Society of Classical Poets logo
  • About Us
  • Join
  • Donate
  • Poetry
    Random
    • 'To Write of Death' by Jeffrey Essmann

      The Society
      December 10, 2018
      Culture, Poetry
      6 Comments
    Recent
    • Sonnet XVIII of the Sacred Rhymes by Lope de Vega, Translated by Martin Rizley

      The Society
      February 8, 2023
      3
    • poetry/tweedie/equal

      Poetry Challenge: Equilateral Proverbs

      The Society
      February 7, 2023
      24
    • ‘The Villainy of Icicles’ by Brian Yapko

      The Society
      February 7, 2023
      20
    • ‘Fear for the Future’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

      The Society
      February 6, 2023
      28
    • ‘Trust’ by R.M. Zimmerman

      The Society
      February 6, 2023
      15
    • poem/yapko/filial piety/parents

      A Poem on Estrangement from Conservative Parents, by Brian Yapko

      The Society
      February 5, 2023
      23
  • Submit
  • Contests
    Random
    • poetry/contest/inspiration

      Winners of 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      February 1, 2023
      High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      2 Comments
    Recent
    • poetry/tweedie/equal

      Poetry Challenge: Equilateral Proverbs

      The Society
      February 7, 2023
      24
    • poetry/contest/inspiration

      The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      February 1, 2023
      14
    • poetry/contest/inspiration

      Winners of 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      February 1, 2023
      2
    • 2022 FIFA World Cup Poetry Challenge

      The Society
      December 9, 2022
      21
    • Prose-That’s-Really-a-Sonnet Poetry Challenge

      The Society
      November 22, 2022
      47
    • Metrical Clerihew Poetry Challenge

      The Society
      October 9, 2022
      72
  • Journal
  • Essays
    Random
    • 10 Greatest Poems by John Keats

      The Society
      December 22, 2017
      Beauty, Best Poems, Culture, Essays, Poetry
      17 Comments
    Recent
    • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive

      Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      January 23, 2023
      39
    • ‘I Met a Shepherdess’ by Guido Cavalcanti, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      January 8, 2023
      20
    • ‘Calendar Poems’: An Essay by Margaret Coats

      The Society
      January 1, 2023
      37
    • Henny and Sal: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      November 14, 2022
      12
    • An Essay on John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      October 20, 2022
      24
    • ‘Obedience’ by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi (with a Long Note)

      The Society
      September 13, 2022
      16
  • Members
  • Poetry Contests
  • Donate
  • About Us
  • Submit

Culture

Home
Poetry
Culture

‘Xi’ and Other Poetry by Morrison Handley-Schachler

The Society
January 7, 2023
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
8 Comments
. Xi When Xerxes saw his bridge of boats which spanned The Hellespont destroyed, forthwith he laid Fetters of iron on the waves and flayed With whips the surf which had him dared withstand. So Gaius, too,...

‘Cambridge Dictionary Women, 2040’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
January 6, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Satire
10 Comments
. Cambridge Dictionary Women, 2040 In 2040 leftist sports fans Realized their greatest joys, With legendary women’s records Smashed by athletes born as boys. Serena Williams’, Brittney Griner’s Records...

A Poem Commemorating January 6th and Ashli Babbitt, by Monika Cooper

The Society
January 6, 2023
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. La Bandera “ never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders” —Benjamin Franklin It was the feast of the Epiphany. The mall was full, the air alive with flags And musical with...

‘The Babylonian Exile’ and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
January 5, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. The Babylonian Exile At first it cut much quicker to the bone: The loss of all, our world brought to the brink. But by and by you slowly start to think That maybe your concerns were overblown. Their gods are...
Poetry Catholic priest abortion

A Poem for Defrocked Priest Frank Pavone: ‘Unholy Orders’ by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
January 4, 2023
Culture, Poetry
68 Comments
. Unholy Orders for defrocked priest Frank Pavone I heard disturbing news: Pope Francis fired a priest For preaching pro-life views To save some of the least, Against unholy orders From bishops from on...

‘Shams’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
January 3, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Satire
18 Comments
. Shams Shams-i Tabrizi was Rumi’s intimate friend and spiritual mentor. I stayed awake those short midsummer nights When naked druids danced beneath the moon’s Hypnotic glow performing pagan rites And...

‘A Broadside’ by Peter Lillios

The Society
January 3, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
17 Comments
. . A Broadside Drawn up before us, proud and sure, Costumed in their haute couture, And sporting all the best coiffures, With colours purple and azure, Loom the powers of disarray, Armed with bromide and...

