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    • 'Basics' and Other Poetry by R. Nikolas Macioci

      The Society
      October 6, 2017
      Beauty, Culture, Poetry
      2 Comments
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      February 27, 2021
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      February 26, 2021
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      February 25, 2021
      26
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      February 25, 2021
      11
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      February 24, 2021
      22
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      February 24, 2021
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      May 13, 2020
      Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Readings, Video
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      The Society
      February 1, 2021
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      February 1, 2021
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      December 8, 2020
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    • Essay: A Short Defense of Formal Poetry by Douglas Thornton

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      September 19, 2013
      Essays, Poetry
      3 Comments
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    • The Power of One: Monosyllables in Classical Poetry

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      February 18, 2021
      15
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      January 12, 2021
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      January 9, 2021
      26
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      December 13, 2020
      58
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      October 24, 2020
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Culture

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Poetry
Culture

‘Hong Kong’s Freedom Fighters’ by Douglas J. Lanzo

The Society
August 13, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
5 Comments
  dedicated to all those braving injustice in Hong Kong with nobility of spirit Muffled voices, anguished cries, Trampled freedom, published lies, Flouted treaties, threatened fates, Outlawed...
Sgt James J Regan

On a Photo of Sgt. James J. Regan’s Grieving Fiancee, and Other Poetry by Rod Walford

The Society
August 12, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
  Hero of Her Heart On February 9, 2007 Sgt. James J. Regan of the 3rd Battalion 75th U.S. Ranger Regiment was killed on active service in Iraq. Some time after the funeral, Sgt. Regan's fiancee Mary...

‘Defy the Mask’ by David Watt

The Society
August 11, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
9 Comments
  Due to a recent government edict, approximately 5 million Australians must wear masks whenever they leave the house. We wear a mask because we’re told That COVID has us in its hold, And if outside...

‘Blake’s Prairie Fair’ by Bob Schildgen

The Society
August 10, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  Cotton candy is, yes, is angel hair spun out while merry-go-rounds whirl full-speed with satisfaction fully guaranteed in the local splendor of Blake’s Prairie Fair. Surely the most...

‘The Prisoners in Manacles’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
August 9, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
All poems by Bruce Dale Wise The Prisoners in Manacles by Lu “Reed ABCs” Wei The prisoners in manacles in western China were just on a day out, stated the Chinese ambassador. The picture shows the...

‘Oh, When I Think Back’ and Other Poetry by Theresa Rodriguez

The Society
August 8, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
  Oh, When I Think Back Oh, when I think back to those halcyon days, When I believed the possibility That truest love would manifest to me And highest hopes would set the heart ablaze, I looked...

‘The Taj Mahal’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
August 7, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
44 Comments
  Taj Mahal Built to commemorate a love that died Four hundred years ago, how sad to say She never saw what we can see today. Serenely does its massive bulk preside Above a seeming swamp on every...

‘Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, by Joseph Lange’ and Other Poetry Julian Woodruff

The Society
August 6, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Music, Poetry
3 Comments
  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, by Joseph Lange (1783? / 1789?); as viewed by a Philistine Consider Lange’s well-known portrait Of his in-law, a composer: It’s good, we see, but it requires A scrutiny...

Ecclesiastes 6, Recast in Classical Poetry, by T.M. Moore

The Society
August 5, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  Full Lives, Empty Souls after Ecclesiastes 6 There is an evil I have seen in those who live beneath the sun: A man to whom God gives both wealth and riches, and who knows respect among his...

English Tomb Poetry, With an Introduction by James A. Tweedie

The Society
August 4, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Found Poem, Poetry
12 Comments
by James A. Tweedie On my most recent visit to England in 2017, I paused to record a number of prominent grave monuments that included poetic tributes to the deceased. Here are the four I found most...

‘Laocoön’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

The Society
August 3, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  Laocoön To prophesy is not a gift to those So gifted, who can see in subtle signs What is to pass; they bear the double woes Of speaking truth to unbelieving minds And knowing none can thwart the...

