Society of Classical Poets logo
  • About Us
  • Join
  • Donate
  • Poetry
    Random
    • 'A Soliloquy on Modern Poetry' and Other Poetry by Richard Lackman

      The Society
      March 9, 2020
      Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
      4 Comments
    Recent
    • A Video Reading of the Poem “The Gentler Art” by Maureen Browne

      The Society
      September 19, 2025
    • ‘The Pentagon Panama Plan’: A True Story in Verse, by Roy E. Peterson

      The Society
      September 18, 2025
      5
    • poem/antifa/culture/riot

      ‘Ode to Antifa’: A Satirical Poem by Warren Bonham

      The Society
      September 18, 2025
      5
    • ‘Free Won’t’: A Poem by Peter Venable

      The Society
      September 17, 2025
      3
    • ‘About-Face’: A Poem by Mary Jane Myers

      The Society
      September 17, 2025
      8
    • ‘Esperanza’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

      The Society
      September 16, 2025
      7
  • Submit
  • Contests
    Random
    • 2021 High School Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2020
      From the Society, High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      1 Comment
    Recent
    • The 2025 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2025
    • The 2025 SCP International High School Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2025
    • The Best Haiku of 2025: Winners of the 2025 SCP Haiku Competition

      The Society
      August 28, 2025
      15
    • SCP Haiku Competition Featured on Radio New Zealand

      The Society
      July 26, 2025
      3
    • The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

      The Society
      June 21, 2025
      644
    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2025
      1
  • Journal
  • Books
  • Members
  • Poetry Contests
  • Donate
  • About Us
  • Submit
  • Poetry

Poetry

Home
Poetry
poem/essmann/culture

‘The Man in 2C’: A True Story in Poetry, by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
October 9, 2023
Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. The Man in 2C I’m trying not to make too much of this, But someone in 2C (the floor below) Has walled himself within an edifice Of waste, a rank malodorous abyss In which he sits as insects skitter...
poem/schulert/beauty

Two Poems in the Style of Robert Frost, by Dusty Grein

The Society
October 9, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
. Morning Witness To greet the dawn, I crossed a meadow green, still blanketed in jewels of morning dew. I sat upon a rock, still and serene, and watched the sky transform from black to blue. Even before the...
poem/bryant/satire

A Poem on Alexa’s 2020 Election Fraud Analysis, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
October 8, 2023
Culture, Pantoum, Poetry, Satire
69 Comments
. Not Alexa's President a pantoum on the news story here “The real risk with AI isn't malice but competence.”  —Stephen Hawking Alexa says election fraud took place. She says the 2020 vote was...
poem/bonham/satire

A Poem on Biden Backing the Border Wall, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
October 8, 2023
Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. It’s All for Show The Big Guy’s going to build a wall. He’s going to build it strong and tall "Because," he says, "we cannot leave Our border leaking like a sieve." He used to say, “It isn’t...
poem/mckee/beauty

‘The Cabin’: A Poem by Nathaniel Todd McKee

The Society
October 8, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
. The Cabin _Atop the plateau’s rise, __I’m homeward bound, When sights familiar strike my eyes. Come with me---see the scenes I've found. _Turn right off highway 8, __Mount Pleasant Church, Then left,...

A Poem on Writers’ Block and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
October 7, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Blocked Though honeyed breezes warm the marble halls on Mount Parnassus, vainly do I search for writing on my January walls— molasses clogs my veins.  A different church, perhaps a fresh sodality of...
poem/binns/dante

The Lowest Heaven: Canto III of Paradise, Translated by Stephen Binns

The Society
October 7, 2023
Beauty, Dante, Poetry, Translation
10 Comments
. The Lowest Heaven: Canto III of Paradise by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns The sun which with first love had warmed my breast ____Beatrice __now showed, in her reproving, proving...
poem/tweedie/beauty

Two Poems Inspired by Donner Lake, California, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
October 6, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
23 Comments
. Winter Storm in May A High Sierra snowstorm passes through, Injecting winter into springtime May; As frozen fluffs of ermine drift into A world remade in black and white and gray. The once-blue sky anneals...
poem/rizley/beauty

