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poem/erlandson/culture

‘Job’s Rant’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 24, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Job’s Rant Job 3: 3-10 . May darkness and death’s shadow claim the day When I was sent to bear the curse of earth. May clouds blot out the night that gave me birth And drown it in the densest...
poem/wasem/culture

‘In Extremis’ and Other Poetry by Adam Wasem

The Society
June 24, 2023
Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. In Extremis ---from the Western wilds Here at the most attenuated ends Of America’s arterial transport map, Where pavement stops, dissolves to native dust, I find I’m mostly mindful of defense: Where...
poem/maibach/beauty

‘This Is the Choice’: A Poem by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
June 23, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. This Is the Choice  The gates of hell Closed from within. No one sends us--- We lock ourselves in. . The gates of Heaven Are open and true, Welcoming souls who Choose to walk through. . This is the...
poem/harrison/culture

‘The Deluge’: A Poem by William Harrison

The Society
June 23, 2023
Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. The Deluge From Heaven came the rain; On Earth the waters swelled To wash away each stain The eyes of God beheld. Each structure man had made Of metal, wood, and stone Cut down by Water's blade, Save for...
poem/erlandson/culture

‘Pharaoh’s Dream Redux’: A Poem by Paul Erlandson

The Society
June 21, 2023
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. Pharaoh’s Dream Redux “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and...

‘The Gallows’: A Poem by Christopher Lindsay

The Society
June 20, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Gallows The trial was quick, the verdict read: “Guilty as charged,” the foreman said. The judge declared the man would hang, the leader of a robber gang who stabbed the sheriff with a knife, and made...
poem/robin/culture

‘The Straight-Fishing, Straight-Talking Jiang Ziya’ by Damian Robin

The Society
June 20, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Straight-Fishing, Straight-Talking Jiang Ziya Far off in time and place but still on this small globe, By a river with his beard and stick and robe, A sage thought on a kingdom’s end that war might...
poem/anderson/satire

‘Distant Thoughts from Nearby’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 19, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire
30 Comments
. Distant Thoughts from Nearby I need to turn my dog-ears up __and harken to the quietude ____ignored for many years, __and contemplate my solitude, ____expressing through my tears Incautious songs that made...
poem/steinle/culture

‘The Test’ and Other Poetry by Alan Steinle

The Society
June 17, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
5 Comments
. The Test The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' —Jesus (Matthew 22:39, NASB1995) Is every trial just a self-created test? Perhaps we do not grow until we have been...
poem/freeman/beauty

‘The Number 207: The Road to Nowhere’: A Poem by Paul Martin Freeman

The Society
June 17, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Number 207: The Road to Nowhere Oh once along the Road to Nowhere That used to be the Uxbridge Road You’d board and pay the tuppenny bus fare And go where milk and honey flowed. For this was then a...
poem/dickey/culture

‘Fracture Mechanics’: A Poem by Stephen M. Dickey

The Society
June 16, 2023
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Fracture Mechanics Dams, bridges, tunnels, buildings and the like Are often structurally sound for years If not centuries, whereupon men’s fears Creep up on them abruptly in a spike In degradation...
poem/coats/beauty

‘The Moselle’: A Poem on the European River, by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 14, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
28 Comments
. The Moselle Tranquil meandering alluvion, From Vosges pink sandstone hills it percolates In rillets past rich vines in echelon To cradle villages of varied traits. Saint Castor limns a linear regime, Both...