Two Winter Poems by Phil S. Rogers

The Society
January 2, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
9 Comments
. The Winter Cold I so despise the winter cold; I admit it makes me utter all kinds of truly nasty words, disposition in the gutter. The snow, the ice, this arctic clime do not set my heart aflutter, and...

‘Calendar Poems’: An Essay by Margaret Coats

The Society
January 1, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Found Poem, Poetry
37 Comments
. Calendar Poems by Margaret Coats January loves what goblets hold, And February complains of cold. March plows the fields with furrows new, And April nurtures each flower’s hue. Dew on the grass, and leaves...

Two Different Views on New Year’s Resolutions: Poems by David Whippman and Evan Mantyk

The Society
December 31, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
16 Comments
. New Year’s Resolution a villanelle by David Whippman And what have you resolved for the new year? I guarantee your vows will be in vain. Oh, I don’t doubt that right now you’re sincere. But soon,...

Two New Year’s Eve Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 31, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire
30 Comments
. Same Old New Year   I bid adieu. You shuffle out. A new you shimmies in--- A you without the frown and pout, A happy you of zip and clout, And once again I’ve little doubt You’ll make me rich and...

A Poem for Isabel Vaughan-Spruce: ‘Her Silent Prayer’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant 

The Society
December 30, 2022
Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. Her Silent Prayer  for Isabel Vaughan-Spruce  Beneath the whisper of suburban trees One sombre, sunless, British afternoon, A hushed and humble lady stood at ease In...

Poems Against Birth Control, from Joshua C. Frank

The Society
December 30, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Found Poem, Poetry, Rondeau
21 Comments
. Two Empty Chairs “We did the NFP bit for awhile ... and have felt revulsion over it ever since. During that time we might have had at least two more children.”  ---Letter to the Editor, Seattle...

‘Where Ever-present Joy Knows Naught of Time’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
December 29, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
25 Comments
. “Where Ever-present Joy Knows Naught of Time” ---Dante, Paradiso, Canto X, D.L. Sayers translation a rondeau redouble Where ever-present joy knows naught of time, The music of infinity is sung In...

‘Crimes Against My Sanity’ and Other Poems on Parenting by Anna J. Arredondo

The Society
December 29, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle
22 Comments
. Crimes Against My Sanity At any-given-time o’clock While tidying my house, I find--- Oh look---is that another sock? It really isn’t such a shock; My kids for chaos were designed At any-given-time...

‘Addiction’ by Paul Buchheit

The Society
December 28, 2022
Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Addiction A ripple imperceptible, like hints of amber in the tiring balsams, swells to waves of apprehension, then imprints a vision on my mind, with carousels of pirouetting bronze bouquets that plead for...

‘The Fall of Babylon’ and Other Poetry by William Harrison

The Society
December 27, 2022
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Fall of Babylon Come hear the footsteps march at warlike pace, Come see the merchants weep and craftsmen flee. The vengeful grin on every stranger's face; The angel's cast the millstone in the...

‘St. Joseph’s Hymn of Praise’ and Other Christmas Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 25, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
27 Comments
. St. Joseph's Hymn of Praise Matthew 2: 10-15: “And when the Magi were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee...

‘An Iffy Christmas’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 25, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Readings, The Environment
27 Comments
. . An Iffy Christmas   with a nod and a wink to Rudyard Kipling If you can’t rise above the treetop fairy (That plastic risk to Rudolph’s rosy nose); If you can’t marvel at the Virgin Mary And...

‘Christmas Rules and Promises’ and Other Poetry by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
December 25, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
.   Christmas Rules and Promises My first rule for this Christmas is__No carrot sticks for me.They might have been a snowman's nose,__So I will let them be. My second rule this Christmas is__Your gift I will...

‘Glory in the Night’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
December 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Glory in the Night It was a night like any night, when in the evening chill Cold shepherds sat by bonfire's light on many a naked hill To warm themselves while watching over flocks of wandering sheep That...

‘Nativity Scene’ and Other Christmas Eve Poetry by Margaret Coats

The Society
December 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
43 Comments
. Nativity Scene The hour draws near to midnight, and a priest Completes his preparations for the feast, Assisting at last practice with the choir, Inspecting layout in a makeshift stable, Checking on the...

Classical Guitar for Christmas Performed by Poet Jeff Eardley

The Society
December 23, 2022
Culture, Music, Poetry
25 Comments
. A Christmas medley by poet Jeff Eardley: . . Jeff Eardley lives in the heart of England near to the Peak District National Park and is a local musician playing guitar, mandolin and piano steeped in the...

‘The Present—Tense’ by Damian Robin

The Society
December 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Present---Tense The partial thaw of yesterday now slips Beneath a crust of light that is white snow. This snow is hiding stumbling blocks that trip Intrepid elders' steps to broken hips As small-warmed...

