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    • A Poem for the Chibok School Girls of Nigeria, by Bethany Mootsey

      The Society
      April 15, 2021
      Culture, Poetry, Sestina, Terrorism
      15 Comments
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      January 31, 2023
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      ‘So Close By’ by Warren Bonham

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      January 31, 2023
      10
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      ‘Love and Loss: Poems for Viktoria Sokoli’ by Paul Freeman

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      January 30, 2023
      11
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      ‘Comfort’ and Other Poetry of the Sea by Catherine Lee

      The Society
      January 30, 2023
      18
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      The Society
      January 29, 2023
      9
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      StairWell Canto 8: ‘Covid-Priest’ by James Sale

      The Society
      January 28, 2023
      20
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      September 1, 2020
      From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
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      Essays, Poetry
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      Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      January 23, 2023
      35
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      January 8, 2023
      20
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      January 1, 2023
      37
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      October 20, 2022
      24
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Poetry

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Poetry

A Poem for Donald Trump: ‘Nessun Dorma’ by Monika Cooper

The Society
December 6, 2022
Beauty, Blank Verse, Music, Poetry
4 Comments
. Nessun Dorma after the Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni  The aria "Nessun Dorma" was played for Donald and Melania Trump's first dance at their wedding in 2005. No sleep tonight.  The...

‘What Now Will They Build?’ by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
December 5, 2022
Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. What Now Will They Build Written upon reading about anti-colonizer graffiti recently found on a Lincoln statue. Read the story here. We see angry children Assembled after dark. Attack defenseless statues Of...

‘Aunt Helen’ by Geoffrey Smagacz

The Society
December 5, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Villanelle
16 Comments
. Aunt Helen Aunt Helen told me it was time to go. It hurt her to sit upright in the bed, a fact I'd rather that I didn't know. It's OK, I can turn this gear below. Please don't; a flattened mattress hurts my...

‘Advent Poem’ by Alena Casey

The Society
December 4, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. Advent Poem When October leaves have fallen and November skies are grey, The stores proclaim that Jesus, hope, and joy are on the way. The virgins hear and heed the call (this world they long to flee), And...
geese flying

‘What Geese May Teach’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
December 4, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
. What Geese May Teach My mother had the power that knowledge wields, So questions such as—Would you like to go? Were never invitations, but commands To fly away, cross yellow fields and low, Like summer...

‘Last Letter from Florence’ by Lionel Willis

The Society
December 3, 2022
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Last Letter from Florence A recent incident recalls the fears Your letters have expressed: that seven years In this art-laden place might rob me of Whatever you once thought that you could love: The flat I...

A Poem on Underage Transgender Surgery: ‘Making Children Lie’ by Maura H. Harrison

The Society
December 3, 2022
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Making Children Lie __Canker of mind, the soul Denied—a lonely social wound Is making children lie with pruned __And grafted lines, their whole __Unfolding stories cut And rearranged. Inverted nouns And...

‘Instructions Set in Bone’ and Other Poetry by Peter Lillios

The Society
December 2, 2022
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry, Readings
21 Comments
. . Instructions Set in Bone With my own knife, by my own hand, I carve these words in no-man’s-land Upon the skull of my late foe, Who sheltered here some weeks ago. He’d only paused to rest a...

Inspired by the ‘Trans’ Jesus Sermon: ‘Check Out Your Church’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 1, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
38 Comments
. Check Out Your Church inspired by this article: Queen's former chaplain, others slam 'perverse' Cambridge sermon about 'trans' Jesus: ' Repulsive and shameful' Are the pronouns in the Bible ripe for...

Legends of Liberty, Volume 2: ‘Lightning Ben’ by Andrew Benson Brown

The Society
December 1, 2022
Culture, Epic, Humor, Poetry
27 Comments
. Lightning Ben an excerpt from Legends of Liberty, Volume 2 Sing, muse! Bestow your gifts on—blah blah blah. I opened my first book with that. You get The point. Obliging poets need to draw The paths of...

