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‘A Poet’s Strife’ by Sterling Osborne

The Society
January 17, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. My word will not survive a fire: the dust, the ash of paper singed by matches struck by fingers bent on silence. And it must rot here in summer heat in humid muck where mold will gnaw away at every page. My...

‘Malingerer’ by Ted Quarterman

The Society
January 16, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
. My inconsistent pharmacist, Administer that certain cure That can relax my hardened fist In doses sweet with taste impure. O give me something for the pain, My head thumps fast, my heart beats slow, Or...

‘Orchestra Tuning Up’ and Other Poetry by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
January 16, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
6 Comments
_ Orchestra Tuning Up Is this the way the universe once sounded?A mass confusion of discordant trumpets,Flutes, horns, and violins like baffled cometsWithout a geometric course, confounded? Can this be how the...

‘The Victory of Donald J. Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
January 15, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
(All poems by Bruce Dale Wise) The Victory of Donald J. Trump in the 2020 U.S. Election by Erisbawdle Cue You can’t make something be so, if the numbers are all wrong. You can’t hide Waldo in a place...
poem/kemper/culture

‘Speak with Kind Gentleness’ by Mark F. Stone

The Society
January 15, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Stress can envelop, encircle, entangle. Strictures can pressure from every angle. Tripping and slipping to ways that are errant happen to all who endeavor to parent. What should you do when in need of a...
poem/macgregor/god

‘Portrait of God’ by Chateaubriand, and Other Translations by Adam Sedia

The Society
January 15, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
7 Comments
. Portrait of God drawn from Scripture by François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), translated by Adam Sedia Know you the jealous God, who dare engage In sin, whose impious deeds ignite his rage? His...

Two Poems of the Sea, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 14, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. Rapt “I must go down to the sea again,  to the lonely sea and the sky…” ---John Masefield  Today I felt the roil of sky and sea Merge to form a swathe of seamless blue, Where surge of...

Two Poems on Benvenuto Cellini, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
January 13, 2021
Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Humor, Poetry
17 Comments
. Benvenuto Cellini’s Salt-Cellar A woman sitting back, just mildly curious To hear a man’s contrived, seductive patter, Waiting to see what fabrications spurious He’s dreamt up now. It doesn’t really...

‘Washington’s Grief’ by Alex Rubstein

The Society
January 12, 2021
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
10 Comments
. Behold the father of this infant land, Conductor of our daunting foe’s defeat, Now warmly laureled for his noble stand Through which our liberty was made complete. Yet Washington the praise did humbly...

‘Humility’ and Other Poetry and Translation by Alexandra Guo

The Society
January 11, 2021
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Humor, Poetry, Translation
12 Comments
. Humility Lo, I have seen the Muses plain. What need Have I to go on living?—’Twas in Rome: I touched the flesh (it was a holy deed) That Michelangelo shaped out of stone. O what a great and glorious...

‘Amen and Awoman’ and Other Poetry on the State of the U.S.

The Society
January 11, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
. Wokeness by Russel Winick “Amen and Awoman” the Congressman said, The Leftists all thought it was great. What more woke insanity now lies ahead? That young females...

‘With Goals in Tow’ by Janice Canerdy

The Society
January 10, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. With Goals in Tow I’ve fewer days ahead of me than those I have been blessed to see. Though time moves on so rapidly, my hopes sustain. God still has plans for me, I know. He’s guiding me as to and...

‘Flodden’ and Other Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 10, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Performing Arts, Poetry
16 Comments
. Flodden Historical Note: The Battle of Flodden took place between English and Scottish armies on September 9, 1513. The battle proved a tragic disaster for the Scots who lost an estimated 12,000-17,000 men...

Two Poems Making Use of ‘Conceits,’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
January 9, 2021
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Essays, Poetry
26 Comments
. The Death of Today’s Sequoia Flecte ramos, arbor alta, tensa laxa viscera: Et rigor lentescat ille, quem dedit nativitas, Ut superni membra regis miti tendas stipite. —Venantius Fortunatus (c. 530-609...

