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      Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
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Poetry

‘Those Who Do Not Remember the Past . . .’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 14, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
  Of Roland and of Kings I sing of Arthur and Excalibur, The Table Round and fealty professed By knights devoted to a noble quest For what was right and good, and pure. I sing of Percival and...

‘Ode to the Lats’ by Connie Phillips

The Society
December 13, 2018
Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
  Oh Lat, dear Lat, where art thou at? Methinks thou seem a bit too flat... On Superman, and blokes like that, Your rippling mass is no doormat! With Arnold, Dwayne the Rock, and Hulk, The goal...

‘Advice to an Aspiring Careerist’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
December 12, 2018
Culture, Humor, Poetry
22 Comments
  —from A Gallery of Ethopaths Schools are diploma mills that provide Credentials for people who have to hide In the small chinks of some corporation Or a bureaucracy’s minor station. Pay your...
poem/buchheit/poetry reading

‘A Poem’s Truth’ by Michael Stutz

The Society
December 11, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
  A poem's truth, when presently revealed Inside its lines where they had first congealed Will fill you with a youthful ardent joy— Like first unwrapping ribbons on a toy, Or spring, when...

‘To Write of Death’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
December 10, 2018
Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  If poets are supposed to write of death then let me O! poetically regret the beating heart abruptly stopped, the breath that falls like lead upon the coverlet. Let me intone the soft and wistful...

‘Dryads’ Winter Lament’ by Wandi Zhu

The Society
December 9, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
  As autumn breezes blow away The warmth of summer’s sun, Then shortened is the light of day When we had danced as one. The prelude to the winter snow Is sung by icy rain, The rosiness of...

‘There are No Long-Term Consequences When the End is Near!’ by Lee Goldberg

The Society
December 8, 2018
Humor, Poetry
11 Comments
  A wondrous thing that happens as your exit becomes near, is that “long-term” consequences need not cause you fear! Bottom line: there’s no “long-term” when soon you’ll meet your...

‘The Anchor’ by Steven Shaffer

The Society
December 7, 2018
Humor, Poetry, The Raven
10 Comments
after Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" __Once upon an evening dreary, I searched for news, at least in theory, Over many a dubious and mendacious channel that I abhor— __While I surfed, nearly barfing,...
poem/life/death/river

‘Pinhead’ and Other Poetry by Michael Curtis

The Society
December 6, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
23 Comments
Pinhead While sitting on a pinhead __Stuck in an angel's wing Holding still a piece of thread __I tap my head to think, I tap again, to no avail, __It seems I have forgot The answer to the...

‘Let Them Go’ by Mickey Kulp

The Society
December 5, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
13 Comments
a villanelle Be still now and let them go. Their trials and losses fade away. Briefly, they were yours to sow. Children stumble, cry, and grow. They are young and so they stray. Be still now and let...

‘Here Comes the Hybrid Bus’ by K.G. Jackson

The Society
December 4, 2018
Beauty, Humor, Poetry, The Environment
5 Comments
  Here Comes the Hybrid Bus Here comes that brand new hybrid bus Round the street so pretty; It's length so long it makes the turn, And bends right round the city. It's certainly looking very...

‘The Threads’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
December 3, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
on the state of poetry today I see the threads have all aligned __In a patchwork tapestry That seemed at first all but resigned __To the death of poetry. The colors of the patchwork poems, __Splendid...

‘To Nicholas Wilton’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
December 2, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
Traditional Sacred Polyphonist of England Wilton! Could music make the dead to rise, Spare life its toil, move wills from sloth, Bind happy lovers in their troth, Or lift a heart to soar upon the...

‘Ms. Hayden, On Your Selection of Our Next Poet Laureate’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
December 1, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
Ms. Hayden, On Your Selection of Our Next Poet Laureate: For poetry to rise again Seek one who has applied the pen To that which all can understand, To verse which is sublime and grand. Choose one who...