‘Boots Before Us’ and Other Poetry by Julian Woodruff

The Society
December 1, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. Boots Before Us a sequel to "Shear Wickedness" The time had come. Poor Boots was sinking low, and further down no fitting place to know. Our burden was to fix the bottom floor and see our old friend gently...

‘Pope-Lion’ by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
November 30, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
8 Comments
. Pope-Lion by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (1791-1863)translated from Romanesco by Joseph S. Salemi Before Pope Genga went down to the grottoTo be four slabs of cured ham on the bone,He was thought by everyone in...

‘Pearls at the Wake’ by Peter Venable

The Society
November 30, 2022
Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
. Pearls at the Wake I must admit I glance at the obits.Is there someone I know? Someone close-knit?I see faces of strangers I don’t know—I pray they rise to be with God, then goTo the cartoons. No...

‘Late Autumn Twilight’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 29, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
24 Comments
. Late Autumn Twilight The still earth beckons sweetly.  I must go. The dry reeds on the creek have gathered round. The waters, in suspense, have ceased to flow. Along the bank, no creature makes a...

‘From Left to Right’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
November 29, 2022
Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. From Left to Right I started out a liberal, __Just like my family was. It made me feel superior, __That’s what leftism does. But once I moved from school to work __I saw with my own eyes, Most leftist...

‘FTX & Other Damn Scams’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 28, 2022
Poetry, Satire
8 Comments
. FTX & Other Damn Scams If you want to make some money Dangle golden dreams like honey And then claim that you can turn dross into gold. When you claim the future’s sunny Don’t let on you think it’s...

‘For HE Who Is The Light’ by Gail Kaye Naegele

The Society
November 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. For HE Who Is The Light There's been a spell of nightmares since He left. Like Job, I am the likeness of distress. I pine in piles of crumbling stones bereft; deprived of Him I'm worn in wretchedness. When...

Thomas Payne’s ‘Liberty Tree’ Set to Music by Jack DesBois

The Society
November 27, 2022
Culture, Music, Poetry, Song Lyrics
7 Comments
. A contextual note: The American patriot Thomas Payne wrote "The Liberty Tree" early in the American Revolution; it was published in the Pennsylvania Magazine in July 1775. Payne wrote the song to be sung to...

‘Somewhere in Time’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 27, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Science
32 Comments
. Somewhere in Time . Tuesday, August 13, In the Year of Our Lord 1895 Dear Wells, despite your sober apprehension, I’m grateful that you’ve granted me the boon Of borrowing your brilliant new invention. I...

‘Ode to Winter’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 26, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
. Ode to Winter A honeypool of sun seeps from the skies. The crisp and clingy leaves have lost their grip. __My scarlet spirits dip As gold and russet highs bid cold goodbyes. I feel your icy bite in...

‘Vanity Falls’ by Miera Rao

The Society
November 26, 2022
Humor, Limerick, Poetry
12 Comments
. Vanity Falls I’m feeling a little lightheaded; I’ll confess it’s what I’ve always dreaded: More hairs on the floor Than ever before, My ego and vanity shredded. . . Miera Rao is a writer living in...

‘God’s Finger on Whittaker Chambers’ by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 25, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
28 Comments
. God’s Finger on Whittaker Chambers My baby miracle so dear Smeared oatmeal on her face; I saw her perfect seashell ear, Curving like a vase, The pinkest little fiddlehead, In spiral like a scroll. How...

‘Thanksgiving 2022’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
. Thanksgiving 2022 Today’s the day we gather and embrace The chance to join in praise for gifts we share. We cuddle, chat and chortle---face-to-face. We’re social souls not meant to sit and stare At...

‘I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
November 24, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
6 Comments
. I Am Thankful for Thanksgiving I am thankful for Thanksgiving, A special holiday That doesn't require atonement, Or starvation, by the way. There are no gifts I need to give, Less money to be spent. Just...

