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Culture

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Poetry
Culture

‘I Am One, Then’ and Other Poetry by James Sale

The Society
June 7, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
I Am One, Then "In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of Hell" - Isaiah 38.10 I am one, then, who's been to hell: __Cut down in my old prime; One day solid, sound as a bell, __The next day quite...

A Ballad for College-bound Students, by Ron L. Hodges

The Society
June 6, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Short Stories
2 Comments
Icarus’ Fall at College   Prologue Dear reader, surely, you must think, __“What could be taught to us That we haven’t already learned __Of mythic Icarus? “His plunge is clearly a...

‘Forgetting the Tiananmen Square Massacre for 30 Years’ and Other Poetry by Damian Robin

The Society
June 4, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
41 Comments
  Forgetting the Tiananmen Square Massacre for 30 Years Robbed of life and liberty in open air, Young citizens ran out of breath inside the Square. Hot bullets opened skin to pump bright flesh holes...

‘Minotaur’ by Alan Sugar

The Society
June 3, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
  Half man, half monster—I am in a maze. They banished me because of others’ sins. Among these walls, I’m doomed to spend my days. No happy ending. No one ever wins. It was the king,...

‘The Lament of the Editors’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
June 2, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Sapphic Verse
14 Comments
a satirical piece in Sapphic stanzas   Every day they come in a flood: unwanted Big manila envelopes stuffed with verses. Mostly garbage—that’s what we sift and filter Looking for talent. Like...

Six Clerihews by Peter Hartley

The Society
June 1, 2019
Clerihew, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms
39 Comments
The clerihew is a kind of epigrammatic verse (normally) consisting of a pair of rhyming couplets. The first line will usually introduce the name of a famous person. The following three lines will describe some...

‘Song of the Yew, at University of Georgia, Athens,’ and Other Poetry by Alexander King Ream

The Society
May 31, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
Song of the Yew, at the University of Georgia, Athens a sprig of General Oglethorpe's ancestral yew was transported and planted aside the University of Georgia Arch on College Square, in Athens Evergreen,...

‘A New Life’ and Other Poetry by Dusty Grein

The Society
May 30, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
  A New Life an English ode With the blending of two souls, in a dance as old as time a spark ignites, and a cell divides; a baby—hers and mine. Conceived in a moment of utter joy, a new and...

Some Truncated Quatrains by Bruce Wren

The Society
May 29, 2019
Culture, Education, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms
12 Comments
A truncated quatrain is a form I have invented in an attempt to find some appropriate English form similar—for its brevity and single-mindedness in theme—to the Japanese haiku. They consist in four lines...

‘John Company’ by Geoffrey Leggett

The Society
May 28, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
  John Company was the familiar name of the Honourable East India Company which administered India until the Indian Mutiny in 1858 But, Oh, if only you would raise your eyes, take time to look, not...

‘Solemn Legion of the Brave’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
May 27, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
  Solemn Legion of the brave Marching by there grave to grave, Defending faith and family, Fighting wars for our country. Solemn Legion boots in time, Drummers drumming, bagpipes whine, Marking...

‘The Forlorn Hope—Vicksburg 1863’ and Other Poetry by Randal A. Burd, Jr.

The Society
May 26, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
The Forlorn Hope—Vicksburg 1863 Back in Vicksburg, the town was surrounded With a battle line twelve miles long. U.S. Grant sought to conquer the city, But the rebel defenses were strong. An advance...

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

The Society
May 25, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
Delimitation To rhyme with proper meter in the cause Of classic forms is nothing anyone Should derogate, but old poetic laws Were fashioned to enshrine a style, not stun The poet into incoherencies By...

“We are super, we are fine, We’re the Class of ’69!” by James A. Tweedie

The Society
May 24, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
Fifty years ago . . . (it seems Like only yesterday) . . . the dreams, The hopes, and the unspoken fear That marked and marred my Senior year . . . I faced a future plagued with doubt; A Cold War world...