‘Fifth Glyph’: A Poem on the Letter E, by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
June 14, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
26 Comments
. Fifth Glyph This glyph, in British talk, occurs most oft--- most common, too, writ down within our books. Twixt ‘a’ and ‘z’ it’s fifth, not sat aloft but low and unassuming in its...
poem/yapko/japan

‘Commodore Perry Opens Japan’ and Other Japan-Inspired Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 13, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Limerick, Poetry
29 Comments
. Commodore Perry Opens Japan On July 8, 1853, on the orders of President Millard Fillmore, Commodore Matthew Perry led four American ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to pierce Japan’s isolation...
poem/peterson/satire

‘Lord, Give Me Serenity’ and Other Poetry by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
June 12, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
35 Comments
. Lord, Give Me Serenity Lord, give me serenity To deal with lunatics, Especially the ones Who are found in politics. Help me to stay calm, And keep me honor bound, But take them to perdition Wherever they...
poem/frank/satire

‘All That’s Left Is Yours’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
June 11, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
22 Comments
. All That’s Left Is Yours based on I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris The bride walked the aisle to her husband-to-be, __Who gently took hold of her hand. They started their vows, all to hear and to...
poem/venable/culture

‘Beyond the Visible Veil’: A Poem by Peter Venable

The Society
June 10, 2023
Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. Beyond the Visible Veil Gravity cannot hold those forms who float __And drift—hiding in air— Though some guard human souls; the others gloat __And sow their bait on snares. These spirit shapes wage...
poem/rogers/culture

‘Xanadu Revisited’: A Poem on D.C. Corruption, by Phil S. Rogers

The Society
June 9, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
4 Comments
. Xanadu Revisited after "Kubla Khan" by Samuel Coleridge __In Washington aristocrats __ordain corruption happily: __here the Potomac River flows __past million dollar homes in rows, ____no common man you’ll...
poet/tweedie/culture

On Indian Boarding Schools and Continuing Subjugation: A Poem by James A. Tweedie

The Society
June 8, 2023
Culture, Poetry
88 Comments
. How Strange We Cannot See a Reflection on Indian Boarding Schools and the Continuing Subjugation of Native Peoples God gave the land: the water, earth, and sky. And though we take it all away and try To...
poem/bryant/culture

Advice for Budweiser: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 7, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
48 Comments
. The Revised Guide to Selling Adult Beverages  Dismiss the woke approach to advertising--- It’s mad and bad and far from enterprising. Avoid loud, lipsticked lads in soapsud scenes In full and frothy...
poem/pain/humor

A Poem on an Old Garden Gnome, by Norma Pain

The Society
June 7, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Gnome A long-time fixture at our home Is Schnozz, our little garden gnome. This non-complaining happy chap Appears to have a handicap, And looks to me, I must confess, A poor neglected, grubby mess. His...
poem/sarangi/culture

A Poem on the Odisha Train Crash, by Satyananda Sarangi

The Society
June 6, 2023
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Life and Death This life has so much left in store, We think, a day gone by isn't lost; It's made of hours that bear no cost, A hundred gone, a thousand more While each tomorrow brings its weight, A list...
poem/duncan/culture

‘An Aging Senator Returns to the Capitol’: A Poem by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
June 5, 2023
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. An Aging Senator Returns to the Capitol Confused and more than half-way gone to Hell, They wheel her in like some decrepit couch They found beside the road. What ebon spell Or awful drug could fortify that...

A Poem on Creation, by D.R. Rainbolt

The Society
June 5, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Creation From deep within eternity, the soundOf song burst out! As Perfect Fullness stirred,A melody in wisdom wrought, profound,Complex in form and powerful in wordReverberated…...
poem/salemi/blank verse

‘Contract Murder’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
June 3, 2023
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Contract Murder No one is ever quite sure how it’s planned— What’s clear is that a grievance is expressed By injured parties, who directly make Complaints to the Commission, which in turn Investigates,...
poem/winick/satire

‘Target Gets Targeted’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
June 1, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
22 Comments
. Target Gets Targeted A leftist agenda endorsed,Down customers’ throats it was forced.They now find their business is blighted,You could say that they’ve been “Bud Lighted.” . . Newspapers Newspaper...
poem/freeman/culture

A Poem on the 2023 War in Sudan, by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
May 31, 2023
Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. When Two Elephants Fight---Sudan, 2023 The regular army and the Rapid Support Force (RSF) are at war with each other in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, Dharfur, and other places, and civilians are paying the...
poem/yapko/gaslighting