‘Thanksgiving Memories’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Thanksgiving Memories A honeyed ham impaled with clove; Mashed yam with bits of sweet pecan; A turkey lurking in the stove With tryptophan to make us yawn. Tomato juice with horseradish Lime Jell-o mixed...

‘A Thanksgiving Offering’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 24, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. A Thanksgiving Offering We offer thanks to You who made this Earth The sun and stars, for health and love and mirth. For granting us the sacred gift of life Along with faith to overcome all strife; For...

On the Islamic Palestinians’ Recent Terror Attack: ‘Just Say It’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 23, 2022
Culture, Poetry
35 Comments
. Just Say It Two bombs exploded in Jerusalem Today. A boy of just 15 is dead--- A Jewish student on his way to school. And 18 more were wounded, all of them Israeli Jews at bus stops now streaked red. The...

‘When Light Begins to Dim’ by James Green

The Society
November 23, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
. When Light Begins to Dim When light begins to dim and color fades, the shape of things begins to matter more. An edge defines, the angles hint, and shades of layered grays I never knew before come faintly...

‘Heirs to Alexander’ and Other Poems on the Kalasha People by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Heirs to Alexander These snuff-brown mounds piled up ten thousand feet Gaze on toward Hindu Kush peaks twice their height; Green threads of valleys mark the rough retreat Wherein Kalasha keep their...

Prose-That’s-Really-a-Sonnet Poetry Challenge

The Society
November 22, 2022
Poetry, Poetry Contests
47 Comments
. Construct a convincing paragraph of well-written, coherent prose that also happens to be a properly composed Shakespearean sonnet. This challenge and the below example come from poet James A....

‘Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner’ by Jeremiah Johnson

The Society
November 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. Inviting Some Friends to a Birthday Dinner after Ben Jonson's "Inviting a Friend to Supper" Tonight, dear friends, you’re welcome to observe Another birthday dinner---and deserve To know it’s mainly an...

‘Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
November 21, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Nero Before the Tomb of Simon Magus And Peter, looking steadfastly against Simon, said: “I adjure you, ye angels of Satan, who are carrying him into the air, to deceive the hearts of the unbelievers,...

‘The Elders’ by John Creekmore

The Society
November 21, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Elders I watched them wilt, I watched them fade, I watched them pass In the evening shade, And now I tread The path they trod, Having walked the walk For seventy odd, And though I know The course is...

‘Clowns Teach Writing Classes’ by Janice Canerdy

The Society
November 20, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Satire
25 Comments
. Clowns Teach Writing Classes Students’ attitudes were dismal; composition skills, abysmal! Desperate to make things better, teachers asked expert go-getters, “Will you please get their attention? What we...

‘Valiant Men’ by Angel L. Villanueva

The Society
November 19, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
5 Comments
. Valiant Men The sailors brave the angry storm __As waves the ocean brings. It seems to them one hundred years Of fighting death despite their fears, __Like ancient warring kings. The frigid water stings...

Science or ‘The Science’? A Poem by Mike Bryant

The Society
November 18, 2022
Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
. Science or “The Science”? “‘The Science' and science are opposites.” ---Richard Lindzen So you believe “The Science”? That is odd.Science cannot be about compliance.Scientists are skeptics....

‘Potina’s Charm’ by Michael C. Curtis

The Society
November 18, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Potina’s Charm In this excerpt from the screen novella, Potina, Lady of the Stag, Potina speaks to Kaptara, the god of the volcano that she approaches. She is an initiate in the mysteries and is a...

Three Poems on Mortality, by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 17, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. Leaves Behind In size and shape and symmetry The leaves upon a maple tree Are like small selfies of the tree itself. And in their veins the leaves display The trunk and branches in a way That equals any...

‘A Sleepless Night’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Howard

The Society
November 17, 2022
Love Poems, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Sleepless Night Lest I should suffer sleeplessly this night Of loathsome loneliness, whose strength severe So weakens me that many a bitter tear Bewails my sweetless, ever souring plight; I call on my...

