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Culture

Share Your Poetry on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Society
February 26, 2022
Culture, Poetry
245 Comments
. Many poets have been sending in poetry on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Post your poetry directly...

‘Because He Could Not Jump’ adapted from Lewis Carroll’s ‘The Pig’ by Beverly Stock

The Society
February 25, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
7 Comments
. Poem Introduction Lewis Carroll (who lived 1832-1898 and was born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) was a master at humorous wordplay and making the illogical logical. His accomplishments as an English writer of...

A Poem for the CDC: ‘Unsettled’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
February 22, 2022
Culture, Poetry
40 Comments
. Unsettled written upon reading of the CDC refusing to publish data on booster effectiveness I’m niggled and nettled. The science is settled __Yet fails to make sense or equate. My mind is left addled when...

A Poem on Criselda Vasquez’s ‘New American Gothic,’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
February 21, 2022
Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
22 Comments
. A Working Man and Wife “…aware of the humanity on the other side of the door.” ---Criselda Vasquez They stand before some distant trees, on pavement, amber, gray,a three-door cargo van, a...

Poetry for the Canadian Trucker Protest, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
February 19, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau, Villanelle
25 Comments
. Shining Armor The knights roll in. They have a rift to heal--- A rift that stokes the embers of despair. With grit they steer their trusty steeds of steel. They come in peace to seal a vital deal With he...

‘Everlasting’: A Blank Verse Poem by C.B. Anderson

The Society
February 19, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. Everlasting I must admit, when I arrived in Hell I was surprised.  Not, as you might surmise, Because I never reckoned it was real— And surely not because I thought I’d led A sinless life—but owing to...

‘Gift for the Living’ by David Watt

The Society
February 18, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. Gift for the Living The life that he led is a memory now, Subjugated by settled existence, With old hunting grounds bearing the imprint of plough And a musket ball hail for resistance— Certain death the...

‘God’s M.O.’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
February 17, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. God’s M.O. One hundred thousand people at the game, And half might pray to God: “Let my team win!” While for the other team folks pray the same. If I was God it might make my head spin, But that’s...

A Triolet for Joe Rogan, by J.J. Charles

The Society
February 16, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Triolet
3 Comments
. A Triolet I promise not to be the coward Who says "I’m sorry" to Big Tech While Joe Rogan’s overpowered. I promise not to be the coward Who can’t be brave, who can’t go forward; Our tweets are...

‘Reflections on a Visit to Salem’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
February 15, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. Reflections on a Visit to Salem I wander down a haunted, cobbled street And watch the sun rise red above the sea. The maple leaves have turned to red as well. October’s come and Salem is replete With...

‘The H.R. Manager’s Toilet Break’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
February 15, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. The H.R. Manager's Toilet Break At ten-fifteen he sits upon His porcelain panopticon And stares into his tiny screen. He clears his bowels and fills his spleen With bile he milks from boundless...

A Valentine from Geoffrey Chaucer, Margaret Coats, and James A. Tweedie

The Society
February 14, 2022
Beauty, Chaucer, Culture, Love Poems, Music, Poetry, Readings, Rondel, Translation, Video
21 Comments
.   https://youtu.be/3XWcnISYGSE . Rondel for Saint Valentine's Day by Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1340–1400) | modernized in the original lyric form by Margaret Coats Now welcome, springtime, with your gentle...
poem/anderson/love/valentines day

‘Aspects of Love’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
February 13, 2022
Culture, Love Poems, Pantoum, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
35 Comments
. Aspects of Love . I. Unrequited a rondeau redoublé Tonight, my eyes are open and aware. The kiss I trusted was a lustful lie. I’m letting go of love that isn’t there. My heart holds dreams no...

A Poem for Ethan Gutmann, by Damian Robin

The Society
February 11, 2022
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
4 Comments
. As a Matter of Course for Ethan Gutmann, pioneer in investigating organ harvesting by the Chinese Communist Party Of course, you are a wanted man __on Party databases— So too are you a wanted man __by...

A Poem on Doping in the Olympics, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
February 10, 2022
Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. At What Cost? In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, And a wicked man living long in his...