A Poem on Gaslighting and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
May 30, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
20 Comments
. Gaslighted Our friendship limped along for thirty years. I can’t say why. The scornful views you’d share Instilled resentment, anger, even tears. Your condescending words. Your cutting glare. “Why...
poem/bryant/culture

‘America’: A Memorial Day Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
May 29, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. America America, vast land of dreams __From sea to shining sea, Where eagles soar and twilight gleams __On Lady Liberty; America, you lit the way For those who sought a brighter day __In glorious...
poem/tweedie/beauty

A Poem for Memorial Day, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
May 29, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. With Liberty and Justice for All Old Glory may have stripes and stars, But on those stars and stripes are stains— Reminders of a past that’s ours— Where shame, as well as pride, remains. The sweat of...
poem/gardner/beauty

‘The Great War’: A Poem by Mary Gardner

The Society
May 29, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. The Great War Ever be their memory, Those interred across the sea, Men who, fighting evil, fell, Who endured the martial Hell; Those who to their homes returned, Shot or shell-shocked, broken,...
poet/amadeus v./culture

‘For My Grandfather’: A Poem by Amadeus V.

The Society
May 28, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. For My Grandfather While Sharpton praised low bandits for their grace, And Barack preached self-pity with pure glee, You always taught the simple truth of race. While Black Lives Matter set Pan’s chaos...
poem/frank/culture

‘Red Flags’: A Sestina Sonnet by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
May 28, 2023
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Rondel, Sestina
16 Comments
. Red Flags a sestina sonnet The national flags of the Westerners’ lands Turn red in the dim, fading light of the sunset, Like Communist red—bloody floors in a prison. All the flags look the same when the...
poem/whippman/beauty

‘True Grit’ and Other Poetry by David Whippman

The Society
May 27, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. True Grit My favourite movie? If I must decide, I'd pick a classic western above all, those epic films of frontier macho pride. Enter the hero, riding straight and tall. There'll be some gunplay, and a bar...
poem/bonham/culture

‘The Odd, Flawed and Awed’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
May 26, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. The Odd, Flawed and Awed Inspired by “The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Canadian poet Robert W. Service If you hear from God, though the words sound odd, __you must not ignore that voice. That’s what...
poem/coats/blank verse

‘Remorseless’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
May 25, 2023
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
51 Comments
. Remorseless Back on 19, returning from the lake, Where she had stowed sling chairs for next week’s meet, Her car broke down. She checked out what she knew, Glad to have parked securely in the grass. She...

‘On Second Thought’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
May 23, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. On Second Thought When words fail, __perhaps it’s not the words at all, __but hobbled minds that cannot call __a lucid image to avail ____the powers of description. When love fades, __it might not be true...
poem/freeman/culture

A Poem on Cathedrals by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
May 23, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
62 Comments
. Behind the Cathedral Master masons made these bastions their own by blending crafts, attaining structural awe; from Notre Dame, to Salisbury and Cologne they dazzled kings and stupefied the poor. The scale...

‘In a Soviet Gulag’ by Evan Mantyk: Read by Andrew Benson Brown

The Society
May 22, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Readings, Satire, Video
13 Comments
...
poem/crozier/culture

‘Cain’s Daughter’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

The Society
May 22, 2023
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Cain’s Daughter I was not in the garden when the veil of beauty tore I heard no serpent beckon to me through the orchard door I weep no tears beholding the angel’s flaming sword For I never breathed the...
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  1. Michael Vanyukov on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    A very authentic-sounding exploration of the power of human illusions.

  2. Mike Bryant on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    Wow, Brian, you have outdone yourself. You have honored this true soldier with this beautiful and detailed remembrance. You’ve captured…

  3. Warren Bonham on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    I had heard of this story but knew none of the details behind it. This was an extraordinarily well-crafted poem…

  4. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    I am flabbergasted, first, that you extracted this compelling story from history; second, that you wrote such a detailed and…

  5. Bruce Phenix on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    Thank you, Brian. A very moving and imaginative response to this strangely inspiring story. Your tenth verse is exquisite! Best…

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