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Culture

Rescuing Contemporary Poetry from Vers Libre: An Essay by Leland James

The Society
January 21, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Poetry
36 Comments
. Rescuing Contemporary Poetry from Vers Libre The conservative & informal vs. the free Before addressing my thesis, let me explain my choice of the word conservative in identifying a category of poetry,...

‘The Heroes of Beijing’: A Sonnet for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, by Evan Mantyk

The Society
January 21, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
6 Comments
. The Heroes of Beijing on the Jan. 21 movie premiere of Unsilenced, just days before the Beijing Winter Olympics As great as it may be to send those hockey Pucks on icy wisps of air into A net as sweet as...

Three Poems on Religion (with a short note) by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
January 20, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Apocalypse The fractured sky splits, flaming at the edge— The earth heaves upwards in explosive wrath. No eye can bear the clay-caked risen dead Sleepwalking through the streets in blackened shrouds. The...

‘Self-Exile’ by Geoffrey Smagacz

The Society
January 20, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. Self-Exile "Parue—nec inuideo—sine me, liber, ibis in urbem.” —Ovid While driving underneath I had to pray: the tunnel, God, had better not cave in— as if New York could make the earth obey. My...

‘O, Brother’ by Damian Robin

The Society
January 19, 2022
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. O, Brother Surveillance permeates us now,__George Orwell saw it coming.Stamped social credits mark our brow,__the cityscape is humming, The virus hum, the wifi hum,__a background, humdrum silence,Something...

A Poem on the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
January 18, 2022
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
4 Comments
. The Winter Games Go On Although detainees must sleep in cramped cells on cement floors, and though they must wear shackles with their numbered uniforms, and though repression crosses Xinjiang’s pale...

‘Living The Dream’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 17, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Living The Dream   “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin,   but by the content of their character.” ---Martin Luther King, Jr. The USA gives thanks---hurray For...

‘Martin Luther King, Jr. Meets Today’s Left’ by Russel Winick

The Society
January 17, 2022
Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Martin Luther King, Jr. Meets Today’s Left How would the Left see Dr. King Just what reaction would they bring If he today could be our guest Reviving messages expressed? How would the Left see King...

‘I Grieve Bleak Streets’ and Other MLK Day Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 17, 2022
Culture, Poetry
31 Comments
. I Grieve Bleak Streets I grieve bleak streets where handguns reign in terror Daring inner-city residents To duck and cover. Life used to be fairer Years ago, when mayors and presidents, Police, and...
poem/yapko/satire

Four Poems on Truth and Lies, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 16, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau, Triolet
32 Comments
. A Truthful Triolet I want the truth. I want to trust The words that trip from lips that lied. I want all doubt to fade to dust. I want the truth. I want to trust. Truth hurts. Truth heals. Truth's heart is...

‘Civis Romanus Sum’ by Alex Rubstein

The Society
January 14, 2022
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
8 Comments
. Civis Romanus Sum (I am a Roman citizen) As Paul stood bound and for the whip outstretched, He said to the centurion beside, “‘Tis lawful here for you to flog a wretch, A Roman citizen and not yet...

‘The Spirit of the Anti-Mary’ by Karen Darantière

The Society
January 14, 2022
Culture, Epic, Poetry
4 Comments
. The Spirit of the Anti-Mary a poem in honor of Our Lady of Gualalupe in reparation for the crime of abortion and abortion-tainted medicines All those who seek me find eternal Life, But those who sin against...

‘The Artist’ and ‘The Biker’ by Shari Jo Lekane

The Society
January 13, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. The Artist Intuitive journey, subconscious creations refuse to diffuse while the muse makes the choice to infuse mystic magic with personal voice giving birth to original manifestations. Works will cement...

‘The Lost’ by Adam Wasem

The Society
January 13, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Lost The fog rolled heavy, down to blunt the day, Sharp skyscraper tops dissolved into the gray. Pale ghosts condensed, one here or there, lone, gaunt: Scared eyes, blank masks, as if condemned to...

