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Culture

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Poetry
Culture

‘Prelude to the Gettysburg Address’ by Arthur Mortensen

The Society
April 17, 2017
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry, Short Stories
3 Comments
Posting atop the hill beyond the field in rain so thick he barely saw the bodies, the General tilted back his hat and sat, shaking his head. His horse shifted a foot and whinnied, a grazing wound across...

‘Visiting the Ruins of Tintagel Castle’ and Other Poetry by Evan Mantyk

The Society
April 16, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
9 Comments
. Visiting the Ruins of Tintagel Castle I wander through a forest deep __in Cornish countryside And think I see some elves asleep __And giants run to hide. The branches gnarled like magic wands, __Green...

An Alternative Ending to Romeo and Juliet by Reid McGrath

The Society
April 13, 2017
Culture, Education, Poetry
7 Comments
If Romeo Had Received the Letter Part I Romeo (in the catacomb, lying down beside Juliet) The friar’s note said: “Romeo she will wake.” Thus here I am now with my life at stake. You’ll...

‘Blue Star’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
April 12, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
Blue Star Mama painted calm and clouded landscapes Before she wed, blue-green and grassy shapes, But these went by the board just after she Jumped off into the matrimonial sea. Later, Bach rocked the...

‘Boston Public Garden’ and Other Poetry by Mina Le

The Society
April 10, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
  Boston Public Garden On Boston Public Garden's willowed shorebank, two little girls are feeding ducks: they prance from beak to beak, arms arcing past their foreheads to farther thrust their...

‘Gaius Plinius Secundus’ by Bob McGinness

The Society
April 7, 2017
Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  “Doing what deserves to be written, writing what deserves to be read, living to make the world a happier place.” That's what Pliny the Elder said. He quoted “In Vino Veritas,” from...

‘White Wolf, Black Wolf: A Cherokee Story’ and Other Poetry by Dusty Grein

The Society
April 6, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
White Wolf, Black Wolf: A Cherokee Story A trijan refrain Inside you lives a wolf of white— of patience, peace and love. He is forgiveness, hope and light; a blessing from above. This wolf of white...

‘After E. T. A. Hoffman’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
April 4, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Music, Poetry
2 Comments
After E. T. A. Hoffman "Only connect..." E. M. Forster, Howard's End By Ewald E. Eisbruc The inner structure of the movements, working joint by joint, the way they all are linked together, toward a...

‘Rhyme to Me’ by Lee Nyary

The Society
March 28, 2017
Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
  To me, to rhyme— It is sublime To others But a waste of time To match the sounds Of words, they say Promotes an Aural truth-decay To them I say To rhyme’s the way! To make the...

‘The Theater of the Bush’ and Other Poetry by David Watt

The Society
March 27, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
The Theater of the Bush To westward the sun seeks a comfort nocturnal, Her warmth slipping under the covers ahead; And daylight soon passes the threshold eternal, Turns on the night-light and settles in...

‘Approaching Spring’ and Other Poetry by Alec Ream

The Society
March 26, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
2 Comments
. . Approaching Spring Above the mountain, under the sky, Canadian Geese, you hear their cry, Over the mountain, hear them sing, Man and Wife, approaching Spring. . . Charge to Orion Gird thy blade and...

‘How Much Wheat Can a Woodchuck Eat?’ by Connie Phillips

The Society
March 21, 2017
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
How much wheat can a woodchuck eat? Or cabbage, carrots, and peas, Spinach, parsley, peppers, and kale, Tomatoes, lettuce, n’ beans? What if he brings his family n’ friends? A party they will...

‘The Rocky Mountain Pines’ and Other Poetry by Blake Elliott

The Society
March 20, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, The Environment
The Rocky Mountain Pines Written in Rhymed couplets of Anapestic Tetrameter. In the mountains or plains, with the pine in the air, I’ll awake to the sun with a chill to compare. When I hike up a hill,...

‘Dancer’ and Other Poetry by Ayame Whitfield

The Society
March 18, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, The Environment
3 Comments
Dancer the arch of her collarbone a bridge, her legs a throne, the clean and simple lines of her body free of confines. she dances, arms akimbo, hair flowing, and I know that she belongs to the...