‘Politician or Poet’ and Other Translations of Ryhor Krushyna’s Poetry

The Society
November 30, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Translation
8 Comments
Politician or Poet When in one’s soul the politician calls forth – The poet’s voice withers and comes to naught. And poems become a bedlam of propaganda Praising the party’s agenda. The poet’s...

‘The Hindu’s Lament’ by Edmund Jonah

The Society
November 29, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
The Hindu's Lament As I passed a lonely temple in the after-evening glow, On the banks of the Ganges where the quiet waters flow, When the sun had sunk to rest and cool softness touched the air, I saw a...

‘To Chavistas’ and Other Poetry by John Gao

The Society
November 28, 2018
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
4 Comments
To Chavistas You profit off the indignance of the poor just like the imperial loansharks you denounce, you’ve murdered trees and poisoned lakes and swore the water’s safe to drink then gloat to...

A Beginner’s Guide to Sapphic Verse (with Audio)

The Society
November 27, 2018
Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings, Sapphic Verse
37 Comments
by James A. Tweedie My interest in Sapphic verse arose from a discussion thread on an SCP post some months ago. I researched the subject and decided to try my hand at it. Recently, I submitted my poem to...

‘Cosmic Dance’ by Sathya Narayana

The Society
November 26, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
  When born, they said he came into the light! He realised soon it's another kind of gloom, where innocence had lost to odious blight and wisdom went crisscross in carnal looms. With his one foot...

‘The Poet’s Soul with Artful Pen’ and Other Poetry by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
November 25, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
The Poet's Soul with Artful Pen Few will read with understanding What the poet is intending. Nouns and verbs are still concealing Concepts with a double meaning. Adjectives, and adverbs too, Are used...

‘Beauty Is a Verb’ by Shari Jo LeKane-Yentumi

The Society
November 24, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
20 Comments
Not how we're seen but what we do determines beauty's stride, for seeds of virtue catered to are planted deep inside. Not what we see but how perceived in nature's many sides determines how the world's...

‘Cell Block Twenty-Nine’ and Other Poetry by David Watt

The Society
November 23, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
10 Comments
Cell Block Twenty-Nine I haven’t seen the sun for days, Nor felt Compassion’s gentle ways; My body’s weak, but courage stays, In Cell Block Twenty-Nine. They tell me “Falun Gong’s a...

Amidst Anti-Thanksgiving Fervor: November 2018

The Society
November 22, 2018
Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
by Usa W. Celebride The pilgrims were a persecuted group—for their beliefs— so they were willing for a chance, a hope for some relief. They made the risky voyage to America by ship. A crew that...

‘Trope’ by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 21, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
Attentive to the dawning light, a poem has much in common with a plant: the crown delivers photosynthate through the phloem to earthbound roots—as thoughts are channeled down to partner up with images...

On the California Wildfires, by Tonya McQuade

The Society
November 19, 2018
Culture, Poetry, The Environment
14 Comments
AQI: Hazardous Outside, the air is filled with smoke and ash So thick the nearby mountains can’t be seen; Bright red and purple colors on the map Warn that the air we breathe’s no longer clean. In...

‘Much Too Small’ by Joseph Quintanilla

The Society
November 19, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
6 Comments
Much too small for a plow, __but I dig anyhow __till there’s sweat on my brow __from the weeds that I fight. I know others may yawn __at that part of my lawn __that I spend my time on, __but it brings...

‘The Hallowed Halls of Know-It-Alls’ by Sandy Stert Benjamin

The Society
November 18, 2018
Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
  The Hallowed Halls of Know-It-Alls are filled with varied creatures who learn the ropes from other dopes who pride themselves as teachers. They pontificate, obfuscate, and pose as if...

‘Whatever Is, Is Right’ by Don Shook

The Society
November 17, 2018
Poetry
16 Comments
…a contemporary application of Pope’s wisdom I’ve sent illegal immigrants to splash around your pool, to raid your pantry, watch tv, because I know you’re cool. They’ll realize you’re not...

Poetry Found: ‘The Battery Horse’ by E.R. Henry

The Society
November 16, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Essays, Found Poem, Poetry
33 Comments
Presented by Monty Phillips Given that the recent days have been rightfully occupied by the remembering of the humans who never made it home from World War 1, I thought I might highlight a less represented...