‘The A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima’ by Peter Hartley

The Society
January 12, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. The A-bomb Dome in Hiroshima The epicentre of the blast was here, This dome, its empty ribcage gaunt and bare, It stands mute testimony to the day A Superfortress, the Enola Gay, Took to the cirrus-marbled...

Three Odes With a Grecian Turn, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 11, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
12 Comments
. Fleet of Foot Pheidippides A Grecian runner named Pheidippides, From Athens, ran to Sparta with a plea. “We need your help to fight the Persians, please!” But Sparta sent him back with,...

‘Cascading Nation’ by Jon Parsons

The Society
January 10, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Cascading Nation Now not so much a nation as a place for pushing through a bruit cacophony of cultures in discordant synergy, dismissing calm consensus, wit, and grace as if considered discourse would...

‘St. Joseph’s Admonition’ and Other Poetry by Gregory Ross

The Society
January 9, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
3 Comments
. St. Joseph’s Admonition Forget yourself, and do what’s right, Remember how you gained your sight, So do not pause to quench your pain, Your will is strengthened by the strain, But weakened if you do not...

‘It’s Coming for You!’ by Sandi Christie

The Society
January 8, 2022
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. It’s Coming for You! It’s coming to devour you, you know. There’s no escape no matter where you go. It waits and watches, hides behind the door With fetid breath from pathogenic spores. Far worse than...

‘The Ninth Day of the Emperor’s Wrath’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
January 7, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
22 Comments
. The Ninth Day of the Emperor's Wrath a rondeau redoublé The stadium roared at the end of the fight. In triumph the victor uplifted his sword. The emperor signaled thumbs down with cold spite. Death’s blow...

‘Good Conscience’ by Ed Ahern

The Society
January 7, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
. Good Conscience Under our cauls a sleepless giber lurks, A callous judge of all our selfish smirks Who slices through our veils of self delight To show us prancing for unholy cirques. Our ego tells us to...

Poetry by José de Espronceda, Translated by Adam Sedia

The Society
January 6, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
5 Comments
. Sonnet by José de Espronceda (1808-1842) | translated from Spanish by Adam Sedia Fresh, lush, pure, and perfumed luxuriantly, The blooming garden’s flair and ornament, Coxcomb perched on the stem's...

An Excerpt of Jack DesBois’s Western Star for Epiphany: January 6, 2022

The Society
January 6, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry, Song Lyrics
4 Comments
. https://youtu.be/dYyxThEY71o . An Excerpt from The Western Star for Epiphany, January 6, 2022 The road stretched out forever in the morning, giving Balthazar plenty of time and space for thought. The...

A Poem on the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol Hill Protest, by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
January 5, 2022
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Annuary Stichs Jamesian intricacies swarmed about the voter-counts; a massive fraud had taken place beyond the lovely mounts. Nobody had expected Apate and Dolos to ubiquitously fake vote-counts in the...

‘Forever Faun’ by Emory D. Jones

The Society
January 4, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Forever Faun In mottled shade of forest stood a faunSo still he seemed to be no living thing;The sun beamed down, already he was gone—His presence was a fleeting sign of Spring.Once in the distant past,...

‘Unprofitable Servant’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
January 3, 2022
Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. Unprofitable Servant Bergoglio clarifies his views on the Latin Mass A treasure was mine, but it’s too long ago For me to recover what now I despise. Fearful and sickened and sadly too slow I was to...

‘Meditations on Ecclesiastes’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
January 3, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Meditations on Ecclesiastes . Inquiry “What profit has a man for all his labor…?” ---Ecclesiastes 1: 3 None knows what all his work accomplishes; What one begins, another finishes A different way. Or,...

‘The Dark Knight’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 2, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
35 Comments
. The Dark Knight I’ve always held the Queen in high esteem, Her ever-classy, never brassy aura Shines noble splendour on the regal scene And blesses folk who openly adore 'er. Today the corgi-hugging...

