‘Morning Glory’ and ‘Empress of the Night’ by Martin Rizley The Society February 10, 2023 Beauty, Poetry 14 Comments . Morning Glory The morning mist at last has dissipated. The noonday sun is climbing to its height In cloudless skies of blue, where larks, elated, Fly round the day’s bright beaming crown of light. All...
Baby ‘Miracle’ Born in Turkey-Syria Earthquake Rubble: Poem by Paul A. Freeman The Society February 9, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 18 Comments . Sonnet to a Miracle upon reading the recent news story here. They’ve named her Miracle, that new born child found in the earthquake’s rubble, still attached to she who gave her life though hers was...
Double Ballade by Conon de Béthune, Translated by Margaret Coats The Society February 9, 2023 Beauty, Poetry, Translation 33 Comments . Double Ballade of a Crusader by Conon de Béthune (c.1155–1219) translated by Margaret Coats It would be well to fight this zeal For making songs and penning poetry, Since I should conquer faults I...
‘That’s Where the Edge of Darkness Waits’ by Roy E. Peterson The Society February 9, 2023 Culture, Poetry 27 Comments . That's Where the Edge of Darkness Waits Antifascist agitators Sprinkled among demonstrators. Demon leftist fraudulence, Tries to spread the violence. Communistic perpetrators Lowlife scum are your...
On Australia Announcing Fifth Covid Shot: Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society February 8, 2023 Covid-19, Culture, Poetry, Satire 77 Comments . Today Australia has announced that it will roll out a fifth dose of the Covid shot later this month. . Fat Cats and Lab Rats The fat cats began with a scam of a plan To shame every pestilent...
‘A Wild Horse’: An Excerpt from Legacy: The Saga Begins, by Michael Pietrack The Society February 8, 2023 Beauty, Children's, Poetry 14 Comments . A Wild Horse Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter narrative poem written by Michael Pietrack. In this excerpt, the young and fearful protagonist Abelbee receives guidance from his father,...
Sonnet XVIII of the Sacred Rhymes by Lope de Vega, Translated by Martin Rizley The Society February 8, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings, Translation, Video 16 Comments . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDSWs61Ye0E . Sonnet XVIII of the Sacred Rhymes by Lope de Vega (1562-1635) translated by Martin Rizley What have I, that you’d seek me as a friend? What interest draws...
Poetry Challenge: Equilateral Proverbs The Society February 7, 2023 Epigrams and Proverbs, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests 66 Comments Equilateral Proverbs: A Poetry Challenge by James A. Tweedie Construct a rhyming, rhythmic intelligible proverb or saying where the first and last words in each line rhyme. Twin couplets are preferred but...
‘The Villainy of Icicles’ by Brian Yapko The Society February 7, 2023 Humor, Poetry 24 Comments . The Villainy of Icicles That sword of Damocles! That glacial Iago! A prism forged of ice, sharp and aloof; An icicle out of Doctor Zhivago Malevolently hanging from our roof... It waited for the perfect...
‘Fear for the Future’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick The Society February 6, 2023 Humor, Poetry, Satire 32 Comments . Fear for the Future When I ponder the future I get so distraught For the Leftists control Most production of thought. . . To Better Protect Democracy The WAPO and the New York Times Should move all their...
‘Trust’ by R.M. Zimmerman The Society February 6, 2023 Beauty, Poetry 15 Comments . Trust My life unfolds as time goes by. Some days I laugh. Some nights I cry. I yearn for peace, as all folks do. When stress prevails, my doubts accrue. Grim darkness lures my peace and hope. From deep...
A Poem on Estrangement from Conservative Parents, by Brian Yapko The Society February 5, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé 27 Comments . A House Divided Against Itself A rondeau redoublé inspired by Dennis Prager's piece here. In troubled times this will take place: A war of words, a cruel riposte; Deep truths that bleeding hearts won’t...
‘The City’ by Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm, Translated by Dusty Grein The Society February 5, 2023 Beauty, Poetry, Translation 7 Comments . The City, 1852 by Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (1817-1888) translated by Dusty Grein Past the gray beach, beside the gray sea, lies a wondrous gray city of old. Heavy fog blankets the roofs all around and in...
