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Poetry

‘I Failed’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
March 18, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. I Failed I failed so dramatically most early days I failed horribly in most critical ways I failed to use schooling at each different age I failed in the waste of my talents each stage I failed with some...

‘Reflections on a Visit to Saint Augustine’: A Poem by Brian Yapko

The Society
March 18, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. Reflections on a Visit to Saint Augustine With each step up the old Castillo wall I pray The hurricane will detour east past Grand Bahama. If windborne flooding comes, it can’t be held at bay--- St....

A Poem and Song for St. Patrick’s Day: ‘The Session’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
March 17, 2025
Beauty, Music, Poetry
8 Comments
. Guitar music for "Sheebag Sheemore" performed by Jeff Eardley. . The Session Monday at the Shamrock Inn, So, the session does begin, Rosin up the fiddle’s bow, Get in tune and off we go. Pipes and...

‘St. Patrick’s Day, 2025’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
March 17, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. St. Patrick’s Day, 2025 While swathed in swirls of green, some raise a glass Of dark elixir topped with sheeny cream. Some twirl through Derry streets and Kerry grass In dreams ablaze with leprechauns that...

‘Simple Simon Responds to Sayings of Captain Obvious’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
March 17, 2025
Culture, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
. Simple Simon Responds to Sayings of Captain Obvious English literature tends to be wordy. Many tricks are exceedingly dirty. On a bright sunny day the whole sky appears bluish. All the teachers that pray in...

From James Sale’s Epic Poem DoorWay: ‘Arriving in Aquarius’

The Society
March 16, 2025
Epic, Poetry
10 Comments
. Opening extract from Canto 9 DoorWay: Arriving in Aquarius The poet, wrenched from love’s bliss with Seraphina in Canto 8, is carried onward by the Butterfly to his final destination. His journey leads him...

‘A Summer Evening’: A Poem by Shamik Banerjee

The Society
March 15, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. A Summer Evening The sky begins to cloak its face, Removing every streak of red. Above, two weary flyers trace The way back to their bough-held bed. A boy, awash with joy, returns Soil-vested from a...

‘Beyond All Words’: A Love Poem by James A. Tweedie

The Society
March 15, 2025
Love Poems, Poetry
14 Comments
. Beyond All Words Can words alone, in skill-scribed shape or form— Inspired by muse or writ with feathered plume— Express the stark-dark depth of death-dread storm? Or fell despair of bleak-black hopeless...
poem/freeman/culture

‘Eternally Grounded’: A Poem by Frank Rable

The Society
March 14, 2025
Poetry, Satire
14 Comments
. Eternally Grounded There’s up and down, forward and back, Of opposites we have no lack. We have the dark and we have light, And we have left as well as right. We’ll choose to fight or run away, Keep...

‘Mussolini’s Minions’: A Poem by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
March 14, 2025
Culture, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. Mussolini's Minions ---Segesta, 2012 Entranced, we wander round the temple site.The hot Sicilian sun beats down. I’m frayed,now seek the parking lot's uncertain shade.My brother John’s nearby, though not...

‘A Fisherman’s Life’: A Poem by Pamela Ruggiero

The Society
March 13, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
6 Comments
. A Fisherman’s Life The fronds of the palm trees sway in the breeze. A lone tiny boat is bounced by the seas. The sunset is orange, reflection is brown. The sailboat is cruising, searching for ground. Its...

‘Cherry Tree’ and Other Poetry by Shindy Cai

The Society
March 12, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Cherry Tree One summer day not long ago a man planted a tree, With tender love and patience he invested energy. He poured his hope and faith into the little budding leaves, For by this time next year he...

‘Blind Watchmaker’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
March 11, 2025
Poetry, Science
21 Comments
. Blind Watchmaker A blind watchmaker tinkered for billions of yearswithout blueprints for making his intricate gears.So, he failed many times but got up when he felland was shocked when he made not a watch,...

‘Pumpkin Spice’: A Poem by Michael Pendragon

The Society
March 11, 2025
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
13 Comments
. Pumpkin Spice The scent of Autumn lingers in the air With hints of ginger, cinnamon, and clove; At 42nd Street and Herald Square, On 8th Street, Bleecker, Christopher, and Grove--- Each crowded sidewalk,...

