‘A Poetic Heretic’s Poetry Tips’ and Other Poetry on Poetry, by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society May 20, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle 34 Comments . A Poetic Heretic’s Poetry Tips a villanelle inspired by Dr. Salemi's essay "Poetry As The Philosophers Stone" Don’t listen to the howl of highbrow spiel From preachy creatures out to flatten...
‘La Corona’ and Other Poetry by Monika Cooper The Society May 19, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 9 Comments . La Corona A childhood scene recalled by Trump of his mother, Mary MacLeod Trump, in The Art of the Deal, with a parallel to English-Scottish history. Two popes, two presidents. Two queens. Recall How...
‘Rhymeless in Manama’ and Other Poetry by Wael Almahdi The Society May 18, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 15 Comments . Rhymeless in Manama My UK friend said, “Rhyme is old, you need to venture free and bold.” My Turkish friend said, “Rhyme's a must, a rhymeless bard deserves no trust.” But I found out I needn't...
‘Canyon de Chelly’: A Poem by James A. Tweedie The Society May 17, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 11 Comments . Canyon de Chelly Reflections of a Non-Native Visitor . An updraft from the red-rock canyon floor Blows through the mesa’s Piñon pine and sage As ravens, wings outstretched, in freedom soar Between the...
‘So Much For Legitimate Women’s Sports’ and Other Poetry by Mark Stellinga The Society May 17, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 27 Comments . So Much for Legitimate Women's Sports Vladimir Gonzales, a young Italian athlete, With 28 inch biceps and a 68 inch chest, Entered competitions where he knew he wouldn't find Even a...
‘Bach’s Amazing Journey’ and Other Bach Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society May 16, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry 35 Comments . Bach's Amazing Journey In the autumn of 1705, when Johann Sebastian Bach was 20, he set out to travel over 275 miles (each way) on foot from Arnstadt, Thuringia, in the heart of what is now Germany, to...
From a Grandmother to Her Grandaughter: Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society May 14, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 18 Comments . Newness a sonnet corona for Doris I watch you view the newness of your world. Your widened eyes are dazzled by the light. Your fists of curiosity unfurl Like flexing wings on chicks who dream of...
‘The Ballad of the Heroic Mother’ and Other Poetry for Mother’s Day by Joshua C. Frank The Society May 14, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 29 Comments . The Ballad of the Heroic Mother a true story A toddler into water fell __And sank as quick as rock. At nine feet deep, she couldn’t yell __Or jump or thrash in shock. Her mother heard the splash...
‘On the Divine Mercy’: A Poem by Eustache Deschamps, Translated by Margaret Coats The Society May 11, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation 29 Comments . On the Divine Mercy Seven times the just man falls, and rises again. ---Proverbs 24:16 by Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406) translated by Margaret Coats The just man seven times a day offends, Says Solomon’s...
‘Why Can’t I Marry My Pit Bull?’ and Other Poems by Norma Pain The Society May 10, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire 28 Comments . Why Can’t I Marry My Pit Bull? Why can’t I marry my pit bull? He’d make an incredible spouse, In spite of the dog hair and doo-doo, He’d always be king in my house. He’d listen whenever I talked to...
A Poem on Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, by Jeff Eardley The Society May 9, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 12 Comments . September 9th 1901… A September evening in old Paris town, The time when Parisians let their hair down. There’s laughing and dancing and folk getting drunk, And all of the ladies are looking like...
‘The Shortfalls of Empirical Knowledge’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society May 7, 2023 Culture, Humor, Poetry, Satire 19 Comments . The Shortfalls of Empirical Knowledge Sorry, Iowa. Each night is different from all previous And therefore not the same as those to come. The ways of Nature can be devious: They test experience and leave us...
A Poem Inspired by the Coronation of King Charles III, by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society May 7, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 35 Comments . An Unexpected Smile inspired by the coronation of King Charles III Today I woke before the sun had spread Her golden grin across the Texas skies. With childlike zest and joy I leapt from bed To cram my...
‘Byron Swims the Hellespont’ by Joseph S. Salemi: A Reading by Andrew Benson Brown The Society May 6, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Readings, Video 8 Comments . If you enjoy this video from Andrew Benson Brown's Classical Poets Live, please click on "Watch on YouTube" and then press like and...