‘The Shadow of My Sorrow’ by Daniel Howard The Society February 4, 2023 Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry 19 Comments . The Shadow of My Sorrow As soon as day has dawned and night is done, The shadow of my sorrow follows me, Outgrows the shape by which it came to be, Consuming it when night is new begun; And being my...
Poems on Politically Correct Churches and Language by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society February 4, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire, Villanelle 48 Comments . Church Mice a sonnet corona There is a tale that’s writ in German history. A church was passed each Sunday by a train. Its death-knell whistle blew as it flew swiftly To Hell as stricken souls shrieked...
‘Time Travel’: A Poem by Leland James The Society February 3, 2023 Beauty, Blank Verse, Poetry 19 Comments . Time Travel I chance upon a sylvan glade, an Orphic place: moon threads, a lace of nightkin shadows. A trill of breeze awakes the guardian trees, live oaks in gowns of moss, tall runes of pine. I hear the...
‘Carnivore Picks a Fight and Vegan Responds’: A Dialogue by Mary Gardner The Society February 3, 2023 Culture, Poetry, Satire 41 Comments . Carnivore Picks a Fight and Vegan Responds . CARNIVORE O man vegetarian with lifestyle agrarian, You’ve fallen as prey to a scam! We advise you to eat, every day, ample meat: Fish and beef, pork and...
‘Castile’ by Miguel de Unamuno, Translated by Cheryl Corey The Society February 2, 2023 Beauty, Poetry, Translation 10 Comments . Castile by Miguel de Unamuno (Spain, 1864-1936)translated by Cheryl A. Corey O Castile! You raise me up in the rugged palm of your hand;To the sky that burns, that cools, that holds you under its...
‘The Snuff Box’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank The Society February 2, 2023 Beauty, Children's, Culture, Poetry 32 Comments . The Snuff Box from a true story told in My Mother by Fr. Bernard Vaughan (1847-1922) When I was just a little boy, My mother served us shepherd’s pie. We thirteen children sniffed with joy, With statue...
The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition The Society February 1, 2023 Best Poems, Dante, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests 15 Comments The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of the 11th Annual SCP International Poetry Competition Judges Joseph S. Salemi, James Sale, Evan Mantyk Past First Place Winners James A. Tweedie (2021) Susan Jarvis Bryant...
Winners of 2022 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced The Society February 1, 2023 High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests 2 Comments . First Place ($200 Prize) Christiana Thomas, homeschooled 12th grade student in Oregon. "Worth Disguised" . Second Place Laurel Aronian, 10th grade student at St. Luke’s School in Connecticut. "The...
‘Disemboguement’ by Anna J. Arredondo The Society January 31, 2023 Love Poems, Poetry 19 Comments . Disemboguement You woke something deep within me, not at first sight, but the second: When distractions ceased to spin me, my eyes focused; your eyes beckoned--- sheer perfection then I reckoned you to be,...
‘So Close By’ by Warren Bonham The Society January 31, 2023 Beauty, Poetry 11 Comments . So Close By At one point I was told that I Was purposely created by Some perfect being in the sky Who watches as I live and die. If that was true, I wondered why When perched atop His throne up high He’d...
‘Love and Loss: Poems for Viktoria Sokoli’ by Paul Martin Freeman The Society January 30, 2023 Love Poems, Poetry 13 Comments . Love and Loss: Poems for Viktoria Sokoli . Love I I once loved a girl called Viktoria Sokoli With eyes of the colour of spinach and broccoli. Her skin was as soft and as smooth as a peach; Her breasts left...
‘Comfort’ and Other Poetry of the Sea by Catherine Lee The Society January 30, 2023 Beauty, Poetry 18 Comments . Comfort I gaze upon the endless sea against high cliffs, on golden sand— her everlasting majesty. Through ages rolling wild and grand, oblivious to time and space, against high cliffs, on golden...
‘Media’ and Other Poetry by Norma Pain The Society January 29, 2023 Covid-19, Culture, Poetry, Satire 18 Comments . Media You told us lies, ignored our cries. __Your platforms you abused. You cancelled truth; you damaged youth, __And we are not amused. You took big bites from human rights, __Dissenting voices...
StairWell Canto 8: ‘Covid-Priest’ by James Sale The Society January 28, 2023 Covid-19, Culture, Dante, Epic, Poetry 30 Comments . Canto 8: Covid-Priest from The English Cantos Volume 2: StairWell StairWell is the Poet’s Purgatory, and as in HellWard where we met with contemporary challenges such as Brexit, so here in StairWell the...