‘Saint Patrick Was a Green Alien’ by Damian Robin

The Society
March 17, 2017
Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  Saint Patrick was a green alien, He came from other parts. He was not a native Irishman But was taken to their hearts. On oceans of pre-destiny He made a Christian start With a sense of...

‘On the Press-ident’ by Caud Bile Sewer

The Society
March 11, 2017
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
The Press is not the enemy, but Donald Trump is right; the Press is disingenuous; they cannot get it right. Left in the midst of overladen, value-judgment words, left in the air, they're like a flock of...

‘Upon the Pompeii Exhibition at the National Gallery’ by David Essex

The Society
March 8, 2017
Culture, Poetry
or Mutatis Mutandis The mode of most catastrophe is gradually, then suddenly. Time slowly ratchets up the stress in states that tend to stay at rest until some last-straw catalyst, the tumblers’...

Poetry on the Photography of Mark Wyatt, Poetry by Alec Ream

The Society
March 3, 2017
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
All photos by Mark Wyatt / All poetry by Alec Ream Chant of the Wooded Hall Chlorophyll concordant eaves Soaring ceiling, verdant leaves Torah spell my secret sees Worded oracle of trees Beneath a thing be...

‘Sonnet for an Arabian Autumn’ and Other Poetry by Diane Woodcock

The Society
March 2, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
1 Comment
Sonnet for an Arabian Autumn After William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 This time of year you will in me perceive When all things green take on their second growth, The sun at last agrees to a...

‘A Note on Rumi to the Global Diversity Committee’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
March 1, 2017
Culture, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
  Teaching the Inner Couplets of one Rumi Has left me truly desolate and gloomy. They say he’s great, this Sufi poet Rumi, But frankly, it is most astounding to me That anyone can read the...

Poetry Based on Holocaust Testimonies

The Society
February 26, 2017
Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
2 Comments
A Million Thoughts Based on the Holocaust testimony of Bertha Haberfeld By Surina Patel A million thoughts are rushing through my brain, The looming gas chamber ahead of me, The sounds I hear and the...

‘Console Her With the Atheist’s Philosophy’ by Samuel Johnson

The Society
February 24, 2017
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
2 Comments
  Console her with the Atheist’s philosophy: ____Never mind! Your grandma’s dead. It’s Nature’s way of denoting an atrophy ____In the muscles, lungs and head. I mean to say her central...

‘Riven’ and Other Poetry in Traditional Bardic Forms by Elizabeth Spencer Spragins

The Society
February 22, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, The Environment
2 Comments
Riven (A Rannaigheacht Ghairid) Once I dreamed Ospreys soared where salmon teemed. Frigid streams and waterfalls Frosted walls where glaciers gleamed. Darkness cowled The moon whenever wolves...

‘Education: To Be Continued…’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
February 17, 2017
Culture, Education, Poetry
3 Comments
  Education:  To Be Continued ... There is no lack of opportunity For education in this spendthrift age, And boys who wish to earn a decent wage Must show the general community That they have...

‘Says Simon Cowell (A Villanelle)’ and Other Poetry by Agnes Bookbinder

The Society
February 16, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle
1 Comment
  Says Simon Cowell (A Villanelle) “Which came first, the egg or fowl? This is what I’d like to know.” “Who cares?” says Simon Cowell. (Not so much “says” as speaks in growl) I...

Whitworth Over Whitman: A Poem by Sally Cook

The Society
February 6, 2017
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
41 Comments
What a Wit is Worth For John Whitworth, poet Oh,  Whitman was a rhymer who enjoyed to play the part Of complicating everything.  It's something of an art To ramble on for pages on the pinprick of a...

‘Susan B. Anthony Upbraids Elizabeth Cady Stanton’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
February 4, 2017
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
10 Comments
You’ve not come to a meeting in three years— Within the movement, there are buzzing fears That marriage has ensnared you in its cage. And frankly, I myself have reached the stage Where anger has...

‘On the Protesters Filled With Hate’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
February 2, 2017
Culture, Poetry, Terrorism
11 Comments
On the Protesters Filled With Hate By Bruce Dale Wise And while American airports were filled with screaming hate, Chief Petty Officer Will "Ryan" Owens met his fate, caught in a raid against Al-Qaida's...

‘Bubbles’ and Other Poetry by Mike Dashiell

The Society
January 31, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
  Bubbles I swish the stick To watch a spread of bubbles gleam; Free and delightful they float Almost a dream. This pristine orbs, A fragile yet audacious batch Seem hopeless until they...

