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Culture

‘The Psychopath Addresses the Ladies…’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 30, 2024
Culture, Poetry
43 Comments
. The Psychopath Addresses the Ladies Auxiliary of the Mental Ward "When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate."  —C.G. Jung "Physician, heal thyself."  —Luke...

A Heroic Crown of Sonnets in Honor of the Ever Virgin, by Karen Darantière

The Society
July 27, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. A Heroic Crown of Sonnets in Honor of the Ever Virgin . ---1st Mystery: The Prophecy of Isaiah . The Timeless Song The timeless song of her virginity, Intoned by holy angels, signifies The consecration to...

‘The Maze’: A Poem by Pamela Ruggiero

The Society
July 25, 2024
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. The Maze Her little game of make believe has turned into a nightmare maze. Her tears have spilled upon her sleeve while empty eyes have lost their gaze. Her maze is very hard to beat; The mice go round and...

‘A Ballade to Becoming’ by D.T. Holt

The Society
July 22, 2024
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. A Ballade to Becoming .. I. Conceptio You may have fame, be well to do, And live beneath a constant sun; You may attain all you pursue And be a friend to everyone. But, without fail, a time will come When...

‘The Vision of George Washington’: A Poem by Monika Cooper

The Society
July 21, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. The Vision of George Washington based on the story by Wesley Bradshaw, published in 1880 . I. Message Disclosed What you have heard of Washington is true. At Valley Forge, in those dark winter days, Our...

‘Cyprus’: A Poem for the 50th Anniversary of Turkey’s Invasion, by Maria Panayi

The Society
July 20, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. Cyprus  July 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the invasion of part of Cyprus by Turkey Land of my birth you’re blessed with gifts divine Of loveliness and beauty hard to find, Where Aphrodite from...

‘My Vacation Trip in Verse’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
July 19, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. My Vacation Trip in Verse by James A. Tweedie One of the comments in response to the recent “On the Meeting of Poets” post read: “A diary in verse. It’s original and interesting. I’d like to see...

‘Freedom of Speech vs. the NBA’: A Poem by Drilon Bajrami

The Society
July 17, 2024
Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
8 Comments
. Freedom of Speech vs. the NBA The CCP has raged and seethed, oh joy! Daryl Morey was not playing coy, He spoke the truth, a gun then to his head: “Fawn now! Or else your hoop dreams are all dead!” Even...

A Poem on Cancer Drugs, by Phillip Whidden

The Society
July 16, 2024
Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Dementing Torture of Benign           Drugs against Malignancy His life came to its End.  Smell of the medicine Departs chillingly.                                    ---Dakotsu The...

‘Fire Lurks’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
July 15, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. Fire Lurks I recognize, while watching ghastly nightEncircle statesmanship revoltingly,Bright bursts of a spangled pyrotechnic star.America! No star, a land’s lost light.Companions, look and say if you can...

On the Attempted Assassination of Trump: ‘Trail of Hate’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 14, 2024
Culture, Poetry
54 Comments
. The Trail of Hate Amid the upbeat crowd a sudden blast Of noise arose like fireworks kissing skies. Fallacious musings struck then swiftly passed When crimson dripped before the saucer eyes Of those who saw...
poem/French revolution/high school

‘Storming the Bastille’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
July 13, 2024
Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. Storming the Bastille from eyewitness accounts July the twelfth, the City of Light was filled With brigands bought by dimes and dismal speech; How cheap to buy a riot in this heat— Yet hard to rouse...

‘Gunfight at the Oatcake Corral’: A Poem by Jeff Eardley

The Society
July 12, 2024
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Gunfight at the Oatcake Corral There’s an old English town known as Fargo, In the dark, rugged hills of the west. Where they say, there was many a gunfight, But this one was one of the best. Old Homity...

‘A Town’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
July 11, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
11 Comments
. A Town The difficulty of describing how This town was then, may only be because So little happened there, compared to now, Though what occurred (the bustle and the buzz) Filled every room in each small...