‘The Crucifixion of the Serpent’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
February 8, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. The Crucifixion of the Serpent And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. —Numbers...

‘Aromatherapy’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
February 8, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
. Aromatherapy This tale concerns an English Lass, Who signed up for an evening class, “There’s money to be made” said she, “I’ll try Aromatherapy.” So, every Winter, Wednesday nights, She headed...
Poem Rhet Butler

Poetry Challenge: Write a Classic Movie-Inspired Poem

The Society
February 7, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
95 Comments
. Write a poem that casts a fresh eye over a classic movie---any form, any length, any mood. This challenge comes from the lovely Susan Jarvis Bryant. Her example is below. Post your movie-inspired poem in...

‘The Agony and The Ecstasy’ by Gail Kaye Naegele

The Society
February 7, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Agony and The Ecstasy I beg among the lonely hours__oblivious to time and spaceand pace beneath the Sistine towers__where pigments paint my puzzled face.Why call me to divine commission,as if I am the...

A Limerick on Minnie Mouse’s New Outfit, by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
February 6, 2022
Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry
4 Comments
. And so, Minnie Mouse will impress in pantsuit and flat heels, no less. __But what of the vision, __of Mickey's transition in heels and a polka-dot dress? . . Paul A. Freeman is the author of Rumours of...
poem/rizley/music

‘Ode to Joy’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
February 5, 2022
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Music, Poetry
29 Comments
. Ode to Joy My final symphony---my best by far!--- Which crowns a challenged life of brilliant works. Vienna’s finest came! Some from afar: Nobility, musicians, Prussians, Turks. A triumph! Yet it made my...

‘Eenee, Meenee, Mainee, Mo’ by Rudyard Kipling Has Many Verses You May Not Know

The Society
February 5, 2022
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
. The terms eenee, meenee, mainee, and mo can be found in Rudyard Kipling’s “A Counting-Out Song“ from Land and Sea Tales for Scouts and Guides, published in 1935. I knew the last five lines of the...
song/brockstein/freedom convoy

A Poem for the Canadian Trucker Protest: ‘Ottawa Ho!’ by Jack DesBois

The Society
February 3, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. Ottawa Ho! In the days of yore, it is written, All the dreamers would dream of the sea. __But the sailor’s way __Has become passé— It’s the trucker’s life for me! How I long for the open...

‘Those Who Go Down to the Sea in Ships’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
February 3, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Those Who Go Down to the Sea in Ships a poetic paraphrase of Psalm 107:23-30 The men who go down to the sea in their ships, Who sail on the water and pursue their trade, The sound of the sea echoes back from...
poem/flott/culture

‘Abortion’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
February 3, 2022
Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. Abortion “My body, my choice” All her life that seemed best, And especially where There was rape or incest. But as early as twelve weeks A fetus feels pain, And in just eight weeks’ time Facial...

‘Plum Blossom Blessings’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
January 31, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. Plum Blossom Blessings The pine, bamboo, and plum are winter’s friends, Yet plum trees bloom to overcome the chill And herald spring. Resilient health extends Throughout my struggling mind and body...

‘The Blood of Revolution’ by Camille Cechini

The Society
January 30, 2022
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
. The Blood of Revolution  The blood of revolution fills my veins; Of those who fought to sever tyrant’s chains, Of those whose voice of freedom wasn’t kept Silent as enslavèd justice wept. Of mothers...

‘Tel Shikmona’ by Judy Koren

The Society
January 29, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Tel Shikmona Mosaics here surprise: you wouldn’t know, tramping on thistles, dry late-summer stubble and tripping over rubble, stumbling, slow, that this rough trail leads to the long-ago till...

‘Sir Percival’ by Alan Grant

The Society
January 28, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Sir Percival A quiet desperation lives within my soul: to find the Holy Cup, the Grail; to touch something beyond this mortal pen, and taste my God, His blood, from Cross’s nail. I am not worthy, this I...

A Poem for Holocaust Remembrance Day: ‘Never Again’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 27, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
18 Comments
. Never Again Never again, beneath the sun Would mortal beings come undone. A pledge arose and soared on high--- It warmed the heart and lit the sky The day the force for freedom won. Yet now cruel camps with...