Two Poems for Christmastide by Sally Cook

The Society
January 1, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Last Christmas I’d rushed there through the afternoon In someone else’s borrowed car Where you, distressed I’d come too soon, Were giving samples in a jar. The last I ever spoke with you Was in that...

“Lud’s Church” or “The Green Chapel” by Jeff Eardley

The Society
January 1, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. “Lud's Church" or “The Green Chapel” after Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I travel to this place each New Year’s Day, To where the fluting curlew builds his nest. Upon these stegosaurus hills I...
poem/music/Burns/auld lang syne

‘For Auld Lang Syne’ and Other New Year Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 1, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
. For Auld Lang Syne Each New Year’s Day is like a colander Through which we strain and drain away the days Of auld lang syne, throw out the calendar, And set the count-down-midnight-sky ablaze. Take down...

A Holiday Poem Reflecting on Slave Labor in Communist China

The Society
December 31, 2021
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings, Video
17 Comments
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4HH4MeT9Mo . Read the complete poem here: https://classicalpoets.org/2013/12/12/two-psalms/#/ CREDITS Poetry: Evan Mantyk (b. 1982) Audio/Visual Work: Society of Classical...

’20/20 Vision’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 31, 2021
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
. 20/20 Vision You’re lurking in the shadows with a wink. I see your flute of crystal, hear you pop Your cork as spirits soar and keen arms link To strains of Auld Lang Syne as clock hands...

‘On the Birth of the Grand Millenium: 1 January 2000’ by Jeff Kemper

The Society
December 31, 2021
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. On the Birth of the Grand Millenium 1 January 2000 A panoply of adolescent eyes Looks out into the frosty air they breathe Into the puffs of mist their mouths devise At wild humanity whose shoutings...

‘Auld Lang Syne’ by Robert Burns: Poem Reading for New Year’s Day by S.A. Todd

The Society
December 30, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Video
8 Comments
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okGcYTF8pHk . CREDITS Poetry: Robert Burns (1759-1796) Audio/Visual Work: Society of Classical Poets Voice-Over: S.A. Todd Photos/Footage: (1) "Drei Mönche bei der...

‘The Dodo of Mauritius’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
December 29, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
39 Comments
. The Dodo of Mauritius This island nation scarcely can be proud Of avifauna lacking common sense, Surviving only in the perfect tense, Their right to life, existence disavowed. With beaks immense, these...

‘Poppy’ and Other Poetry by A.S. Chuba

The Society
December 27, 2021
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Pantoum, Poetry
7 Comments
. Poppy A vase of poppies on the table there, Twelve years have past, all white is now her hair. A shadow running up the path she sees, Her son has come! Her end to miseries. Twelve years have past all white...

‘Sonnet 1 (In Theory, Real)’ by Hannah Yee

The Society
December 27, 2021
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
10 Comments
. Sonnet 1 (In Theory, Real) Are dreams confined to stars or stars to dreams? Both full of mysteries and seldom clear, Restrained, yet free to dance in vivid streams Of consciousness, of life and fire and...

‘To Saint John the Evangelist’ by Eustache Deschamps, Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
December 27, 2021
Beauty, Chant Royal, Culture, Poetry, Translation
14 Comments
. To Saint John the Evangelist by Eustache Deschamps (c. 1346–1406) | translated from French by Margaret Coats Young, perfect, just, in all you had to do, Fresh virile flower of virginity, O man of marvels,...

‘Anyone But You’ and Other Poetry by Anna J. Arredondo

The Society
December 26, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Limerick, Love Poems, Poetry
7 Comments
. Anyone But You The phone may ring; The call will bring __Anyone but you. The mail will come; It will be from __Anyone but you. A text may buzz; I’m sure it was __Anyone but you. Oh, this is dire; I...
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    Chilly was the morn I kissed the lips of the sun afternoon smoldered Autumn fog teases, kisses me in dawn’s…

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