‘Village Home’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
October 6, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
26 Comments
. Village Home after George Enescu's Orchestral Suite no. 3, “Villageoise” Along the tree-lined lane he walks at dusk; What brought him here, he cannot now remember. The chilling breeze, the scent of pine...
poem/beauty/cook

‘Hybrid and Wild’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
October 5, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. Hybrid and Wild All of her life had a meaning, Each section in its compartment. Tenants went through a close screening— Somehow, I got the apartment. She was a prickly old lady— I, a rambling young...
poem/coats/translation

‘With a Smile of the Heart’ (Circa 1200), Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
October 5, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
18 Comments
. Introduction This long lyric of short lines has pairs of stanzas linked in rhyme. It is a sequence honoring Gilbert of Sempringham (1083–1189, canonized 1202), founder of the Catholic Church’s only...

‘Late Changes’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
October 4, 2023
Poetry, Satire
28 Comments
. Late Changes Though older people may proclaim __That they intend to change, One should by no means find it strange __If they remain the same. . . Reunion Conversations with dear, old friends sharing Key...
poem/rosenbaum/culture

‘The Song of the Woman Who Bled’: A Poem by Philip Rosenbaum

The Society
October 4, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. The Song of the Woman Who Bled Mark 5:25-34 When you have no more money you can spend, Then men will tell you, “You cannot be cured.” Though Jesus makes it better in the end, First tribulation has to be...
poem/bryant/humor

Two Autumn Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
October 3, 2023
Humor, Poetry
28 Comments
. Season of Gall and Sticky Listlessness Autumn is upon us here in Texas. Her shy arrival’s destined to perplex us. Just like the voiceless aria of Spring, Fall’s muted presence doesn’t change a...

‘Massacre of the Innocents’: An Ekphrastic Poem by V. Paige Parker

The Society
October 3, 2023
Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry, Readings
7 Comments
. . Massacre of the Innocents Matt. 2:18, 10:28, 18:10; Psalm 116:15; 2 Mac. 7:29 Why are the fish and fruit stands closed today— Too many soldiers, stationed all around. My God, they’re pulling out...
poem/sarangi/beauty

A Poem for Susan Jarvis Bryant: ‘The Fairy Godmother’ by Satyananda Sarangi

The Society
October 2, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Fairy Godmother for Susan Jarvis Bryant The fairy sings so far away and lifts My spirit, day by day through fading light; With every word well measured, clear inspite Of distance, space and time. The...
poem/yapko/satire

‘The Idealist Who Became an Ideologue’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
October 2, 2023
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
42 Comments
. The Idealist Who Became an Ideologue a rondeau redoublé To heal the world he treasured this ideal: Unite the many into one great whole. He preached the view that truth is what you feel, Convinced he played...
poem/peterson/music

‘Writers of the Purple Sage’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
October 1, 2023
Culture, Music, Poetry
35 Comments
. Writers of the Purple Sage What happened to the music? The writers of the West? The legends of the cowboys? The songs I loved the best? The outlaws and the posse? Please tell me where they went? The ones who...

‘Autumn Summons’: A Poem by Talbot Hook

The Society
October 1, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
28 Comments
. Autumn Summons The wind carries the leaves, And leaves the colors bear; The field prepares the sheaves That hold the sun ensnared. The leaves the colors bear; The colors hold the song That cooler grows the...
poem/bryant/satire

‘Victimhood & Narcissism’: Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
September 30, 2023
Poetry, Satire
48 Comments
. Victimhood & Narcissism . I. The Joy of Grief “To have a grievance is   to have a purpose in life” ---Alan Coren I bleat and beef with no relief. The joy of grief has served me well. I’m...

