Culture

  Pygmalion knew these women all too well; his instincts told him he’d better sleep alone. He took to art. —Ovid, The Metamorphoses, Book X His wife will say no living soul should trust that...

  The Last Bard o Scotland Translation by George T. Watt, frae the original by Joseph Charles MacKenzie Watters o Irvine an Annock, Ma saut tears mell wi the sautie ocean, Wast o Arran Isle...

    Read by George T. Watt The Scrieve fae Arbroath Non enim propter gloriam, diuicias aut honores pugnamus set propter libertatem solummodo quam nemo bonus nisi simul cum vita amittit....

  Chapter I Who sings of arms these days? Or even men? The seed of Adam’s tucked inside Eve’s apple, And sits not taking root—his defect’s been Apparent since equality’s long grapple. Poor...

    Rahul Gupta holds a PhD for a thesis on mediaeval Germanic and modern mediaevalist metre and poetics from the University of York. His poetry and translations have appeared hitherto in Agenda,...

  A Life I Could Not Save She did not feel her age though she was old, But still looked young as she was often told. And so she was a vibrant 95, Happy to be healthy and alive. And yet this cancer...

    Battle of the Bib Emma was wearing a new autumn dress. Papa snapped on her bib, to prevent a mess— oatmeal was planned at her special request But a tranquil breakfast was not to...

Foolosophy I know that I know nothing more than you, for neither of us know a single thing of relevance; I opt not to accrue vast knowledge as the price is danger’s sting. All blissful days are built on...

  Don’t Get Caught The catfish and the trout hum different tunes, But both agree they love hot afternoons When no one wants to fish, when ponds and streams And rivers generate aquatic dreams That...

  Pestilence Killed Them by James Sale The Pestilence killed them So the Proverb said, And with that happy thought They laid down in their bed. The Pestilence killed them--- Who else could it...

  My waning days give way as dark besieges all my light. My tree, its branches sway in frigid Winter winds that bite! So too, the chill consumes me as my crackling hearth yet burns. The flicker of...

As the Lights Go Out - the Last Limerick "The night cometh, when no man can work." John, 9:4 by Joe Tessitore I can tell there will be no escape From this hellishly chilling landscape Born of hatred...

. From hoof and hide, to flank and horn, Amid the wood, was noble born, Upon the field I walked at length, Swift in motion, high in strength, And scarcely did I need to boast, Rare of speech, unheard by...

  Job 26.8-14 The flash and crash were simultaneous. The whole house shuddered, like it was about to come apart, and all the lights went out. The dogs erupted in a frenzied fuss of frightened...

Note: The Society of Classical Poets refers to the COVID-19 coronavirus as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and...

  Im Fruhling (In Spring) by Ernst Schulze (1789-1817) I sit here lonely on a hill Where skies are clear and blue; The sunset casts a glowing veil Over the deep and tranquil dale— I used to love...

  Remember God “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” —Alexandr Solzhenitsyn by Connie Phillips We must remember God in all we do, And keep Him always in our hearts and...

  Bill Butler made a shopping trip each Friday, to the town, Astride his silver bicycle he’d purchased for a crown; For this was many years ago when pace of life was slow And cars were deemed a...

by James A. Tweedie The form of the “brief” ordinarily consists of a couplet of anapestic tetrameter with the first soft beat of each line clipped off (x / xx / xx / xx /). The anapest, which functions...

by James A. Tweedie   If a Contemporary Free-Verse Poet Wrote a Sonnet Today, because I’m early for Pilates, __I stop at Starbucks for a cappuccino, __But change my mind because the mocha...

  The World Health Organization by Baidu Wercs Lee The WHO has praised Beijing's response to COVID-19's spread, despite the fact of all the many thousands that are dead. The Chinese first detected it...

  Carmen Cygni, a Retourne She holds the sickle and the scythe, Dark clothed and hooded, glimpse of white. A dancer languorous but lithe, She stands between the day and night. Dark clothed and...

  translation by Jonathan Shoulta Andromache Will you, my Hector, forever go away to where with unmatched hands Achilles makes Patroclus bloody off'rings? ____________________Who will teach your...

  Pearls of Wisdom in Times of Crisis by Susan Jarvis Bryant Pearl clutchers of the world, please take a breath: take time to breathe the balm of calm’s bouquet; let rasping gasps of anguish slip...

  I pour myself four fingers, or maybe it is five, sit in a broken rocker and slowly close my eyes. I muse on my survival for nigh on eighty years, A victory in heart, despite a wealth of tears. My...

  Mere words have not the power to convey the loveliness laid out before my eyes; this triumph of rebirth; this lustrous day; this crowning of Creation’s enterprise. This is the time when man and...

  He has spent a shower of hours obtaining power and glowers from bigwigs in Ukraine--- he’d minimize the drama and he’d be the next Obama if he only had a brain. “You’re a dog-faced...

The Society of Classical Poets refers to the COVID-19 coronavirus as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a...

  Brave Soldiers We after "The Things We Dare Not Tell" by Henry Lawson We muster in the heat somewhere, We sign our oaths, and then we swear, Brave soldiers we, are doing well, Yet, there are...

  This Luxurious Empire Vesuvius, you have destroyed a world! __With roars of fire and thunder, hails of ash, __You've hurled your blistering soul, with sulfurous flash Of fire-lightning—certain...

  Margaret Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood Moloch: ancient Canaanite god of child sacrifice Is there one in your neighborhood? The place I call Planned Barrenhood? A Margaret Sanger...

  The blind poet awakes and feels his way Into the living room, where light of day Will find his daughters ready to preserve The words of truth and beauty that disturb His sleep, and roll forth from...

  What curve, what contrapposto, shift of weight, Recalls the tusk from which some Gothic hand Had carved the Paris Virgin holding straight My King enthroned upon an ivory stand! What smiles, no...

  The Crown of Wuhan by Daniel Kemper "Hast thou forgot me then?" says she of dreams, "A Goddess arm'd Out of thy head I sprung... Come see the way your princess-queen redeems your works. Do I not...

  for Mark F. Stone and all his pets The duck has special properties: Like water off its back; If only we as humans could Perfect the duck’s dry knack. It’s not that water isn’t there Or...

  Candidatus Non Compos Mentis Joe lacks the humility To see the futility Of running for office While fighting senility. With growing pugnacity, He aims his mendacity At all who object to His...

  Unbridled Change O tempora! O mores!... Fuit ista quondam in hac re publica virtus... ---Cicero, First Catiline Oration These days of changing values can be hard: What once was just, today's...

  The Author He portrays a lonely figure In his cottage by the sea With his pencil and his paper and his dog. Gone his youthful verve and vigour But remaining in its lee Is the gift that soon will...

  A Soliloquy on Modern Poetry  I write this, a soliloquy Regarding modern poetry. I don’t appreciate the terse Disheveled nature of free verse. So much of it just seems contrived And of true...

  Waters of Irvine and Annock, flow with my tears, West to the Firth of Clyde and Arran: Soon, soon, Ayr will be mute and barren. Flow, waters, flow, like the passing of long, lost...