A Translation of Martin Luther’s Christmas Hymn Vom Himmel Hoch by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 23, 2022
Culture, Music, Poetry, Translation
20 Comments
. Vom Himmel Hoch by Martin Luther (1483-1546) translation by James A. Tweedie 1. From highest heaven I here befall To bring a good news tale to all. So much I want this tale to bring To tell it I will gladly...

‘Sunday Morning While the World Burns’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
December 22, 2022
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Sunday Morning While the World Burns Another something, somewhere, every day Perturbs the practised calm of her routine. Those sad reflections on the fractured screen Of tragedy ten thousand miles...

A Poem on Stanford University’s ‘Harmful Language’ List, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 21, 2022
Culture, Poetry
28 Comments
. “Use the Word ‘Cancel’ or ‘End’ Instead of 'Abort'" —Stanford University's 'Harmful Language' List What might have been What could have been What would have been A child who dared to climb a...

On Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ Triptych: Poems by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
December 21, 2022
Art, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
10 Comments
. See the painting more closely here. Eden The newborn world is all aswirl with beasts Obedient who, as God specified, Have duly fruitful been, have multiplied And claim laid to the garden west to east. Their...

‘Continuation’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
December 20, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
26 Comments
. Continuation You and I are of two discrepant minds: We disagree on all that matters—plus, Our separate brains are not quite sure what kinds Of things they favor, making four of us. The four of us engage...

‘Mother’s TV’ and Other Poetry by James Kirkpatrick

The Society
December 20, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Triolet
15 Comments
. Mother’s TV It numbs regretBut, better yet,Helps her forget,Lest devils spawn. It quells each thoughtOf folly’s rotLost, sold, or bought,From dawn till dawn. Time Confounder,Siren Sounder,Demon Drowner...
poem/yapko/elagabalus/transgender

On Cambridge Dictionary Expanding Woman Definition: ‘There She Goes’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 19, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
76 Comments
. There She Goes When Everyone’s a Woman, No One’s a Woman upon reading the news story here. There she goes, erased from Cambridge pages--- An instant relic wafting on the fringe Of lunacy as sybils,...

‘The Tartini Tones’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
December 18, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
17 Comments
. The Tartini Tones Combination tones generated by violins of good quality can be easily heard, affecting the perception of the intervals. The harmonic content of the dyad is enriched by the combination tones...

‘The Portrait’ and Other Poetry by Lionel Willis

The Society
December 17, 2022
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Portrait   I dreamed I was an artist, and had made A likeness of the one I loved for all To wonder at, and, that the homage paid Might grow, I hung it on a trendy wall. It was a likeness, but had...

‘Toward Yehuling, 1211’ by Talbot Hook

The Society
December 15, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Toward Yehuling, 1211 Unfolding steppes emerge as flattened plains Of long grasses of gold and April-green, While crystal streams, like bold and careless children, Careen away through boundless fallow...

‘Lessons in Love’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 15, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
52 Comments
. Lessons in Love  inspired by William George Falconer (1922 – 2006) I. The First The photo flew from Grandad’s falling wallet. It fluttered to the floor within my reach. I picked it up and saw the...

Upon the Death of the Poet’s Brother: ‘Gathering in the Names’ by Martin Hill Ortiz

The Society
December 12, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Gathering in the Names for Michael Vincent Laureate Ortiz Hill (1957-2022) I'll add names to my life until I'm subtracted, And my name is as long as this poem. There's a scroll with a list of the lives I've...

‘Sister Thérèse Scatters Flowers’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 11, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Sister Thérèse Scatters Flowers Soeur Madèleine has brought me this bouquet--- Vermillion, scarlet, each rose bright and pretty. She’s kind to join me in my cell to pray, But I cannot accept her...

‘The 2022 State Dinner’ by Cheryl Corey

The Society
December 10, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
17 Comments
. The 2022 State Dinner Elites come to Washington and dine On lobster harvested in Maine. (They plan To regulate the catch, create a ban, Because enviros claim the fishing line Is killing whales.) Also on the...

A Poem on the Harry and Meghan Netflix Show, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 8, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire, Villanelle
54 Comments
. A Right Royal Circus a villanelle  Roll up! Roll up! Come hear the desperate call Of sparkless Markle and her spurned buffoon. With pleas for privacy, they welcome all. They welcome all like flies upon a...