‘Verses on the Death of His Father’ (‘Coplas por la muerte de su padre’) by Jorge Manrique

The Society
August 2, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
3 Comments
translated by Alan Steinle. Introduction and translation copyright ©2020 by Alan Steinle. Skip Introduction and go to poem.   Introduction Poetry is that which is worth translating. The poem dies...

‘Rueing Tattoos’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 1, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
53 Comments
  Rueing Tattoos When young she was drawn to that skin-art taboo of embellishing flesh with a tattoo or two. Now time’s marching on and gravity’s struck, her sweet chickadee is akin to a...

A Poem on Moses on the Mount by Jeffrey Kemper

The Society
July 31, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
  On Consecrated Ground Moses on the Mount; Exodus 3-4 Moshe, a Hebrew truant from His resident Egyptian land Committed crimes with this outcome: His life was now in Pharaoh’s hand. Absconding...

Three Poems of the Nuclear Age by Peter Austin

The Society
July 30, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, The Environment
6 Comments
  Tomoko When the Enola Gay dropped ‘Little Boy’, Tomoko---just a little girl herself--- Was robbed of any hope of earthly joy And sentenced to a life upon the shelf, Until, that is, she and...

A Poem for Kargil Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory Day), by Satyananda Sarangi

The Society
July 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
"During the war, the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing Tiger Hill and other posts as a part of ‘Operation Vijay’. Indian soldiers had secured this victory after a...

‘Golden Gloves’ and Other Poetry by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
22 Comments
Golden Gloves My father fought in Golden Gloves. Back then The ring was where you slugged your way to hopes. It was no place for fey, aesthetic men— There’s no nuance on canvas, or the ropes. I...

Amid U.S. Riots, A Reflection on Robespierre’s July 28 Execution, by Rob Crisell

The Society
July 28, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
7 Comments
  A Proposal---July 28, 2020 Upon this date in 1794, The French Revolution concluded in gore, As Robespierre’s head hit the blood-stained floor Of Paris’s Place de la Concorde, Leaving poor...

Three Monkey Tales in Poetry, by Terry L. Norton

The Society
July 27, 2020
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
  How Monkeys Came to Be adapted from a Palestinian folktale Monkeys and people once were one. For monkeys had from Adam come. As Adam's sons in every way, Those monkeys looked like us today. Yet...

Three Poems Dealing with Garden Pests, by C.B. Anderson

The Society
July 26, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
  The Gardener at War Throughout our lives we hustle and we slave __To turn our gardens into magic places __Where beauty at its pinnacle erases Our darkest intimations of the grave; But what mundane...

A Poem on BLM Riots: ‘The Enemy Within’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 25, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
35 Comments
  "One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship." ---George Orwell We are the fearsome force for good who’ll...

A Poem in Tribute to Dame Vera Lynn (1917-2020), by Jeff Eardley

The Society
July 25, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
24 Comments
  Vera A fine and sunny Summer’s day And now our Vera’s slipped away. Auf Wiedersehen, we’ll meet again; We don’t know where, we don’t know when. A proper looker in the day, A smile to...

‘From J.S. Bach’s French Suites: An Allemande’ by Leo Zoutewelle

The Society
July 24, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
19 Comments
  Alike a trusted hand that comes to rest On harried shoulders to relieve the stress, This allemande fulfills its basic quest: Bestowing thorough genial redress. When just too much encumbrance...

Poetry on the Death of America, by Joe Tessitore

The Society
July 23, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
17 Comments
  No Epitaph The lies lie heavy on his chest, Striped red, striped white, now tattered vest And soon to draw his final breath--- Who’ll mourn this Son of Freedom’s death? I look around,...

‘The Trial of Saint Joan of Arc (d. 30 May 1431)’ by Theresa Rodriguez

The Society
July 22, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
  You had to act, because you heard the voices Within your head. Saint Michael came to you, Saints Catherine and Margaret. But what choices Did you have? You knew them to be true, Not demons or...