DoorWay Canto 2 Extract from James Sales’ Epic Poem The Society May 6, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Dante, Epic, Poetry 16 Comments . DoorWay Canto 2, Extract The Poet has gone through the ‘DoorWay’ and entered heaven. Here in the second Canto and in the constellation of Libra he meets his dead grandfather (who was a Libran: 30/7) and...
A Poem and Warning for the Coronation of King Charles III, by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society May 5, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 58 Comments . A Right Royal Coronation Anon the pomp and pageantry will beam From London as King Charles III is crowned. The Abbey-bound procession’s set to stream On gleaming tides of splendour to the sound Of jaunty...
‘Planets, Gods and Weekdays’: A Poem by Isabella Simmonds The Society May 4, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 23 Comments . Planets, Gods and Weekdays Alarms are snoozed, and Monday's born. A few more snores as dreams are shorn, And sleep is corked by clanging horn; __The moon's bereft, Her silver day now dimmed and worn __By...
Poems on Books and Devices, and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society May 3, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 22 Comments . Books Some say that books are obsolete, __Preferring new devices. But reading books is still a treat, __No gadget quite suffices. . . Tipping Etiquette The credit card machine implied that __I should...
‘On Binge-Reading Sylvia Plath’: An Expanded Sonnet by Brian Yapko The Society May 2, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 47 Comments . On Binge-Reading Sylvia Plath Verdammte mirror-bee-eyes stare at you As you describe in depth colossal pain. You say too much: your tormented achoo Your lack of faith, your overactive brain. I read your...
A Recipe and a Poem: ‘Chicken and Andouille Gumbo’ and Other Poetry by Mary Gardner The Society May 1, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 15 Comments . Chicken and Andouille Gumbo Try my gumbo recipe From the land of andouille: ½ cup unsalted butter; ½ cup all-purpose flour Melt the butter, whisk in flour, Cook and stir a quarter-hour Till it’s...
‘Who Is Behind Your Mask’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson The Society April 30, 2023 Culture, Poetry 15 Comments . Who Is Behind Your Mask Now some of my friends, who put on a good show, Are brave in the face of their fears, this I know. The burdens of life they are striving to hide, So what are the things they are...
Dogs, Cats, Nursery Rhymes & Mother Goose: Three Poems by James A. Tweedie The Society April 29, 2023 Culture, Humor, Poetry 13 Comments . Why Children Like Nursery Rhymes A story to be told, a tale to tell Of things that do not matter much at all. Who cares about the farmer in the dell? Or Humpty-Dumpty falling off a wall? The pickled peppers...
A Poetic Call to Action Regarding Transgenderism and Fairness in School Athletics The Society April 27, 2023 Culture, Poetry 14 Comments . Let Us Lift Our Voices Higher by Mark F. Stone Don’t let leaders make their choices never having heard your voices. Pay no heed to churlish chatter, that your input doesn’t matter. They are hoping...
‘Encapsulations of Classic Texts’: Four Poems by Joshua C. Frank The Society April 27, 2023 Alexandroid, Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments . Encapsulations “It’s a shame that the tradition of producing small poetic encapsulations of classic texts seems to have died out.” ---Joseph S. Salemi . I. The Way of Peace an alexandroid Thomas a...
‘La Luna’ and Other Poetry by Monika Cooper The Society April 26, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 8 Comments . La Luna The poet compares the moon to Eve, our fallen but redeemed mother, and the sun to Mary, daughter of Eve and Mother of us all; she celebrates Our Lady’s victory over witchcraft, communism,...
‘Receiving an Organ Transplant from China’: A Poem by Evan Mantyk The Society April 25, 2023 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 38 Comments . Receiving an Organ Transplant from China The waiting time was short, extremely short: A couple weeks and fifty thousand bucks Was all it took in China; somewhere else It’d take six months at least, which...
Sketches of Three Communistic Big Heads: Poems by Damian Robin The Society April 24, 2023 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Satire 9 Comments . Sketches of Three Communistic Big Heads . 1. Xi Jinping Who thinks this belly-flopping avarist is good except those marrying the flies that buzz and hiss while he rips up the world, gnashing it to...
