il est Né le Divin Enfant (“He is Born, the Divine Christ Child”) is one of the most beloved and beautiful French carols to have crossed into the English-speaking...

‘The Eternal Design May Appear’ and Other Christmas Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
December 24, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. . “Even now, in sordid particulars, the eternal design may appear.” ---T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral . Among the moan of kine and smell of sheep, The plaintive whine of fowls half-asleep, A woman...

‘Sleigh Rides Do Not a Christmas Make’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson

The Society
December 24, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. Sleigh Rides Do Not a Christmas Make While folks down under get to ride their bicycles __And dine alfresco at a Christmas picnic, We blokes up over are avoiding icicles __And making every effort not to...

‘The Wisemen and the Shepherds’: A Christmas Poem by Jeremiah Johnson

The Society
December 24, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
. The Wisemen and the Shepherds after Eileen Duggan The camels’ footfalls over and around Baked dunes, through pebbled streams, on forest floors; The sages straddling humps without a sound Who’ve long...

‘Christmas by Force’: A Poem by Gigi Ryan

The Society
December 23, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Christmas by Force The jostling beast increases the distress Of Mary whose first labor has progressed. Joseph of the donkey’s reins keeps hold; The night is clear and calm, the desert cold. In town each...

‘Christmas’: A Spenserian Sonnet by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
December 23, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Christmas I don’t recall the tree or what we ate With sentiment Dickensian and sweet. The tree was in a Midwest way ornate; The food: potatoes certainly; some meat. The past for me gives off more light...

‘Midwinter’: A Christmas Poem by Martin Rizley

The Society
December 23, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. Midwinter “O blesséd day we now enjoy, from heaven it is granted.  He brings us bliss, He shows Himself for all our joy and worship!  O may our Lord each one today defend us from all evil!” ---from W....

Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’: Adapted by Talbot Hook, Read by Andrew Benson Brown

The Society
December 22, 2023
Classical Poets Live, Culture, Poetry, Readings
4 Comments
. A Christmas Carol Complete text here: https://classicalpoets.org/2021/12/24/a-christmas-carol-after-charles-dickens-by-talbot-hook/ . . . Andrew Benson Brown has had poems and reviews published in a few...

On Maine Storm Delaying Electric Vehicle Mandate: A Poem by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 21, 2023
Culture, Poetry, The Environment
25 Comments
. Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin in reference to the recent storm in Maine In Maine the Governor had to delay A hearing where the government had planned To air, promote, consider and to weigh A law where...

‘Curse of the Desert’: A Poem by Stuti Sinha

The Society
December 21, 2023
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Curse of the Desert Ill-tempered droughts strip lands of foliage sheath. Its barren womb still yields a wilted crust that liberates, from layers underneath, a swell of ruffled soil and choking...

Translation and Musical Arrangement of Old French Carol, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 20, 2023
Culture, Music, Poetry, Translation
8 Comments
. Whence Come You, Shepherdess? . Translator's Note: “D’où Viens-tu, Bergère” was one of a number of old songs and carols from the French region of Périgord collected by Emmanuel Casse and Eugène...

‘December Oak Leaves’: An Advent Poem by Louis Groarke

The Society
December 19, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. December Oak Leaves Puis çà, puis là, comme le vent varie, A son plaisir sans cesser nous charrie, (The wind, gleefully, pushing us, changing its mind, Forwards and backwards, all of the...

‘Miles Fidelis (The Faithful Soldier)’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 18, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
. Miles Fidelis (The Faithful Soldier)  for Joseph Salemi, whose essay introduced me to the soldier of this poem. The city shakes! Vesuvius spouts fire As Vulcan grins through Jupiter’s hot breath. Brute...

10 Funny and Nostalgic Christmas Poems

The Society
December 17, 2023
Beauty, Best Poems, Culture, Humor, Poetry
2 Comments
. Are you looking for a good poem to read at your Christmas party or gathering? Is it a more serious or light-hearted event? Christmas poems come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. They can be short or...

