‘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 28 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...
On Cambridge Dictionary Expanding Woman Definition: ‘There She Goes’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society December 19, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Satire 79 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 26 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...
On CBS Confirming Hunter Biden’s Laptop, and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society December 7, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Satire 27 Comments . CBS Has Now Verified CBS says it’s now verified, The laptop Hunter took in for repair. And other breaking news that it’s supplied Is Washington has crossed the Delaware. . . Plan Needed Republicans...
‘China’s Silent Screams’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society December 6, 2022 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 25 Comments . China’s Silent Screams The CCP will never hear the screams Of those who strive to find their way back home. It steals all hope and freedom---snatches dreams From lost souls tossed where wolves...
‘Grifters’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society December 6, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire 19 Comments . Grifters With smug, aggressive faux urbanity __They do their worst to seize control. They think it signals perfect sanity __When they adopt a regal role, Expecting us to stroke their vanity, __Lest our good...
‘What Now Will They Build?’ by Michael Charles Maibach The Society December 5, 2022 Culture, Poetry 8 Comments . What Now Will They Build Written upon reading about anti-colonizer graffiti recently found on a Lincoln statue. Read the story here. We see angry children Assembled after dark. Attack defenseless statues Of...
‘Advent Poem’ by Alena Casey The Society December 4, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 25 Comments . Advent Poem When October leaves have fallen and November skies are grey, The stores proclaim that Jesus, hope, and joy are on the way. The virgins hear and heed the call (this world they long to flee), And...
‘Last Letter from Florence’ by Lionel Willis The Society December 3, 2022 Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry 13 Comments . Last Letter from Florence A recent incident recalls the fears Your letters have expressed: that seven years In this art-laden place might rob me of Whatever you once thought that you could love: The flat I...
A Poem on Underage Transgender Surgery: ‘Making Children Lie’ by Maura H. Harrison The Society December 3, 2022 Culture, Poetry 13 Comments . Making Children Lie __Canker of mind, the soul Denied—a lonely social wound Is making children lie with pruned __And grafted lines, their whole __Unfolding stories cut And rearranged. Inverted nouns And...
Inspired by the ‘Trans’ Jesus Sermon: ‘Check Out Your Church’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society December 1, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Satire 39 Comments . Check Out Your Church inspired by this article: Queen's former chaplain, others slam 'perverse' Cambridge sermon about 'trans' Jesus: ' Repulsive and shameful' Are the pronouns in the Bible ripe for...
Legends of Liberty, Volume 2: ‘Lightning Ben’ by Andrew Benson Brown The Society December 1, 2022 Culture, Epic, Humor, Poetry 31 Comments . Lightning Ben an excerpt from Legends of Liberty, Volume 2 Sing, muse! Bestow your gifts on—blah blah blah. I opened my first book with that. You get The point. Obliging poets need to draw The paths of...
‘Pope-Lion’ by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi The Society November 30, 2022 Culture, Poetry, Satire 8 Comments . Pope-Lion by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (1791-1863)translated from Romanesco by Joseph S. Salemi Before Pope Genga went down to the grottoTo be four slabs of cured ham on the bone,He was thought by everyone in...
‘From Left to Right’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society November 29, 2022 Culture, Poetry 25 Comments . From Left to Right I started out a liberal, __Just like my family was. It made me feel superior, __That’s what leftism does. But once I moved from school to work __I saw with my own eyes, Most leftist...
Thomas Payne’s ‘Liberty Tree’ Set to Music by Jack DesBois The Society November 27, 2022 Culture, Music, Poetry, Song Lyrics 7 Comments . A contextual note: The American patriot Thomas Payne wrote "The Liberty Tree" early in the American Revolution; it was published in the Pennsylvania Magazine in July 1775. Payne wrote the song to be sung to...
‘God’s Finger on Whittaker Chambers’ by Joshua C. Frank The Society November 25, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 30 Comments . God’s Finger on Whittaker Chambers My baby miracle so dear Smeared oatmeal on her face; I saw her perfect seashell ear, Curving like a vase, The pinkest little fiddlehead, In spiral like a scroll. How...
‘Thanksgiving 2022’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society November 24, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 27 Comments . Thanksgiving 2022 Today’s the day we gather and embrace The chance to join in praise for gifts we share. We cuddle, chat and chortle---face-to-face. We’re social souls not meant to sit and stare At...
‘I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving’ by Roy E. Peterson The Society November 24, 2022 Culture, Humor, Poetry 6 Comments . I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving I am thankful for Thanksgiving, A special holiday That doesn't require atonement, Or starvation, by the way. There are no gifts I need to give, Less money to be spent. Just...
‘Thanksgiving Memories’ by James A. Tweedie The Society November 24, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 9 Comments . Thanksgiving Memories A honeyed ham impaled with clove; Mashed yam with bits of sweet pecan; A turkey lurking in the stove With tryptophan to make us yawn. Tomato juice with horseradish Lime Jell-o mixed...
‘A Thanksgiving Offering’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society November 24, 2022 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 24 Comments . A Thanksgiving Offering We offer thanks to You who made this Earth The sun and stars, for health and love and mirth. For granting us the sacred gift of life Along with faith to overcome all strife; For...