‘Covid on a Clear Day’ by Laurie Holding

The Society
December 8, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Covid on a Clear Day One day I window watched for things to write; the next day I was lost, and underneath the spell of fever, hot, with skin stretched tight, I slept curled up with clenched and grinding...
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7




Trending Poems

  • poetry/contest/inspiration The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition 14 comments
  • ‘Greta’s Smorgasbord of Hate’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko 61 comments
  • A Poem for January 6 Prisoners: ‘Letter from a DC Prison’ by Adam Wasem 36 comments
  • poem/bryant/free speech/pronouns Poems on Politically Correct Churches and Language by Susan Jarvis Bryant 35 comments
  • poem/medical assistance in dying/MAID Poems on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), by Susan Jarvis Bryant 27 comments
  • poetry/robert burns/burns night A Sonnet for Burns Night, by Susan Jarvis Bryant 42 comments
  • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi 39 comments
  • ‘Bats at Sunset’ and Other Poetry by Maxim D. Shrayer 22 comments
  • poem/covid/James Sale/church closed StairWell Canto 8: ‘Covid-Priest’ by James Sale 30 comments
  • poetry poem bird ‘The Stonechat Listens At The Asylum Window’ by Charles Southerland 31 comments
  • ‘Carnivore Picks a Fight and Vegan Responds’: A Dialogue by Mary Gardner 39 comments
  • poem/philosophy/descartes ‘Practical Philosophy’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson 29 comments
  • ‘Iambic Barktameter’ by Mark F. Stone 30 comments
  • poem/imagination/eternity/death/still life ‘This Side of Eternity’ by Anna J. Arredondo 21 comments
  • poetry/contest/inspiration Winners of 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced 2 comments

Resources

       Online Teacher’s Poetry Guide

       How to Write with Meter

       Poems of the Year

       Best Love Poems of 2021

       Best Haiku of 2022

 

Poetry Challenges

       Rhyme Two Random Words

       Classic Movie-Inspired Poem

       Bedtime Prayer

       ‘Tyranny of Fear and Lies…’

       What Rhymes with Orange? 

       Turn Famous Poem into Limerick 

       A Raven-Like Poem on Poe’s Death

       Split Nursery Rhyme       

       Poetry Quotes Challenge

       Sonnet in Iambic Monometer

Daily Poetry

Receive daily posts directly to your email inbox. The SCP website acts as an online daily Journal.

Join 1,607 other subscribers

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Art
  • Beauty
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Children's
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Culture
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Ekphrastic
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
  • Featured
  • For Educators
  • Found Poem
  • From the Society
  • Haiku and Senryu
  • High School Submissions
  • Human Rights in China
  • Humor
  • Interviews
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
  • Popular Poetry Archives
  • Readings
  • Reviews
  • Riddles
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shakespeare
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • The Raven
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

Trending Poetry

  • poetry/contest/inspiration The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition 14 comments
  • ‘Greta’s Smorgasbord of Hate’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko 61 comments
  • A Poem for January 6 Prisoners: ‘Letter from a DC Prison’ by Adam Wasem 36 comments
  • poem/bryant/free speech/pronouns Poems on Politically Correct Churches and Language by Susan Jarvis Bryant 35 comments
  • poem/medical assistance in dying/MAID Poems on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), by Susan Jarvis Bryant 27 comments
  • poetry/robert burns/burns night A Sonnet for Burns Night, by Susan Jarvis Bryant 42 comments
  • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi 39 comments
  • ‘Bats at Sunset’ and Other Poetry by Maxim D. Shrayer 22 comments
  • poem/covid/James Sale/church closed StairWell Canto 8: ‘Covid-Priest’ by James Sale 30 comments
  • poetry poem bird ‘The Stonechat Listens At The Asylum Window’ by Charles Southerland 31 comments
  • ‘Carnivore Picks a Fight and Vegan Responds’: A Dialogue by Mary Gardner 39 comments
  • poem/philosophy/descartes ‘Practical Philosophy’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson 29 comments
  • ‘Iambic Barktameter’ by Mark F. Stone 30 comments
  • poem/imagination/eternity/death/still life ‘This Side of Eternity’ by Anna J. Arredondo 21 comments
  • poetry/contest/inspiration Winners of 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced 2 comments

Resources

          1. How to Write a Sonnet

          2. How to Write a Haiku

          3. How to Write a Limerick

          4. Best Poems of 2019

          5. Best Haiku of 2020

          6. Poetry Lesson Plan

          7. Poetry Contests

 

 

  • Poetry Resources
  • Poetry Readings
  • High School Poetry
  • Translation
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
  • From the Society
  • Poetry Archive
  • For Educators
  • Humor
  • Reviews
  • About Us
  • The Raven
  • Riddles
  • Journal
  • Members
  • Terms of Use
  • The Society of Classical Poets © 2022