‘A Travelogue of Wonders’: A Poem by Cheryl Corey

The Society
December 16, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. A Travelogue of Wonders My friends, I’m here to speak of wondrous sights. The first, at Alexandria’s port, was built By Sostratus. Of all the harbor lights, This brilliant beam, when lit, outshines the...

On Poet Michael R. Burch’s Anti-Semitism and Attacks on Poets: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
December 14, 2023
Culture, Essays, Poetry, Satire
33 Comments
. Here We Go Again… by Joseph S. Salemi Oh dear… it looks like the hillbilly software salesman is having another moral fit. Michael R. Burch of Nashville Tennessee has posted more venomous comments about...

‘Evening, Washington Metro’: A Poem by Stephen Binns

The Society
December 14, 2023
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Evening, Washington Metro Entrained, en masse, an ebb as from a beach: the tide drawn by the Capitol (the dome our moon) subsides. We move as one, yet each toward some divisibility called home. The trope...

‘What’s Left to Say?’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
December 13, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Rhupunt, Rondeau
16 Comments
. What’s Left to Say? a rhupunt  When women’s plans Are like a man’s, So they act trans, What’s left to say? When folks believe That to conceive Is cause to grieve, What’s left to say? When...

‘Moon Before Yule’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
December 12, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
37 Comments
. Moon Before Yule The ashen lantern leavening the skyBegins in languor to proclaim sublimeFestivity to winter’s weather eye. The dome of heaven echoes back the chimeOf peals ethereal arising heardIn...

‘To My Daughter’: A Poem by Adam Sedia

The Society
December 10, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. To My Daughter A woman’s life is hard, they say---and true, Though now not as our mothers understood: They battled nature’s facts and custom’s due; Your battle will be for true womanhood. Though all...

‘It Was Only a Winter’s Tale’: A Christmastime Poem by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
December 9, 2023
Culture, Love Poems, Music, Poetry
20 Comments
. It Was Only a Winter’s Tale based on David Essex's classic 1982 Christmas song The nights are ever short and growing cold; the front door lies ajar from when you left one evening, though your reasons were...

‘Unsocial Addictions’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
December 8, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
7 Comments
. Unsocial Addictions Why do some people lie, brag, or act mean?It must pump them up, like a jolt of caffeine.But soon they come down, right to where they have been,And can’t get back up, till they do it...

Two Poems on Creative Writing by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 7, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. There Is a Way? Is there a way for beauty to be painted with a word? Is there a way to write in ways so music can be heard? Is there a way to make a point that others can’t ignore? Is there a way to say...

‘Abraham and the Binding of Isaac’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 4, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
57 Comments
. Abraham and the Binding of Isaac after Genesis 22 I cannot sleep although the moon is high. I’m numb. Before me looms the sacred hill. My son snores softly. I look to the sky Submissive to God’s wish but...

‘Lee in the Furnace’: A Poem on Robert E. Lee by Monika Cooper

The Society
December 3, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
28 Comments
. Lee in the Furnace "He who thinks of Lee Must think of Washington. . ." ---Herman Melville So Oleh, Chief, my other grandfather, Mine on the distaff, on the losing side. The furnace burnishes your graven...
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  1. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘The Playland’: A Poem by Shamik BanerjeeJuly 3, 2025

    This is a moving reminder of what it is like to be young and free, to share good times with…

  2. Reid McGrath on ‘Rolling the Dice’: A Poem by Warren BonhamJuly 3, 2025

    Some One had to roll the dice. Enjoyed this. Thank you.

  3. Zvonko Jurcevic on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 3, 2025

    summer afternoon - resting on the sea surface seagulls and the sun little night music - Mozart in the canopy…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Dad and I’ and Other Poems by C.B. AndersonJuly 3, 2025

    "Lost in Boston" gives me a true sense of recalling my seven years in Cambridge. I didn't have a car…

  5. Dave Earnhardt on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 3, 2025

    Crickets still chanting on Thanksgiving blind with hope— joy in the sorrows! * An eagle fallen weather-worn along this road—…

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