‘The Garden of Life’ and Other Poetry by Satyananda Sarangi

The Society
November 15, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
The Garden of Life In wee, assuring spans of sunlit day, The sun awakened, rides his carriage fast To paint with crimson every corner passed, To cheer the silent buds of torrid May. My garden here in...

‘The Cost of Higher Education’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 14, 2018
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
7 Comments
  I am a university in the U.S. of A. Becoming more dependent on Red China every day. We seek out Chinese students for the money that they bring, While the Confucius Institutes keep...

“When Clouds Roll In” by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
November 13, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
  On sunny days We’re filled with “me.” “I’m on my own And feeling free!” We have our job, And casual friends. The world feels strong Like it won’t end. Then clouds roll in, And lightning,...

‘To Cast Aside the Worldly Fishing Net and Join the Glorious Race’ by Joe Spring

The Society
November 12, 2018
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
inspired by the Book of Hebrews To carry close a fishing net of gold or sea-green thread, __a-woven by some skillful hands, with ruby borders bound, a massive net, with onyx weights, and glass-blown floats,...

‘Let’s Take the Other Bus’ by Amy Foreman

The Society
November 11, 2018
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
29 Comments
(A liberal-socialist primer for our youngest, most impressionable comrades) Note: 'take the other bus' is a slang term for homosexual behavior. Come gather round me, little ones: you bourgeois girls,...

‘At Dusk’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Leach

The Society
November 10, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
At Dusk At dusk, when high above the darkening trees, __The swallows in the deep blue dip and soar, As if in flying higher, still to squeeze __The last delicious moments that before ____The light into the...

An Open Letter to Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, by Dusty Grein

The Society
November 9, 2018
Chant Royal, Poetry
39 Comments
Choose Wisely Calling for the next U.S. Poet Laureate to be a traditional rhyming poet A double refrained chant royal in iambic pentameter O harken to my plea, as I implore, from need, true classic...

‘U.S. Midterm Election 2018’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
November 7, 2018
Poetry
11 Comments
(All poetry by Bruce Dale Wise) U.S. Midterm Election 2018 by Brice U. Lawseed There wasn't any blue wave, nor a red wall; but instead the House was painted blue, the Senate turned a brighter...

‘Heritage’ by C. David Hay

The Society
November 7, 2018
Beauty, Poetry, The Environment
10 Comments
  Behold the cloud-graced monoliths That stretch against the sky Into the boundless sanctity Where wind swift eagles fly. Primal valleys bloom to life As tumbling waters sing, Resurrected from...

‘Write On! The Masters From the Shadows Cried’ by Ted Hayes

The Society
November 6, 2018
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
  "Write on!" the Masters from the shadows cried. "By your thin air we breathe, nor ever died; Your modest dress, our glorious raiment shares And witness to our sun, your candle bears. "Ignored,...

Essay: ‘Down with the Suck-Ups’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
November 5, 2018
Culture, Essays, Poetry
13 Comments
When formal poets come to me for advice, I do my best to be helpful. I can comment on metrics and diction and syntactical choice. I try to avoid discussing subject matter since that is in the realm of personal...
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  1. Terrie Henrich on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 5, 2025

    let’s pick blueberries then call Oma for the streusel recipe from ashes you rise ignore the trolls, lacy Queen who…

  2. Jessica Tommasi on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 5, 2025

    on the cusp of spring – the return of the osprey forsythia blooms gliding through the reeds a water beetle…

  3. William Winslow on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 5, 2025

    shuffling ankle-deep through the fallen prophets of a maple grove the end of summer - a toy pail and shovel…

  4. Mike Bryant, Moderator on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 5, 2025

    Judges, Mr. Graybill placed his haiku on the “examples” post… Here are his entries: My three haiku selections: Love stories…

  5. Guy Graybill on How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku?July 5, 2025

    Hello ~ Have you or have you not received my three haiku entries? The only place they seem to appear…

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