A Poem on ‘Red Carpet’ Dresses by Cheryl Corey

The Society
July 11, 2024
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. The Red Carpet There's nothing left to tease imagination When so-called starlets, vying for attention, Sashay the carpet practically nude; And you don't have to be a total prude To know when something...

‘The Expert Class’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
July 10, 2024
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. The Expert Class “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see” ---Benjamin Franklin The experts with professorships are filled with such great certainty. They warn us that the point that...

‘Houses Made of Stone’: A Poem on Great Zimbabwe by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
July 9, 2024
Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Houses Made of Stone Masvingo, southern Africa’s the place; a backwater, land tired and over-farmed, where army ants cut underbrush and race trimmed morsels to their hills. The air becalmed and hot as...

‘Promises Made, Promises Kept… Give Me a Break!’ and Other Poetry by Mark Stellinga

The Society
July 9, 2024
Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. Promises Made, Promises Kept... Give Me a Break! We know, because they promise us their virtuous intent when allocating funds is always currency well spent That supersedes all arguments of basic common...

‘The Lord of His Castle’: A Poem by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 7, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
38 Comments
. The Lord of His Castle Setting: King Stephen’s siege of Newbury Castle, England during the English civil war known as “The Anarchy.” The year is 1152 A.D. Strategic though this castle is to me I would...

‘A Hurricane by Any Other Name…’: A Poem on Hurricane Beryl, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 5, 2024
Culture, Poetry
34 Comments
. A Hurricane by Any Other Name... The lights went out in Mexico today. A fury hit Cancun with no remorse. With death upon her breath, she makes her way To Lone Star shores. She's on a fiendish course. The...

‘It Goes Without Saying’: A July 4th Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
July 4, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. It Goes Without Saying "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and...

‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’: A Poem by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 4, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
38 Comments
. . Battle Hymn of the Republic The Lord doth come; the grapes of wrath are crushed! Behold His fiery sword of Victory. He heartens those whose voices have been hushed To loudly shout our rage: “We shall be...

‘American Dream Where Did You Go?’: A July 4th Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
July 4, 2024
Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. American Dream Where Did You Go? American dream, where did you go? Visions grand that I loved so? Land of opportunity Heading toward disunity. Politics that once were regal Neuter the American eagle. Merit...
poem/graham/culture

‘Ba’al’: A Poem on Abortion by Michael Vanyukov

The Society
June 30, 2024
Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Ba’al "And they built the high places of Ba'al to burn their children with fire as burnt offerings to Ba'al, which I did not command, neither did I speak nor did it enter My mind." — Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)...

‘Elder Abuse’: A Poem Written Upon Watching the Presidential Debate, by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 29, 2024
Culture, Poetry
44 Comments
. Elder Abuse What’s left to us to say? There’ll be no more debates. We know the truth now. Biden is not there--- The president of the United States: A man lost in a blank and vacant stare. They hid this...

‘Soulmate’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
June 29, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
.  Soulmate Your spouse ideally is your best friend,Providing love and laughter end to end,Supporting and enhancing all day through,But still at times your soulmate must be you. . . Ultimate Question Some...

‘The Pink of Gentle Hermione and White of John Paul II’: A Poem by Phillip Whidden

The Society
June 28, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. The Pink of Gentle Hermione and White of John Paul II The lodger pauses, as he leaves, to gaze At blossoms in the border at the front— The blooms of roses, saintlike pink—appraise Them as a Monday man...

A Poem on a Performance of Beethoven’s ‘Appassionata’ Sonata, by Julian Woodruff

The Society
June 27, 2024
Culture, Music, Poetry
13 Comments
. Again Sir Charles Hallé plays Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata for Henri–Montan Berton and Luigi Cherubini, Paris, ca. 1835 The two composers sat at rapt attention,listening to Beethoven’s...

‘Rending the Night’: A Vietnam War Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
June 26, 2024
Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. Rending the Night Remembering My Army Service in Vietnam . Flying bullets rend the night, Sleeping birds in instant flight. See the darkness glowing bright. Sleeping soldiers wake in fright. Targets outlined...