‘Abortion Rites’ by Edward C. Hayes

The Society
May 23, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
14 Comments
lyrics inspired by the movie Unplanned Ms. Sally loved the parties, spent her nights out "on the town." Her door was open for the boys, whenever they came ‘round. Then one morning when she woke she knew that...

‘The Cottage in the Glen’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
May 22, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
17 Comments
  While driving on an April day along a winding road Through rolling hills, beside the way, I spied a small abode A little cottage in a glen below a bridge I crossed, The sight of which, had I not...

A Poem on Terrorism: ‘Why Not?’ by T.M. Moore

The Society
May 18, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Terrorism
6 Comments
  We shake our heads, and wonder, “Why?” aloud each time some speeding truck plows through a crowd, or grinning gunman gloats at blood and breath spilled and extinguished by his date with...

‘A Poet’s Lament’ and Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
May 17, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Poetry
19 Comments
A Poet’s Lament - for Charles Southerland, whose brilliant prose style I so painfully tried to imitate and incorporate Nobody cried when poetry died a long, slow death - a final breath, maybe even a last...

‘White Is A Color, Too’ and Other Poetry by Ron L. Hodges

The Society
May 16, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
White Is A Color, Too It seems strange to have to say this After what that great man taught, Yet I have seen so much amiss That I fear we all forgot. I’m here to share an opinion, Which might be a...

On Wendy Cope’s Wasteland Limericks (Essay)

The Society
May 15, 2019
Culture, Essays, Humor, Limerick, Poetry, Reviews
6 Comments
by Lew Icarus Bede The way I dealt with T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland was to write a poem, equally desperate, in that same allusive style—with notes. That unpublished poem Cicadas' Voices, written in the...

Poetry Challenge: Write a Square Poem

The Society
May 14, 2019
Culture, Poetry, Riddles
30 Comments
by David Watt I recently came across the following “square poem” attributed to Charles Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carrol). Please note that each of the six lines may be read horizontally, or...

Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Contest Winners Announced

The Society
May 13, 2019
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests
2 Comments
Congratulations to contest winners David Whippman (First Place), Randal Burd (Second Place), Theresa Rodriguez (Third Place), and Dusty Thorne (Fourth Place). Mr. Whippman's winning poem is below. Other poems...

Selected Poems from ‘Journey to the East’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
May 13, 2019
Beauty, Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Short Stories
10 Comments
A Journey to the East by Evan Mantyk is a historical and poetical fairytale adventure styled after Journey to the West, by Ming Dynasty writer Wu Cheng’en. The first nine chapters of the former may be read...

Three Poems for Mother’s Day

The Society
May 12, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
Bunny by Sally Cook Indebted to a simple spark of life, You missed your chance at Europe’s wondrous door. A conscientious mother and a wife, You danced your dance upon an inland shore. Your simple...

A Line of Shakespeare Poetry Contest

The Society
May 8, 2019
Culture, Education, From the Society, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Shakespeare
148 Comments
Winners announced here! Write a short poem that begins with one line from any Shakespeare play or poem. The poem should be two to four lines in length. Post it in the comments section below under your...

A Riddle by Connie Phillips

The Society
May 8, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Riddles
8 Comments
Riddle No. 1 So astounding is this part— A major muscle, like your heart. And so astonishing its job, Without it you would be a blob: You couldn’t stand or lift or bend— You’d be a pretzel in...

‘Irrelephant’ and Other Poetry by Raymond Gallucci

The Society
May 7, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
21 Comments
Irrelephant Within the room there’s something big, But management ignores it. A redwood tree, not tiny twig? Concern they haven’t for it. Though elephant is in the room, It’s on the mouse they...

‘Tolstoy: A Very Brief Biography in Verse’ by William Walters

The Society
May 6, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
  Dust to lust to disgust to trust to must to just to dust.     Wm. Walters is a professor of English and linguistics at Rock Valley College, in Rockford, IL. His poems have appeared...

‘Streamlined’ and Other Poetry by David Whippman

The Society
May 5, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
Streamlined In some alternative reality I have remained unmarried, all alone. Would that have been a better way for me - Some Spartan bachelor flat, my comfort zone? Just having to look after number...