‘The Inca Kings’ and Other Poetry by Siham Karami

The Society
January 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
2 Comments
. The Inca Kings Who stole the kings? Even Pachacutec's mummy now is gone from Lima's hospital display of Inca royalty—the T-Rex of them all, ferocity turned brittle bones and shrunken body in a...

‘An Ode To Letters’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
January 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
21 Comments
. An Ode to Letters We cannot be sure what the future will hold, But I doubt this prediction will fail. That no one will ever unearth in an attic An old treasure trove of email. . . Outvoted In my marriage I...

A Poem on Sir Edward John Poynter’s ‘Faithful unto Death,’ by Peter Hartley

The Society
January 7, 2021
Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
14 Comments
. From Parthenope’s coast each to his post, Beseeching eyes upraised with steady gaze. That night would nature’s cruelty erase A city from the broiling earth and roast The dying with the lying dead....

‘Uncivil War’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 6, 2021
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. with reference to Macbeth V,5 . So bleak and dreary, like a stormy day, The world a whirl of whorls of endless rain And wind, with crash and flash from out the fray As cannonades exchange defiance and...

‘The Mission of the Magi’ by Jeff Kemper

The Society
January 6, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
. after Matthew 2:1-12 From distant regions of the east they came, Wise Magi, searching for a royal son, Into Jerusalem with single aim: Determined, they, until their search was done. “Where is this little...

A Poem on the Revealing of Election Fraud: ‘Epiphany’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 6, 2021
Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Fools sneered at his rightful place; __“He isn’t our leader” they said. They labeled his traits a disgrace. __En masse, they demanded him dead. They screamed that his term was treason __And fought...

On the 2020 Election: ‘I Asked the Lord, Please Tell Me’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
January 5, 2021
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. I asked the Lord, “Please tell me, where's the outrage From those who claim to love the cause of right? Why aren't more people going on the rampage To battle dark deception with the light? A nation has...

‘A Warning from the Red-Light Zone’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
January 5, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
48 Comments
  This ode concerns a wealthy gent, To London Town, one day he went. He’d paid to see an Opera, But got more than he bargained for. For as he reached the City wall, He stopped to take a cell...

Poetry on the Planned Illegitimate Election of Joe Biden as U.S. President

The Society
January 4, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
25 Comments
. Biden Kneels Before the Red Beast by Damian Robin from a scenario of Evan Mantyk On silver-smoke-screen in mid air __the Red Beast’s horde has beckoned. Its full face groomed, a beauty rare, __but...

Rhyming Drugstore Advertisements,1885

The Society
January 4, 2021
Culture, Found Poem, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
Selected by Beverly Stock ---From Liver Pills to stuff that kills, and makes it smooth to die, The last is not their mission, though, and yet within their power, But if you’re sick--go to them quick, or...

‘Hunting’ and Other Poetry by William Conelly

The Society
January 3, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. . Hunting My father strides ahead of me.His khaki cap is all I see,beside the barrel of his gun.We’re hunting upland quail that runfrom us in loose community. The way is one that he knows best:zigzag...
crow raven

‘Nevermore! If Edgar Allan Poe Submitted “The Raven” today’ by Tonia Kalouria

The Society
January 2, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry, The Raven
14 Comments
  Dear Edgar, __We’re sorry our response has taken so much time, but it grieves and pains to tell you that you’ve missed our paradigm. __While past works were droll and erudite ---nay,...

A ‘New Year’s Revolution’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 1, 2021
Covid-19, Culture, Humor, Poetry
32 Comments
. . The Rub   I’ve had a taste of wonder and I cannot give it back. I’ve seen each deep state blunder and the swamp’s heart dipped in black. I’ve witnessed this great country as it’s getting back...

‘Have No Regrets’ by Damian Robin

The Society
December 31, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
  . Old doors to opportunitiesare gone, so, not one opens.Enticements that were there, just tease,no keys, just slot-less tokens. Lost gains are gone, missed chances gone,mistakes abound like raindrops . ....