‘Spanish Moss’ and Other Florida Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 25, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Spanish Moss A thicket hides the remnants of a grange, An antebellum place of ghosts and rue--- A gothic ruin---tropical and strange Which even egrets shun. The faintest clue Of why is whispered when the...

‘Memento Belli’: A Poem by Alison Jennings

The Society
June 24, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Memento Belli _My father had mementoes of the war; _he kept them in a box above his clothes, _where also hung a uniform he wore _when he was someone in that time ago _till trauma came, caused by the weight...

‘The Plagiarising Poet’: A Poem by Drilon Bajrami

The Society
June 24, 2024
Culture, Education, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Plagiarising Poet A young lad sat in class—geography— Bored and in a peaceful reverie. The school bell blared, the teach showed indignation, “The bell does not free you!” she yelled in...

‘Reward for How You Live’: A Poem by D.A. Cooper

The Society
June 21, 2024
Culture, Humor, Poetry
5 Comments
. Reward for How You Live from Italo Calvino’s Italian folktale “Gesù e San Pietro in Friuli” One night, while traveling on a mountain road, two wanderers came upon a small abode. The vagrants, Jesus...

‘Some Words to Catholics about Bergoglio’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
June 19, 2024
Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. Some Words to Catholics about Bergoglio God only knows what’s left to say— Most Catholics drift from day to day, Like refugees in war or flood, Half-starved, or weltering in blood From wounds that fester...

A Poem on ‘Cicada Fever’ in Springfield, Illinois, by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
June 18, 2024
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Periodicity Springfield, Illinois, May-June 2024 All our town has caught cicada fever. Seven broods emerge, the selfsame time. This fluke converts me to an awed believer in nature's odd propensity to...

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

The Society
June 17, 2024
Culture, Poetry, Satire
19 Comments
. Sidetracked Life’s troubles come in all varieties,From nagging aches that barely raise a frown,To fearsome packs of deep anxietiesThat, given half a chance, will drag us down. Much worse is when assaults...

‘Home Run’: A Poem by Mike Bryant

The Society
June 14, 2024
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Home Run Oh my God the play we made, And, really quite efficiently. We had two billion pawns we’d played, Lost sixty million… two or three. It’s almost none, percentage wise. Well worth the...

‘Ozymandias’: A Poem by Dave Blanchard

The Society
June 14, 2024
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
. Ozymandias after Percy Bysshe Shelley More solitary than an orphan’s reachThat vigil, that the shifting peaks repel,A site of none left even to beseech---Less ruthless now, where only fragments dwellNor...

‘I Hear the Distant Thunder’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
June 12, 2024
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. I Hear the Distant Thunder I hear the distant thunder rolling__Across the nighttime sky.Incendiary lightning strikes__Of fire are drawing nigh.If I can keep on writing, it__May be by candlelight.I must...

‘Driven from Their Homes’ and Other Israel-Inspired Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 11, 2024
Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. . Driven from Their Homes Deported and despised. Compelled to leave. 900,000 driven from their homes With pain enough to fill one-million tomes--- And yet they are forgotten. Will none grieve? . Morocco,...
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  1. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘The Legend of Zhong Kui’: A Poem by M.D. SkeenJune 5, 2025

    Fascinating tale rooted in the requirement of those times to memorize reams of writing to be accepted into the ancient…

  2. Frank Rable on ‘Roads of Potter County’: A Poem by Frank RableJune 5, 2025

    Yes, Margaret, you're right about that, I think. A nice smooth lawn instead of the Penndot version of smooth asphalt.

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘Roads of Potter County’: A Poem by Frank RableJune 5, 2025

    Frank, my dad's family is from the Pottsville area (Schuylkill County) where roads seem the same--until summer arrives and the…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Frivolity from Quality’ and Other Poems by Russel WinickJune 5, 2025

    Russel, there was a short-lived scandal now some years back, because high-prestige Oxford University Press fired editors to employ marketers.…

  5. Frank Rable on ‘Roads of Potter County’: A Poem by Frank RableJune 5, 2025

    Thank you, Stephanie! I 'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you dodge the potholes. All of them. Now…

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