On Their Uncanny Similarities: Hamlet and Journey to the West

The Society
January 30, 2017
Culture, Education, Essays, Shakespeare
5 Comments
by Evan Mantyk WHAT DOES THE classic Chinese story Journey to the West have to do with William Shakespeare’s classic play Hamlet? A lot it turns out. Both Hamlet and Journey to the West were...

‘Song of Ulysses’ and Other Poetry by Clinton Van Inman

The Society
January 25, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
Song of Ulysses For greatness and glory’s sake For all things rich and noble In proud ships tall let us make Again where only men are able Tired we’ve grown of glitter and gold Of the clamor of...

‘The “Greatest Show on Earth” Is Coming to a Close’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
January 21, 2017
Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
The "Greatest Show on Earth" Is Coming to a Close By Sirc de Budalewe The "Greatest Show on Earth" is coming to a close in May; financially it could not make it in the USA. The Ringling...

‘Shin-Rin-Yoku: Forest Bathing’ and Other Poetry by Betsy Hughes

The Society
January 17, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
Shin-Rin-Yoku Forest Bathing You stand beneath this canopy of trees, surrender will, hold still.   You close your eyes and listen as the rustling of the leaves and lapping breeze-blown waters...

‘Departure’ and Other Poetry by James McKee

The Society
January 13, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, The Environment
4 Comments
  Departure Like escaping through a siege, growing older       Hampers itself with hopes of return; So if, over your bare shoulder, Upwind palaces start to...

‘The Terrorists’ and Other Poetry by Gleb Zavlanov

The Society
January 10, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terrorism
6 Comments
  The Terrorists Tears feed the sweeping sands beneath their feet, And blood runs deep into the living ground. The sun throbs down with agonizing heat. The captives kneel, blindfolded, with no...

‘After Christmas’ by Damian Robin

The Society
January 6, 2017
Culture, Poetry
2 Comments
  We may hear some Bible phrase and laugh. __That book has no monopoly on ‘goods’. Some words clang, we tip its old tin bath __and out rolls “Baby Jesus” with the suds. Like cliqué’d,...

‘Water Music’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
January 4, 2017
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terrorism
6 Comments
Water Music Just as white as a blanket of new-fallen snow Is the noise of a waterfall cresting a brim And ebulliently thrashing the basin below. But the sound of a freshet resembles a hymn, Its discrete...

10 Greatest Novels Ever Written

The Society
January 1, 2017
Best Poems, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry
39 Comments
By Evan Mantyk From The Iliad, Beowulf, and Shakespearean literature in the West to the Chinese Classic of Poetry, the Indian Ramayana, and the Middle Eastern Epic of Gilgamesh, classical poetry is the...

‘New Year’s Hopes, 2017’ by Daniel Magdalen

The Society
December 31, 2016
Acrostic, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
  Color streams burst brightly in a flourish of elation, Each to soar and cover night's condoning, lofty, canvas – Livening this moment, man-made shooting stars' vibration Emanate our gladness to...

‘A Second Shirt’ by David Subacchi

The Society
December 27, 2016
Culture, Poetry
For King Charles I of England On the day I asked for a second shirt So my people would not see me shiver In the cold breeze blowing from the river And think me afraid to die or be hurt On that scaffold...
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  1. Dave Etchell on A Poem on the July 4th Texas Flash Floods, by Susan Jarvis BryantJuly 8, 2025

    A great poem, very skilled use of form - cross rhymed quatrain ending in a couplet- pretty rare in English…

  2. Margaret Brinton on ‘On Never Giving Up’: A Poem by Mark StellingaJuly 8, 2025

    A very smooth and well-paced poem.

  3. Sophia Meindl on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 8, 2025

    A silent whisper A voice lost in the deep sea Deafening silence.

  4. Edward Hayes on ‘On Quantock Hills’: A Poem by Andy MoodyJuly 8, 2025

    Mr. Peterson, The poet, above, might have written this poem in the 17th century. Are we forbidden, as admirers of…

  5. Cynthia L Erlandson on A Poem on the July 4th Texas Flash Floods, by Susan Jarvis BryantJuly 8, 2025

    There may be no words, Susan, but yours come awfully close.

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