Poetry

. The poem "The Settlers" by Martin Rizley read by the poet himself at the Society of Classical Poets online Poetry Symposium on June 28, 2025: . https://youtu.be/BfSIHKl0aOk Video created by Andrew Benson Brown.

. Umbra The blazing height of summer’s day Now darkens to weird quasi-night--- Translucent dusk, half-cloaking gray, Half-veiling darkness pierced by sight. What shapeless cloud was blown astray That dares eclipse the noonday light Yet deigns not halt and wends its way, Wandering on in aimless flight? It floats where...

. News of a Coup The news of a coup hits the headlines. No ears prick to listen or hear. The proof plucked from yesterday’s grapevines Has dried with the last dusty tear Of natives once proud of their history Till tyrants tore roots from their tree In lands where...

. To the Ancient Mariner “O Wedding-Guest! This soul hath beenAlone on a wide wide sea;So lonely ‘twas, that God himselfScarce seeméd there to be.” ---Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner O, Mariner! What pain you felt---The sea would neither freeze nor melt,_As you abjured the Cross!Twixt...

. Pointless Poems Why do women shave their legs, It seems unnecessary. The question lingers, pleads and begs, What’s wrong with being hairy? “Water, water, everywhere “And all the boards did shrink.” Why did they shrink? Ask if I care? I don't! “What do you think?” “Why did the chicken...

. Inklings Shut off that damn brainwashing, numbing screen!Tonight I did. I reached, opened that book.From sentences, the mind gleans what it means.What happens when we painstakingly look? We visualize and vocalize the textAnd enter in the flow between the lines.Carried along, we wonder what comes next.Shun all concepts! Fill...

. Advice to a Young Man in Love If her name is Sally, then _Tattoo it on your arm With Lovehearts terminally, and _It won’t do any harm, Because, when Sally breaks your heart, _There’s Sallys up and down Quite every street in every part _Of every country town. But...

. Uxorious? He tried to guard composure as he pressed the new denarius to his chapped lips and unbecoming tears for noblemen slipped privately to stain his cheeks and bed. “Faustina, death entombs a healthful rest while dolor molds my mood,” his voice had slipped, “but I’ve betrothed your memory...

. Modes of Divination The future’s course, in all of its essentials, Is augured from a steaming heap of entrails. The tea leaves, buoyed by meniscus, Will show you where the greatest risk is. For aging hippies, using the I Ching. Is probably a nearly perfect thing. Astrologers are confident...

. Attention Deficit Disorder I once had a friend like Midas.All he touched would turn to gold;but after he would touch itthe thing would soon get old. He’d focus for a while.He’d train and run and race.His talent was uncanny.He’d leave without a trace. We’d wonder where he’d went to.We’d...

. Mnemonic Device for Military Pro-Signs A-Z Pro-signs are an alphabetical coding system used by the military for radio transmissions or for the naming of various units, to insure complete clarity of reference. ALPHA is a top-notch male, the chief and number one— BRAVO is the thing you shout when...

. Mary ---a sequel to “Martha," prompted by James A. Tweedie The night grew still, the lamps gave off a hush,And Martha’s footsteps faded down the hall.The coals were low, the herbs gave one last flush -Their fragrance lingered barely there at all. Then Mary rose, her hands clasped near...

. Sidewalk Sincerity “Hi---how are you?” he said to me, A friendly thing to say, I answered just as cordially, But he had walked away. . . Evolution I love to have close relatives and numerous good friends, Maintaining each relationship so that it never ends. But in a move...

. Falun Dafa Parade The heartbeat of a marching band lies in the beating drums, The power of a sleeping beast that shakes the ground with thrums. An energy that fills the air and lifts you from your core, The rising glow within your heart that speaks of so much...

. On Having a Little Girl She looks at me with hazel eyes And freckles on her sun-kissed cheeks. These moments, gentle, still, and blest Are ever-anchored in my chest. I tell fair tales to her in bed— Of knights and dames and fire and flight. I fight the night...

. Snapshots of Oxford---July 20, 2025 The drowsy wasps that kept me on my toes; The groups of foreign students herded by; The constant stop and look, the selfie pose; The intermittent rain, then hot and dry. A city with its dreaming spires on view; The enigmatic Wheatsheaf where I...

. Autism Sonnet The lights are much too light and sounds too loud; And thoughts are only thought in black and white; Try to tolerate a middling crowd And talk so small, so pointless, so polite. To hyper-focus is the narrow way That leads to life, that few will ever...

. Spotlights and Shadows . I. To a Limelight Leech O swankpot of the swish-and-swagger ilk Basking in your braggadocio glow, __You stoop so long and low To lap up flattery as slick as silk That spills from ovine swine of kiss-arse lip. __This eely spiel Propels your ego on...

. Mourning Doves Hear the soft coo—a coo that faithful love imparts; Mourning doves, they share as one, two beating hearts. On summer’s eaves of pine, they build their lofty nests; Tender eggs are tucked beneath warm nurturing breasts. Oval-shaped, snowy white, hatched alive, Fledglings find their downy wings—learn to...

. True Worth Her thoughts do not align with "bigger, better"; A humble mode of living suits her fine. The waning years of life bring contemplation Of what defines a "wealth." What draws the line? It's not to say material things don't matter; Advantages and travels she has known. While...