‘No News Is Good News’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 16, 2022
Culture, Epigrams and Proverbs, Humor, Poetry
23 Comments
. No News Is Good News The world contrives, in many different ways, To overload the minutes of our days __With items that anesthetize __The sensibilities that filter Our sound ideas from the...
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Trending Poems

  • A Poem for January 6 Prisoners: ‘Letter from a DC Prison’ by Adam Wasem 36 comments
  • ‘Greta’s Smorgasbord of Hate’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko 61 comments
  • Poetry Catholic priest abortion A Poem for Defrocked Priest Frank Pavone: ‘Unholy Orders’ by Joshua C. Frank 67 comments
  • poem/medical assistance in dying/MAID Poems on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), by Susan Jarvis Bryant 27 comments
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  • ‘Mourning Louis XVI’ by Brian Yapko 25 comments
  • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi 35 comments
  • poetry poem beauty culture death funeral ‘Elegy for an Unremarkable Man’ by Shaun C. Duncan 28 comments
  • ‘Bats at Sunset’ and Other Poetry by Maxim D. Shrayer 17 comments
  • ‘A Broadside’ by Peter Lillios 17 comments
  • ‘I Will Mock When Your Calamity Cometh’ by Alexander King Ream 5 comments
  • ‘Iambic Barktameter’ by Mark F. Stone 30 comments
  • poem/philosophy/descartes ‘Practical Philosophy’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson 29 comments
  • poetry poem bird ‘The Stonechat Listens At The Asylum Window’ by Charles Southerland 28 comments
  • A Poem Commemorating January 6th and Ashli Babbitt, by Monika Cooper 18 comments

Resources

       Online Teacher’s Poetry Guide

       How to Write with Meter

       Poems of the Year

       Best Love Poems of 2021

       Best Haiku of 2022

 

Poetry Challenges

       Rhyme Two Random Words

       Classic Movie-Inspired Poem

       Bedtime Prayer

       ‘Tyranny of Fear and Lies…’

       What Rhymes with Orange? 

       Turn Famous Poem into Limerick 

       A Raven-Like Poem on Poe’s Death

       Split Nursery Rhyme       

       Poetry Quotes Challenge

       Sonnet in Iambic Monometer

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Trending Poetry

  • A Poem for January 6 Prisoners: ‘Letter from a DC Prison’ by Adam Wasem 36 comments
  • ‘Greta’s Smorgasbord of Hate’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko 61 comments
  • Poetry Catholic priest abortion A Poem for Defrocked Priest Frank Pavone: ‘Unholy Orders’ by Joshua C. Frank 67 comments
  • poem/medical assistance in dying/MAID Poems on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), by Susan Jarvis Bryant 27 comments
  • poetry/robert burns/burns night A Sonnet for Burns Night, by Susan Jarvis Bryant 42 comments
  • ‘Mourning Louis XVI’ by Brian Yapko 25 comments
  • poetry/essay/Salemi/transgressive Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi 35 comments
  • poetry poem beauty culture death funeral ‘Elegy for an Unremarkable Man’ by Shaun C. Duncan 28 comments
  • ‘Bats at Sunset’ and Other Poetry by Maxim D. Shrayer 17 comments
  • ‘A Broadside’ by Peter Lillios 17 comments
  • ‘I Will Mock When Your Calamity Cometh’ by Alexander King Ream 5 comments
  • ‘Iambic Barktameter’ by Mark F. Stone 30 comments
  • poem/philosophy/descartes ‘Practical Philosophy’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson 29 comments
  • poetry poem bird ‘The Stonechat Listens At The Asylum Window’ by Charles Southerland 28 comments
  • A Poem Commemorating January 6th and Ashli Babbitt, by Monika Cooper 18 comments

Resources

          1. How to Write a Sonnet

          2. How to Write a Haiku

          3. How to Write a Limerick

          4. Best Poems of 2019

          5. Best Haiku of 2020

          6. Poetry Lesson Plan

          7. Poetry Contests

 

 

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