‘Wood’: A Poem by Mary Kipps

The Society
September 30, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Pantoum, Poetry
21 Comments
. Wood a pantoum It’s only furniture. But that’s both truth and lie. To find Mom’s treasured things a loving new address is near impossible, no matter what I try. Her home’s impending sale exacerbates...
poem/erlandson/lost child

‘Ode to the Strings of My Guitar’: A Poem by Daniel Howard

The Society
September 29, 2023
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
25 Comments
. Ode to the Strings of My Guitar I How still you sleep, oh strings of my guitar, As if you did not feel the faint caress Of my soft finger, shaped to form a bar; I wish to wake you with a gentle press, So as...
poetry/coats/haiku and senryu

The 23 Best Haiku of 2023

The Society
September 29, 2023
Best Poems, Essays, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
53 Comments
. The 23 Best Haiku of 2023 Winner and Runners-up of the Society of Classical Poets 2023 Haiku Competition Judged by J. Thomas Rimer and Margaret Coats (see their remarks below) See all...
poem/thompson/ekphrastic

A Poem on Two Dragon Statues in Vietnam, by G.M.H. Thompson

The Society
September 28, 2023
Beauty, Ekphrastic, Poetry
8 Comments
. Two Dragon Statues Tây Hồ, Hà Nội, Việt Nam, Constructed 2012 They stand on waves just off West Lake’s west bank— two dragon statues—jade ceramic gods commemorating when the Emperor beheld a...

‘Sea Breeze’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton

The Society
September 28, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Sea Breeze Negative ions aloft, Wafting aloft in the breeze. That mystical, maritime breeze Bestowing a comfort and ease. Beautiful, bountiful breeze, Offering more than it seems--- A lift to the spirit and...
poem/almadhi/humor

‘Labyrinthine Bag’ and Other Poetry by Wael Almahdi

The Society
September 27, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Labyrinthine Bag My wife, bless her heart, went and bought me a bag with tons of compartments, and pouches, and pockets. But searching for stuff is a chore and a drag it takes me forever to locate my...
poem/flott/culture

‘Abortion Notes’: A Poem by Phil Flott

The Society
September 27, 2023
Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
. Abortion Notes Please bury babies ripped to parts, Especially their tiny hearts. They’re slain in hiding from our sight. And even scheduled in the night. We never hear the babies’ cries. We cannot see...
poem/frank/culture

A Poem Inspired by Kimberly Hartke and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
September 26, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Poetry
19 Comments
. In Eve’s Footsteps based on “Genesis 2: Teaching its Truth to Women” by Kimberly Hartke “And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself. ... And...
poem/venable/beauty

‘Ponderings on the Porch’: A Poem by Peter Venable

The Society
September 26, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
7 Comments
. Ponderings on the Porch The chutes of light this autumn day __Beam down between the leaves. Sun’s equinox has long since passed— __Dew drips from grass and eaves. This sacred porch! Secure and...
poem/essmann/beauty

A Poem on ‘Summer’s End’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
September 25, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
. In the Park ___It showed up in the green ___Today: that velveteen _Exhaustion that betokens summer’s end, ___Its richness but a sigh ___That warns the passerby _There’s nothing he can do now to...
poem/gosse/humor

‘Rhyme Subprime’: A Poem on Slant Rhymes by Ken Gosse

The Society
September 25, 2023
Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
. Rhyme Subprime I tend to rant against slant;maybe it’s something I can’t__embrace with affection__or write to perfection but I don’t mean sharing a thoughtin a sensitive way that’s not...
poetry/bryant/poetry contests

A Poem on ‘Nothing’ Poetry Challenge

The Society
September 24, 2023
Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
90 Comments
. Poets create marvels of linguistic delights about anything and everything… but what about nothing?  Can your Muse capture the essence of nothing? This could be the hardest challenge your Muse has ever...
poem/binns/dante

‘Out of Purgatory’ and Other Poetry by James Sale

The Society
September 24, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Out of Purgatory There I went blind. I could no longer speak, but as I died, I murmured Mary’s name, And there I fell and left my empty flesh.   Now hear the truth. Tell it to living men: God’s angel...
poem/anderson/satire

Poems in Imitation of Russel Winick, by C.B. Anderson

The Society
September 23, 2023
Poetry, Satire
14 Comments
. Regional Biases We’ve all eaten dinners on china, But China’s now eating our lunch. A supper in South Carolina Is home-cookin’, I have a hunch. . . Sexual Preferences Though a prince may turn into a...
poem/kemper/humor