. Artificial “Intelligence” Versus Real Intelligence Chat GPT “confuses” metaphors and similes. It also “struggles” to correctly classify milled themes. It does not “understand” the difference of proper nouns and neologisms that it has “found.” It’s not “pro-found.” It’s lacking “knowledge” and much “cultural significance.” Without “emotional nuance,” it “dwells”...

. A Horse’s Tale: King Arthur’s Great Steed The horse known for bearing the greatest of kings— Proud Thor was considered the worthiest horse; Such that if all horses had voices to sing, They’d sing all their praises in honor of Thor. But horses can’t sing and only can neigh,...

. Supreme Showdown “Justice Jackson skips over that part because analyzing the governing statute involves boring legalese.” —Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the June 27, 2025, majority opinion in Trump v. CASA. Within her new opinion, Justice Barrett deeply probedthe mind of Justice Jackson, who she totally disrobed,exposing an...

. Readings of original poems by the poets from the Society of Classical Poets online Poetry Symposium on June 28, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_bcm-EFb5iQ?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sv1LmOFTYM4?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wFdJ60VnZ8A?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LVGPcZDR-tE?feature=share Videos created by Andrew Benson Brown.

. Life on This Boat Here in this lifeboat we hopelessly wait, No one rows now, we are all but deadweight, Minding our manners, and now the first mate, Starting to smell like the raw fish we ate. What can we do in our unguided boat? Helping each other’s how...

. Silent Movies As silent movies play inside your head, Their scattered shadows, faint and far away, You try to understand what's being said, As silent movies play inside your head— Remembrance of a life that you once led. The memories are left in disarray, As silent movies play inside...

. Legion Hello there friend, our name is Legion We are those same 6000 demons Who long ago in Gerasenes Became a man’s mental disease. We took a normal happy child And turned him feral, naked, wild, Drove him to live amongst the tombs With open sores, infected wounds, Covered...

. The Power I’ve noticed more and more of late My power to infuriate Is stronger than it’s ever been. I exercise it even when I try to be both dull and sweet And humble, willing, incomplete. Infuriation fills the air; I feel it in each icy stare, The phone...

. Absalom, Absalom "Then David sent out one third of the people… And the king said to the people, 'I also will surely go out with you myself.' But the people answered, 'You shall not go out! … You are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now...

. Dear Blabby’s Advice for the Clueless _I want to write a column _Like Abigail Van Buren To give out my elite advice _It’s something that I’m good in. _I plan to title it, _“Dear Blabby,” if you please. They’ll think I’m being serious, _But I will shoot the breeze....

. The Gaza War The Gaza war goes on and on With death and ruin in its wake. A war hard fought but never won; Like sifting water from a lake. And yet a war that must be fought, War born from war from war from war, The price to...

. The Bristlecone Pine For centuries, the stalwart pine has stood __in this unwonted spot. Its shallow roots and resinous hard wood __shield it from drought and rot. __Thin soil, high winds, cold air: it thrives where other living things cannot. __Dear tree, please hear my prayer. __Lend me your...

. The Troubadour Remembers A troubadour wayfaring town to town, Hamlet to homestead, dale to grassy down, While he his vagabond mandora strummed, Now with the bass, now with the treble hummed, Until the dancing echoes of the air, Cast on the seas of carefreeness and care, Lured from the...

. Conjugation: Tense with Mood ---a verbal disagreement between the indicative and the subjunctive If I were all that I could be, Perhaps I’d spend eternity Cavorting in a field of lilies With thoroughbred seductive fillies. But I am just a common man, Essentially no better than A frog that’s...

. Beneath the Blooms I search the hills for blooms to smell. The dew drops kiss my naked feet to wish me and my journey well but fade before the rising heat. Oh flowers, flowers everywhere I dance between the red and white. Oh flowers, flowers without care I hide...

. Most Conversations Near every grocery-line or petrol-pump, at every social-gathering or game, outside of every church or at the dump, the conversation’s usually the same. I’m hopefully only halfway through this life, and yet it feels I’ve been around the block enough to know, that even with my wife,...

. Autumn’s Fairy Tale ーan ode to Yugen The golden eve allures As autumn’s sun illumes, Gleaming in rose subdued. Replacing clouds that consume, The yonder storm forlorn. Upon the fairy leaves, And flora so pale and lone, Lie tears of dew in eve, Glistening still, divine. In the blessèd...

. The Point The Point, defined by geometry, substantiates a theory: position without magnitude. Lest the point be misconstrued consider how a politician, lacking substance, has position. . . Petition for Riddance of a TV Celebrity Disown her, Pheme, pity me and cleanse my screen of this red-carpet-bagging naught. Estrange...

. The Dance When Arsis and Thesis met on the dance floor, one bowed to the other, the other implored: “Let’s strike up the band now with haste and due speed. Why wait for the others? We’re all that we need!” Away they both flew over polished blond boards, the...

. Pushback The New Puritans run amok, remaking our society. Through countless forms of media, they assert their authority. Through threat and bluster they control those poor souls who’ll bend the knee, but lighting up my Dunhill pipe, I claw back some autonomy. . . David Greenwood is a lecturer...