Three Poems on War, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
March 10, 2025
Culture, Pantoum, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Core of War a pantoum The trickster charms and arms both sides--- He funds the ally and the foe. His hype unites and it divides. He’s oh so anti… also pro. He funds the ally and the foe. His crimson...

‘Of Elizabeth Bishop’ and Other Poetry by Julian Woodruff

The Society
March 9, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. Of Elizabeth Bishop Ms. Bishop is one able–eyed observer;her vision is acute, that’s plain to see.Staring at her, I doubt I could unnerve her,though from the page she sometimes unnerves me.The variations...

‘An Ode to a Hymn’: A Poem by C. Walker

The Society
March 9, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
. An Ode to a Hymn “Like aught that for its grace may be Dear, and yet dearer for its mystery” ---Percy Shelley in “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” Cathedral with its prayer sings homily _About an ancient...
poem/bryant/satire

A Poem for International Women’s Day: ‘Kitchen-Sink Musings’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
March 8, 2025
Poetry, Satire
26 Comments
. Kitchen-Sink Musings It’s International Women’s Day today But as a flunkee in biology I’m told I’m far from qualified to pay Fair tribute to such morphing majesty. As I’m a wombed and bosomed...

‘Nishijin Weaving’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
March 8, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
28 Comments
. Nishijin Weaving In the tranquil heartThere is no scattering ofBlossoms once gathered. ―Satomura Jōha, master of linked verse The shining fabrics of nobilityDemand the planning of a pattern first.The...

‘Gossiping Hinges’ and Other Poems by LaVern Spencer McCarthy

The Society
March 7, 2025
Beauty, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry, Villanelle
7 Comments
. Gossiping Hinges Some think we hinges only squeak __because we seek __an oily drop __to make us stop, but hinges gossip day and night, __our message, quite __distinctive. We, __with raucous glee, say 'hi' to...

‘Craft’: A Poem by T.M. Moore

The Society
March 7, 2025
Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Craft ---a conversation between Beauty and Productivity "You don't have time for this, you know." "Says who?" "That daily checklist down there in your tool bar, that's who says!" "Calm down. You need to...

‘A Token of Espousal’: A Poem on Saint Catherine de’ Ricci, by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
March 6, 2025
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. A Token of Espousal Sister Elisabetta Dardinelli Speaks Concerning the Token of Espousalof Saint Catherine de’ Ricci (1522-1590) Dixit mihi Dominus meus: Ne timeas, filia: Non rapiet tequisquam de manu...

‘Ode to the Sun’: A Poem by Daniel Howard

The Society
March 5, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
8 Comments
. Ode to the Sun . I Oh first and longest-lasting of my friends, Helen Aurelia, how can I express Through this guitar o’er which my finger bends, And these fine words, each wanting in finesse, The warmth...

A Poem for Ash Wednesday, by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
March 5, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Ashes Before the Lenten ashes fade and thin, I might remind myself of those regrets More earnest than a taste for sweets Or bad TV and that my conscience meets With frightening ease at times far greater...

‘Seeing the Forest’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson

The Society
March 4, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Seeing the Forest Listen to the rustle of the foliage in the forest, _And note the motes of pollen floating there; Muscle headlong through the brush and never feel embarrassed _If you get whiplashed on your...

‘Give Praise for These Days of Old Age’: A Poem by Jeff Eardley

The Society
March 4, 2025
Humor, Poetry
24 Comments
. Give Praise for These Days of Old Age You’re up in the morning, you moan and you groan, You’re feeling the grinding of bone against bone. When your knees have embarked on a life of their own, _Then give...

‘The Greatest Time of Fatherhood’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
March 3, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Greatest Time of Fatherhood I know that I’m supposed to say The finest time is now—today. And with all their accomplishments, That would indeed make lots of sense. And yet the greatest time of...

Three Poems Dealing with Death, by Brian Yapko

The Society
March 2, 2025
Beauty, Poetry, Terza Rima
22 Comments
. A Brief Return Hey, little girl. I’ve come to check on you;To hear your voice, to see your face anew.Can it be true? Has it been seven years?You’ve grown up nicely since I went away.I’m proud to see...