‘Bach in Heidelberg’ by Lionel Willis

The Society
January 27, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
7 Comments
. Bach in Heidelberg for Marjorie Bach’s chorus didn’t leave us much to say After the Easter Monday concert in The Holy Spirit Church. Taking our way Over the Old Bridge seemed like we’d just...

‘The Attempt to Curse J.K. Rowling’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
January 26, 2022
Culture, Poetry
46 Comments
. The Attempt to Curse J.K. Rowling Once upon a time the stars aligned To strike a writer bound for King’s Cross Station As if by magic with this happy thought: Suppose a boy to his surprise should find He...

‘The Demons of the Night’ by Peter Hartley

The Society
January 26, 2022
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. The Demons of the Night All since she left me I have lived in fear Of creatures dwelling in the shadows here, And all around and pressing into me With pallid faces I can scarcely see. For they are hooded...

‘The Two Corteges’ by Soulary, Translated by Hadyn Adams

The Society
January 25, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
4 Comments
. The Two Corteges by Joséphin Soulary (1815-1891) | translated from French by Hadyn Adams Within a church two groups of people met: An infant’s funeral cortege, the first: A woman followed, her heart fit...

‘On the Cost of Doing Evil’ by Lee Goldberg

The Society
January 25, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
7 Comments
. On the Cost of Doing Evil I care not if the sky burns red and human flesh is seared. I pray that all souls will just rot as many long have feared. I wait for when the birds don’t fly and locusts take the...
poetry/robert burns/burns night

Two Poems for Burns Night 2022, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 25, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
29 Comments
. Toasting Burns    His words ring out from windswept glens. __They lilt from lapping lochs. I see love through his red-rose lens; __I hear the midnight clocks In castle nooks chime Auld Lang Syne __As...
poetry/curtis/essays

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

The Society
January 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Dystopia Reality is never what it seems To be.  It hides itself in shrouds of mist, In bulging envelopes of gilded dreams, In requisite pronations of the wrist That guides the palsied hand that holds the...

Poems by Li Qingzhao, Wang Wei, and Du Mu, Translated by Talbot Hook

The Society
January 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
13 Comments
. Mourning the Dead by Li Qingzhao, Southern Song (1084-1155) | from Chinese by Talbot Hook Above in the heavens the star-river flows; Down on the earth the curtains hang low. As the air grows chill, and my...

‘To Tchaikovsky’ by A.N. Apukhtin, Translated by Olga Dumer

The Society
January 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Translation
13 Comments
. To Tchaikovsky by A.N. Apukhtin (1840-1893) | Translated from Russian by Olga Dumer With my musician friend’s departure A minor key pervades my lines. Yet, like a fugue’s evolving texture, Old...

An Extract from Canto 4 of James Sale’s StairWell

The Society
January 21, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Dante, Epic, Poetry
13 Comments
. The English Cantos: StairWell Canto 4 Leaving a broken relationship of the past behind in Canto 3, the poet enters a new world of education and what that means. Before entering a specific establishment, the...
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  1. Margaret Coats on ‘On the Epstein Files Debacle’: A Poem by Drilon BajramiJuly 30, 2025

    Clarity is beauty with a subject like this, and your villanelle, Drilon, is a model of it. The repetitions characteristic…

  2. Joseph S. Salemi on A Poem for the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial, by Warren BonhamJuly 30, 2025

    The question is not one of "narratives," Yael, but of facts and hard evidence. Anyone can create a narrative, which…

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘Aubade at Seven AM’: A Poem by Bruce Dale WiseJuly 30, 2025

    Exquisite Petrarchan sonnet, Bruce, with an incandescent final line and last word in the present tense. Neither beloved nor reader…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Autumn’s Fairy Tale’: A Poem by Yoshikaze Kawakami July 30, 2025

    The poem well exemplifies, then surprisingly in the second stanza, addresses yugen. But appropriately, it ends by repeating its opening…

  5. Daniel Howard on ‘Autumn’s Fairy Tale’: A Poem by Yoshikaze Kawakami July 30, 2025

    I agree with the Waka poets, Yoshikaze, that the the assonance of “u” and “o” creates an alluring effect, as…

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