On the Resignation of Bari Weiss from The New York Times, and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Kemper

The Society
July 21, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
12 Comments
  With Sorrow Do I Leave It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times. ---Bari Weiss, opinion writer, 13 July 2020 With sorrow do I leave The New York...

‘Notre-Dame de Chartres’ by James A. Tweedie (Last Part in the Favorite Places Sonnet Series)

The Society
July 21, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
  Enrobed in blue—enthroned and crowned—her Son, __With proffered blessing, safely in her hands— __The Queen of Heaven reigns on high as one __Who holds in love all those whom she...

Poems on Riots and the State of the World: July, 2020

The Society
July 18, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
8 Comments
  I Make My Way by Joe Tessitore These times, indeed, have tried my soul. With lightening speed, I’ve lost control Of all that mattered in the past--- It drifts, now scattered, in a...

‘An Old Friend’ by Phil S. Rogers

The Society
July 17, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
  An old friend called on me today, past indiscretions to relive. Long decades passed since we had spoke; he hoped ill feelings I'd forgive. We had once been the best of friends but problems...

Poetry on the Passing of the Poet’s Wife, by Peter Hartley

The Society
July 16, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
  Coming Home “Thank you for letting me come home,” she said To me the night she died, and I, tongue-tied, I could not answer her. I should have tried, I know, for tacitly her thoughts I...

A Poem on Black Lives Matter Riots and Other Poetry, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 15, 2020
Coronavirus, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
  Lockdown Leisure with apologies to W.H. Davies In lockdown life, should I but dare To take more time to stand and stare?--- More time to stand six feet away And gaze upon our world...

‘Your Smart Device (A Rondeau)’ and Other Poetry by Alan Steinle

The Society
July 14, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
Your Smart Device a rondeau Your smart device was strange and new; It learned your voice and habits too; It played the songs you liked to hear; It answered your requests with cheer, And spat out facts...

The Spice of Life: Metric Variation in Formal Verse (An Essay)

The Society
July 13, 2020
Culture, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms
15 Comments
by Adam Sedia John Dryden In 1688, John Dryden, England’s first official poet laureate, was deprived of that title for remaining Catholic and replaced with the laughably inferior Thomas Shadwell....
COVID 19 historical perspective

Documentary on Pandemic Features The Iliad and SCP Member

The Society
July 12, 2020
Coronavirus, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings, Video
6 Comments
...

A Poem by a Currently Incarcerated Poet

The Society
July 12, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
The Crowd by Christian J. Weaver The corpses of my former selves Are yawning in the waves. They bob and float like slimy logs; Their fish-expressions gaze With mute surprise at all the rest: It's...

‘The King’ and Other Poetry by Michael Witcoff

The Society
July 11, 2020
Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
The King Lying lips win praise and fame, And money, pow’r and wealth; They grant great glory for your name But cost the price of self. For once a man betrays his plans To be upright and true, That...

A Rhyme of the Cities

The Society
July 10, 2020
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
  Editor’s Note: This poem was originally found in The Pebbles and Shells: A Book of Verses ,1909, edited by Donald Fraser. Another version was published in The Good Humor Book, by Robert Rango,...

‘Apostrophe to François Villon’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 9, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
  Good François Villon, petty thief, Carouser, cutpurse, scholar, sot; Young chronicler of gallows-grief, Escapee from the hempen knot; Depicter of the dregs and lees Of drunken students,...

‘Armageddon’ and Other Poetry on Recent Riots

The Society
July 8, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
4 Comments
  Armageddon a tennos on the current socio-political situation by C.B. Anderson Some of my former friends are now definitively leftist; The most intelligent among them are the very deftest At...

A Tribute to Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr. Mike Stroud, by Rod Walford

The Society
July 8, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  The Strength Within A tribute to Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Dr. Mike Stroud who, in 1993, became the first men to cross the continent of Antarctica unsupported. The crossing took 93 days. They stood...
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