‘Ode on ​Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Ganymede and the Eagle’ and Other Poetry by Talbot Hook

The Society
December 31, 2020
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
36 Comments
. . Ode on ​Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Ganymede and the Eagle Bending down in offering, a Boy extends a shallow bowl; Craning neck of eagle dips, the Child foresees his coming role. Swept from earth to...

‘To U.S. Citizens This Christmas’ by Damian Robin

The Society
December 30, 2020
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
  . O hail you lied-to, baffled Yanks,__false-fed with sick afront’ry,If only rigging votes were pranks__not killing your good country. I know you're in the midst of it,__the bin bags full of ballotsThat...

“Pride Goeth . . . .” and Other Sonnets by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 30, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
“Pride Goeth . . . .” “How dare you, sir! Your libel will not stand!” The words flew out across the now-hushed room. “Retract your vile lies or face your doom! “Repent or you shall die by my...

‘Christmas Present’ by Joe Tessitore

The Society
December 29, 2020
Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
39 Comments
. Long the shadow that it casts, Christmas present, o’er our pasts. In its darkness made to bask, Mumbling carols through a mask. Oh, the distance we observe. No resistance, gone our nerve. Cowering in...

‘Anno Domini 1348’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 29, 2020
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
22 Comments
. Anno Domini 1348 ‘Tis thirteen months since those twelve ships of death Docked in Messina bearing vicious plague From the Black Sea. The fevers, rasping breath, The frightful buboes, tortured minds gone...

A Poem on the Jan. 6 Electoral Vote Count, by Christopher Flint

The Society
December 28, 2020
Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
. The Burden of Truth Our founders feared and could foresee that politics might come to be far more intense than mere debate of means to best perpetuate the liberty they'd given birth unparalleled in all the...

‘The Monkeys and the Dragonflies’ by Terry L. Norton

The Society
December 28, 2020
Children's, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
  adapted from a Filipino folktale __Once, when the sun was at its height, A dragonfly thought she’d alight Upon a branch. The air was hot, And she fatigued. So, on that spot, Under the shade of...

‘The Night after Christmas’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
December 25, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Night after Christmas You better not cry. “Deplorable” might be how best to putit, just to underscore the gravityof chores that border on depravity,begriming Santa’s uniform with soot. A...
poem/dickens/ghost

‘A Wretch Like Me’ by Joe Tessitore

The Society
December 25, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
 . To miss the mark, to lose my way,to choose the dark, on Christmas Day. No star I see, no Virgin Birth.No joy for me, no peace on earth. But for a wretch like me He came,to fetch me from my sin and...

‘Can You See the Star?’ by Daniel Magdalen

The Society
December 24, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. Wake up and raise the blinds, to see the light, The colors; hark, the carols, feel the cheers Emerging, from within this Holy Night. Hear choirs of hope, in spirit, ‘mid your plight, While you can’t...

‘Christmas Is a Person’: Words & Music by Jim Tweedie

The Society
December 24, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
21 Comments
  Christmas trees and Christmas carols, Christmas lights and reindeer, too.Christmas cards and Christmas presents, wrapped with paper, bows and glue.Christmas bells and Christmas cookies, Christmas ornaments...

‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer—a Sonnet’ and Other Poetry by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
December 24, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
12 Comments
. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer---A Sonnet Poor Rudolph was a reindeer with a nose resembling a bulb of bright red hue. The other reindeer laughed and said, “It glows like Santa’s after knocking back a...
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  1. Brian Yapko on ‘The Juggler’ and Other Poetry by Brian YapkoJuly 7, 2025

    Mark, I don't mind you "piggy-backing" in the least. I very much enjoyed your own trenchant poem on the subject…

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    Thank you, Russel. As for concept, I was watching the news and they were discussing the women of The View…

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    Thank you very much, Roy! Scintillating is, for me, about as good as it gets! Thank you for noticing the…

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