‘Centauromachy’ by Nathaniel Todd McKee

The Society
May 4, 2019
Culture, Poetry, Short Stories
15 Comments
  This poem recounts the famous mythical battle, “Centauromachy.” It unfolds in the ancient home of the Lapiths in the region of Thessaly, Greece, a generation or two before the Trojan War. King...

‘The Collapse of Character’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
May 3, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
23 Comments
  —from A Gallery of Ethopaths What generates the half-assed views That this dimwit nation spews? Why are persons mindless lemmings? From what source is this stuff stemming? Collapse of...

A Poem on Recent Shooting Heroes Lori Kaye and Riley Howell, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
May 2, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terrorism
10 Comments
  For Lori Kaye and Riley Howell I sing in praise of Lori Gilbert Kaye. When racist hatred paid a deadly call On Congregation Chabad of Poway, She stood and “took a bullet for us all.” I sing of...

‘Epigrams on the Decay within Academia’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
May 1, 2019
Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry
21 Comments
Epigrams on the Decay within Academia   Liberal Artifice "Progressives," through advanced miseducation, Have shaken our fair land to its foundation.   Gustatory Chiasmus Good taste is...

Remembering John Whitworth (1945–April 22, 2019)

The Society
April 30, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
Read the poetry of the recently departed John Whitworth at Trinacria or The Poetry Archive. by Sally Cook Any ordinary poet composing a landscape piece might easily imagine a dull blue sky, one small white...

‘An Ode to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
April 30, 2019
Culture, Humor, Performing Arts, Poetry
3 Comments
An Ode to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 50 Years Later A Poetic Summary of Tom Stoppard’s Award-Winning Play As Seen Through the Eyes of Its Two Leading Characters Says Rosencrantz to Guildenstern, “I...
poetry/homeschooling/teachers guide

‘Venting’ and Other Poetry by T.M. Moore

The Society
April 29, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
Venting Be angry, and do not sin. —Ephesians 4.26 We're told a large volcano roils and seethes beneath the soil of Yellowstone. The steam that rises all throughout the park, and wreathes its many...

‘The Fall of the Fourth Estate’ and Other Poetry by Randal A. Burd, Jr.

The Society
April 27, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
4 Comments
The Fall of the Fourth Estate a rondeau The Media: the Fourth Estate* Performed disgracefully of late: Delivering the news askew, Allowing certain viewpoints through To fuel the discontent and...

Translation of Gottfried von Strassburg’s ‘Tristan’ Prologue

The Society
April 26, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
4 Comments
Translation by Matthew Wildermuth Note: In the time of its composition—the first decade of the 13th century—Tristan was already a timeless story of heroism and romance, yet in the hands of a great...

A ‘Birthday Apology’ to Shakespeare on his 455th, and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
April 26, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Shakespeare
8 Comments
  Birthday Apology William Shakespeare was born April 26, 1564 If all the world’s a stage, and all the men are women, myne eye be true, I gauge; her beard doth need a...

Five Sonnets on World War I by Peter Hartley

The Society
April 23, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
Gallipoli, 1915 There are none left on earth can ever tell At first hand of this mortal waste of war Hard-fought one hundred years ago and more, The stench of death, of corpses left to swell, Their...
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  1. Patricia Rogers Crozier on ‘Going Home to Campania’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers CrozierMay 17, 2025

    As much as it's interesting to see what's changed, it's usually more unsettling than satisfying to go back!

  2. Patricia Rogers Crozier on ‘Going Home to Campania’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers CrozierMay 17, 2025

    It's a risk to return to your old haunts! The trees always seem to be the first to go. Thank…

  3. Patricia Rogers Crozier on ‘Going Home to Campania’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers CrozierMay 17, 2025

    Thank you for your lovely words!

  4. Patricia Rogers Crozier on ‘Going Home to Campania’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers CrozierMay 17, 2025

    That is very sad to hear, what a violent end to your childhood home! I am happy that my poem…

  5. Julia Griffin on ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ and Other Poetry by Brian YapkoMay 17, 2025

    Life was hideous in the old USSR, certainly. Though there is now more and better food, the present government of…

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