‘To an Eager Lover’ and Other Poetry by Adrian Fillion The Society January 28, 2023 Love Poems, Poetry 16 Comments . To an Eager Lover This isn’t an unreasonable demand: you have to learn my story with your hands. As a man, you naturally want to know a woman in the way you know the world: from start to finish,...
‘Practical Philosophy’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society January 27, 2023 Beauty, Poetry 29 Comments . Practical Philosophy The mind is meant to lead the body, And not the other way around. Permit no workmanship that’s shoddy, And build foundations plumb and sound. The godless, too, exalt their...
‘Life on the Farm’ and Other Poetry by Aleta Kiefer The Society January 27, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 10 Comments . Life on the Farm Daddy’s gone. Is he sleeping? For only the shell remains. I hear the cries of cicadas. I listen to their pain. Momma, why are you weeping? Did Daddy push you away? Her tears rob the...
A Poem for India’s Republic Day: ‘The Land of Dreams’ by Satyananda Sarangi The Society January 26, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 16 Comments . The Land of Dreams written on the eve of India's Republic Day of India which is celebrated on Jan. 26 every year Some distance far away, the drumbeats sound __And echo victories now past; __Where clouds of...
‘Look Up and See the Music’ by James A. Tweedie The Society January 26, 2023 Beauty, Music, Poetry 12 Comments . Look Up and See the Music Psalm 19:1 In winter, when the atmosphere is still And cold, and when the nighttime sky is clear, The stars and planets, fire and ice, blast chill- Blazed, hot-white light so bright...
‘The Poetaster’s Plight’ by Kenneth L. Horne The Society January 26, 2023 Culture, Humor, Poetry 17 Comments . The Poetaster’s Plight Some think the poet’s work is ease: "Sit back and write it’s such a breeze;" But those that know will surely say They labor hard from day to day. They wrestle with each turn of...
‘The Stonechat Listens At The Asylum Window’ by Charles Southerland The Society January 25, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 31 Comments . The Stonechat Listens at the Asylum Window I fear I might mistranslate what you said And lose the very essence of your words. May I record you as I do the birds: The warbler, shrike and wren, red’s...
A Classical Guitar Rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ for Burns Night, by Jeff Eardley The Society January 25, 2023 Culture, Music, Poetry 17 Comments . Burns Night is when Scotland's most important bard, Robert Burns (1759-1796), is celebrated, usually with the recitation of Burns' poems, the eating of haggis, and the drinking of whiskey. It occurs on...
A Sonnet for Burns Night, by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society January 24, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 43 Comments . Note: Burns Night is when Scotland’s most important bard, Robert Burns (1759-1796), is celebrated, usually with the recitation of Burns’ poems, the eating of haggis, and the drinking of whisky. It...
A Poem on the Existence of God: ‘The Problem of Good’ by Jeffrey Essmann The Society January 24, 2023 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 11 Comments . The Problem of Good a Petrarchan sonnet If there’s (the armchair philosopher maintains) A God (most likely writing in his blog), Then why’s the world in such a dismal fog Of evil will and endless human...
On Alma Tadema’s Coign of Vantage and Other Poetry by Mary Jane Myers The Society January 24, 2023 Art, Beauty, Ekphrastic, Humor, Poetry 12 Comments . . On Alma Tadema’s Coign of Vantage Flora peeks over the marble parapet, a dizzying perch above the azure Aegean. The Roman fleet is returning. 'Tis the season to flirt, to catch a lover in her...
Transgression, Fake and Genuine: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi The Society January 23, 2023 Essays, Poetry 40 Comments . Transgression, Fake and Genuine by Joseph S. Salemi When Henry Harland and Aubrey Beardsley brought forth their groundbreaking periodical The Yellow Book in 1894, its very first issue contained the...
A Poem on the World Economic Forum’s Davos 2023, by Julian D. Woodruff The Society January 23, 2023 Culture, Music, Poetry 20 Comments . WEF, Davos, ‘23—A Modern Reply after “Endless Pleasure, Endless Love”* Endless hooey, endless snow, We’re exposed to here below. Ever on their riches leaning, Our tormentors strew their lies; While...