‘A Draft of Death’: A Poem by Jeff Kemper

The Society
September 23, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Draft of Death Did Flavius not inform us How a fart fetched fates enormous? After Flavius Josephus’s account of a Jewish Passover (ca 50 AD), when Ventidius Cumanus was procurator of Judea. While in...
poem/stellinga/satire

A Poem on Investigations into the Biden Family: ‘Joey’s Doomed!’ by Mark Stellinga

The Society
September 22, 2023
Poetry, Satire
13 Comments
. Joey’s Doomed! The investigation widens of the traitorous crimes the Bidens __are---and have been---guilty of for years, As liberal scum like CNN attempt to save his ass again, __He’s grappling with his...
poem/dickey/friendship

‘One Friend’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
September 22, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
21 Comments
. One Friend A friend who always wants to learn __Whatever’s going on, Whose warm assistance and concern __Can be relied upon, A friend who shows his gratitude __For what you bring to him, Who deals with...
poem/coats/culture

‘The Battle of Athelstaneford’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
September 21, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
36 Comments
. The Battle of Athelstaneford King Angus clapperclawed NorthumbriansIn combat close enough to hammer faces;His Pictish troops enacted brutal plansTo break the bones of foes with metal macesAnd throttle...
poem/corey/culture

‘The Sum of All Fears’ and Other Poems on the Government by Cheryl Corey

The Society
September 20, 2023
Culture, Poetry, The Environment
30 Comments
. The Sum of All Fears “Oppressive government is fiercer than a tiger.” ---Confucius Psst. Be careful what you post online.The slightest threat, even made in jest,And alphabet men will don the armored...
poem/groarke/beauty

‘Night Bird Singing’: A Poem by Louis Groarke

The Society
September 20, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
12 Comments
. Night Bird Singing Birdsong is a conspicuous avian vocalization often used for mate attraction. ---Basic Ornithology Long after midnight, a lonely bird sings; From tangles of tree branches, a sudden song...
  1. 35
  2. 36
  3. 37
  4. 38
  5. 39
  6. 40
  7. 41
  1. Margaret Coats on The Poetry of Thomas Hardy: An Essay by Adam SediaSeptember 19, 2025

    Well done essay, Adam, and I'd like to add that among Hardy's metrical forms were the "fair forms," so called…

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘Ode to Antifa’: A Satirical Poem by Warren BonhamSeptember 19, 2025

    The poem is too good for the topic, Warren, which is why, I suppose, you ironically call it an ode.…

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘Poetic Justice’: A Poem on Russia-gate by Warren BonhamSeptember 19, 2025

    Good to see this said poetically, Warren. Even a little transparency and accountability bring relief. Tulsi Gabbard is a star…

  4. Margaret Coats on ‘Spacewalk’: A Poem by Carey JobeSeptember 19, 2025

    I particularly like "placeless place" to describe the "null space" the spacewalker occupies. It is truly a place to which…

  5. Mary Jane Myers on ‘About-Face’: A Poem by Mary Jane MyersSeptember 18, 2025

    Paulette Thank you for your kind comments. The terrain of central Illinois is entirely flat, except near the larger rivers,…

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Daily Poems

Subscribe to receive updates in your email inbox

poetry/benson brown/reading

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Alliterative
  • Art
  • Beauty
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Chaucer
  • Children's
  • Classical Poets Live
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Culture
  • Dante
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Education
  • Ekphrastic
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
  • Featured
  • Found Poem
  • From the Society
  • Haiku and Senryu
  • High School Submissions
  • Homer
  • Human Rights in China
  • Humor
  • Interviews
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
  • Poetry Challenge
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
  • Popular Poetry Archives
  • Readings
  • Reviews
  • Rhupunt
  • Riddles
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Rubaiyat
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shakespeare
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • The Raven
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

Poetry Archive

  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • Poetry Resources
  • Poetry Readings
  • High School Poetry
  • Translation
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
  • From the Society
  • Poetry Archive
  • Education
  • Humor
  • Reviews
  • About Us
  • The Raven
  • Riddles
  • Journal
  • Members
  • Terms of Use
  • The Society of Classical Poets © 2024