‘We Already May Be in Purgatory’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
March 2, 2025
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. We Already May Be in Purgatory The Peterson Postulate "What if this life is just a test so we can become better people?" ---The White Lotus HBO TV series What if God has sent us all to Purgatory? It’s our...

‘Zelensky Gets a Hard Lesson’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
March 1, 2025
Culture, Poetry
67 Comments
. Zelensky Gets a Hard Lesson Zelensky comes strutting, in hope of a payout— Trump and young J.D. are trusting that he’ll Accept their diplomacy’s well-crafted layout Of how the Ukraine needs a...

‘Snapshot’: A Poem by Steven Frattali

The Society
March 1, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
7 Comments
. Snapshot It's morning and you rise. You shake your hairAnd stretch yourself a bit, your elbows high,Your blue night gown illuminated byA slant of light that smolders in the air. I want to keep you here just...

‘Winter at the Pond’: A Poem by Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano

The Society
March 1, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Winter at the Pond I scan the pond. Young birches standing there Have given up their leaves. I set my gaze On trees in water and on trees in air, Where all is peace, with nothing to amaze. The cold,...

Poems Inspired by DOGE Cuts, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
February 28, 2025
Poetry, Satire
16 Comments
. Bloat A warrior is battling the bloat Of bulging skivers bleeding strivers dry--- The gloating glut of grubbers kept afloat By worn out workers as these shirkers shy Away from promises that snared their...

The Dark Wood: Canto I of Dante’s Inferno, Translated by Stephen Binns

The Society
February 28, 2025
Dante, Poetry, Translation
7 Comments
. The Dark Wood: Canto I of Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns Midway along the journey of our days __I found myself astray in a dark wood, __for lost was right...

‘A Show Tonight’: A Poem for Shen Yun by Brian Marple

The Society
February 27, 2025
Performing Arts, Poetry
6 Comments
. A Show Tonight The young dawn pierces languid night And dips the theater in newborn light. The Shen Yun trucks are at its doors, For there will be a show tonight. The crewmen build but time is tight With...

‘The Vice’ and Other Poems by Gigi Ryan

The Society
February 27, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
12 Comments
. The Vice Worse than the addiction of a smoker, And harder to get over than cocaine, More drawing than to gamblers their poker Is a vice that never ends the game. It’s worse than the attraction of a...

‘Distance Kills’: A Poem by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
February 26, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
. Distance Kills Distance kills. It’s always true. In time and space, In all we do. Those on our team, Who leave the sport. Those at our work Who find new port. The friends we make Who move away. The...

‘Old Man at the River’: A Poem by Pamela Ruggiero

The Society
February 26, 2025
Art, Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
  Old Man at the River Old man's at the river painting the scene.He's working on boats and feeling serene.Unnoticed, a person's drowning out therewhile scents from the food shacks float through the air.A...
poem/rosenbaum/culture

‘If I Could but Touch His Hem’: A Poem by Rohini Sunderam

The Society
February 25, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. If I Could but Touch His Hem ---Mark 5:25-34 Forgive me, Lord, you know it’s true That I have prayed twelve years to you, To stop the bleeding and the shame To live a normal life again. And now there is...

‘Trumped by Reason’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
February 25, 2025
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Trumped by Reason Our elitists loved extolling all their virtues while controlling each dimension of all nations through new laws and regulations. The more burdensome the better, and they held us to each...
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  1. Michael Vanyukov on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    A very authentic-sounding exploration of the power of human illusions.

  2. Mike Bryant on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    Wow, Brian, you have outdone yourself. You have honored this true soldier with this beautiful and detailed remembrance. You’ve captured…

  3. Warren Bonham on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    I had heard of this story but knew none of the details behind it. This was an extraordinarily well-crafted poem…

  4. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    I am flabbergasted, first, that you extracted this compelling story from history; second, that you wrote such a detailed and…

  5. Bruce Phenix on ‘Soldier of the Rising Sun’: A Poem by Brian YapkoJune 8, 2025

    Thank you, Brian. A very moving and imaginative response to this strangely inspiring story. Your tenth verse is exquisite! Best…

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