A Poem on Social Media Vanity: ‘Awaiting Adulation’ and Other Poetry by Warren Bonham The Society April 23, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 6 Comments . Awaiting Adulation We all spend our lives awaiting adulations’ late arrival. We’re convinced that’s all we need for our emotional survival. So, we count up every “Like” and then we add them to each...
Poems for Shakespeare’s Birthday in an Era of A.I. Poetry, by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society April 23, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire, Shakespeare 29 Comments . Bardic Bots Will Shakespeare has been rendered obsolete. Bill’s quillings are a patriarchal scandal. His iambs lack that fresh, progressive beat. Barred from Avon is his current handle. As lost as...
Poems on a Vilhelm Kyhn Painting and Jan. 6 Writer Julie Kelly, by Bruce Dale Wise The Society April 20, 2023 Acrostic, Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry 7 Comments . A Picture of Repose A young boy’s seated on a wall that overlooks Capri, an oil painting by Dane Peter Vilhelm Carl Kyhn, where a rock ridge arises over architextured walls, with arches, domes and towers...
‘Standing Up’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society April 19, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Science 25 Comments . Standing Up The screech of an eagle __Will marshal our senses And, if reckoned regal, __Refocus our lenses __On many events That we blithely ignored __When we kept to our tents, Hypothermic and bored. As a...
A Poem on Friendship and Other Poetry by Stephen M. Dickey The Society April 19, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 5 Comments . Friendship When was it first struck up? Nobody knows. It’s carried us through heydays, drabs, and falls. An unsown balm, ex nihilo it grows Like capers from the cracks in old stone walls. Previously...
‘Historical Negation’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society April 18, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 27 Comments . Historical Negation A pen works wonders. Just ink in, scratch out. Rewrite what people learn about the past. Repeat false facts, promote a fabrication--- Voila! You’ve aced historical negation. You don’t...
‘La Pompe Funèbre’: A Dramatic Monologue in Poetry by Joseph S. Salemi The Society April 17, 2023 Culture, Poetry 24 Comments . La Pompe Funèbre Félix François Faure, President of the French Republic, died on February 16, 1899 in his chambers at the Palais de l’Elysée, while being fellated by his mistress Marguerite Steinheil....
Japanese-Style Poems on Free Thought, by Laura Kelly The Society April 17, 2023 Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Satire 9 Comments . Senryu on Free Thought . I. As storied Kipling Is stricken from pupils’ tales I feel his burden . II. Arise Dame Roseanne From the inquisitor’s stake Comedy’s phoenix . III. Young Harry...
‘Worse Than Widowed’: A Poem by Cynthia Erlandson The Society April 15, 2023 Culture, Poetry 20 Comments . Worse Than Widowed They’ve made us widows while we’re still alive. I’m not allowed to see my wife, although She isn’t sick; the head nurse told me so. (I know, of course, she’s sick with lack of...
Poems on Growing Up, by James A. Tweedie The Society April 15, 2023 Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry 14 Comments . Growing Up . Starving Children in China If you don’t eat the food that’s on your plate ....I will, in turn, assert That you will be excused—no need to wait— ....For you won’t get dessert. . Crime...
‘Just Words’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain The Society April 14, 2023 Culture, Love Poems, Poetry 26 Comments . Just Words The more we are together dear, __I fear… can love suffice? Of late I find you’re cavalier __And not so very nice. Your nonstop nag-nag-nagging __Is a never-ending drain, Your tongue...
‘Restoration of Nôtre Dame’: A Poem by Margaret Coats The Society April 14, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 32 Comments . Restoration of Nôtre Dame One Paris evening seven years ago, We walked the neighborhood of Nôtre Dame, But no café had seats. We settled on A bench with the cathedral as tableau, Congenial scene our...
‘Acceptance’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society April 13, 2023 Culture, Education, Love Poems, Poetry, Satire 24 Comments . Acceptance Relationships are courses in which You should not enroll, If changing other people is your Pre-existing goal. . . When One Overrides Twenty-Six It started in first grade as I recall. Our son...