Poetry

. The poem "Wisdom and Sway" by Mark F. Stone read by the poet himself at the Society of Classical Poets online Poetry Symposium on June 28, 2025: . https://youtu.be/to8ML6fJq18 Video created by Andrew Benson Brown.

. The Limits of Hospitality _While I was working in my garden _A traveler said, “I beg your pardon, But could you tell me where to find a church?” _Said I, “Just look around you, man; _Experience the Masterplan. No earnest pilgrim ever needs to search.” _He said that he...

.   Bleed, Saxon Blood "Þær wæs sang || and sweg samod ætgædere, fore Healfdenes || hildewisan; gomenwudu || græted, giomaenes spell, cwæð þonne se scop, || sumeres þegn" “Then there was song and music together, before Hrothgar’s battle-leader; the harp sounded, the joy-wood’s voice, when the scop sang afterwards.”---Beowulf...

. Modern Blessing May you have five bars upon your phone _And a WiFi signal strong. May your identity stay yours alone _If you click on something wrong. May you never need good health care _Or the assistance of an official, And may you always be two steps ahead _Of...

. Old School ---for an elite British boarding school The rooves are dark and lichen-strewn and damp,the window panes are flecked with drops of rain;a summer downpour’s welling while the stampof lightning flash and thunderclap engraintheir image and their sound. The chapel bellis chiming out the quarter hour, which bringsthe...

. Joyful Warrior ---for Charlie Beloved Charlie will lie in state At rest, beyond the reckless hate That roils the souls of the wicked, massing To mock and celebrate his passing. With nimble mind and agile tongue, Self-schooled, he dared to school the young In what their schooling sorely lacked:...

. Macron, Carney, and Starmer: The Three Stooges Recognize a Palestinian “State” Diplomats and ministers are not known for their brains. They’re slaves to shifting winds of public feeling— Just look at The Three Stooges, and the effort simply strains Credulity. All sane folks are now reeling That anyone would...

. Impermanence There’s uproar in the poplars overhead— A dry wind surging from the sun-struck west, Already hot with power and vastly spread Over these plains and not yet come to rest. Out on a jaunt, I push through weeds and grass. With no fixed goal, I swelter, cough, and...

. We Love You Charlie Charlie, Charlie, Charlie We’re so sad to see you die. Sorry, Sorry, Sorry Couldn’t even say goodbye. Heaven, heaven, heaven Is where you are I’m sure. Evil, evil, evil Is what we still endure. Hatred, hatred, hatred Has left its mark on Earth. Goodness, goodness,...

. Utilization Another person’s misdeeds or their flaws,Are rarely pleasant sights when they are shown,But I try making such ordeals the causeOf seeing and disposing of my own.. . Superiority Although superiorityMay lead to trophies on your shelfOf greater import is to beSurpassing of your former self. . . Knowing...

. Nearly Home The storm now past, the dark clouds drift away, Unveiling tranquil skies at end of day, Whose cheering beams imbue the gathering gloam And my own heart with peace, as I walk home. The hours of labor fled, I heave a sigh, And give a nod to...

. A Century's Divinity Another time, another place, A waft of smoke, a peaceful space, Atop the club---a Deke at Yale, And Vassar maiden, by the rail. Alone they stood, alone they spoke, Postured classic, lass and bloke, A century's divinity, Not far from our proximity. Far from perfect: Mother,...

. Come Away with Me ___I ___Come away with me, ___Birds will never sing ___In the place where we ___View no flower in Spring, Nor behold the sight of any natural thing. ___II ___Vain is it to build ___Brick by brick our dome, ___Nature having willed ___Animals to roam Over...

. Necrosol “The Stutthof concentration camp was located on the periphery of the Vistula Spit in northern Poland, and was in operation from 1939 to 1945 during World War II. A total of 65,000 people died as a result of exterminating living conditions as well as executions… The soils of...

. Monsoon in the Jornada _Months of unwavering stillness, _Parched powder seared by the sun, Pitiless taunts from New Mexico sky, _Tenuous cloud-wisps undone _By defiantly static surroundings _As summer’s assurances wane; Skittering deer mice seek lifegiving shade, _Blearily thirsting for rain. _Jornada del Muerto they called it— _Conquistadors dogged...

. The poem "The Gentler Art" by Maureen Browne read by the poet herself at the Society of Classical Poets online Poetry Symposium on June 28, 2025: . https://youtu.be/DY628snCu4M Video created by Andrew Benson Brown.

. The Pentagon Panama Plan A place in turmoil—Panama_In nineteen eighty-eight—Was where the strongman Noriega_Was busy tempting fate. The Pentagon felt like a dreamworld_Where fantasies were made.Years later the 9/11 plane struck_That office where I’d stayed. Lieutenant Colonels stationed there_Were often called “gophers.”We'd go for coffee, go for errands,_Go find...

. Ode to Antifa Kids who get infuriated, and whose anger’s unabated have one place to find relief, a self-help group that’s called Antifa. They are not discriminating, they accept those advocating hatred for our U.S. nation, those who helped build its foundation. They protest in peace and quiet, in...

. Free Won’t ---Hypothesis in a 2007 study in the Journal of Neuroscience Perhaps it’s false, about “free” will—_A myth we hold as true.What happens when we’re ruled by lust?_“Free” will is ballyhoo. Perhaps instead, we have “free won’t.”_We logically decide;Think “No” to impulse or desire,_Then reason is our guide....

. About-Face This prairie's lore: hoar bonhomie of dinosaur and bygone sea. Our founders’ stance: mint goodly wealth through broad expanse of homestead health. Intrepid souls push back frontiers, sun’s aureoles scorch pioneers. Brave wagon trains, badlands’ morass, perpetual plains, big bluestem grass. Vast fields of corn and beans: earth...

. Esperanza Enticing in her yellow-bell couture, __She shimmers like the sun. With flirty puffs of pollen-pomp allure, __Her blossoms trumpet fun. She laces air with threads of scent as pure __As pledges heaven-spun--- She glows with hope on nimbostratus days. She bolsters butterflies and busies bees __With flowery prowess....

. A Poet First: The Poetry of Thomas Hardy by Adam Sedia Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is known today primarily as one of the great novelists of late Victorian England---and one of the greatest novelists in English. Among his best-known novels are Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of...

. Michael Michael, heaven’s handsomest, most decorated strategist and highest-ranking officer, having vanquished Lucifer was faced with long-term unemployment. Seeking worthwhile redeployment, this veteran of celestial strife settled for civilian life: as mainstay of the Heavenly City, he now directs the Doom Committee. Hence, before the judgement seat in his...

. In the Name of Whose God “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through...

. La Vie en Rose  I came across that daft old ditty “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”And wondered why its lyrics didn’t rhyme “tulips” with “true lips.”I’ve learned, you see, that botany brings great linguistic power---Like formulating works which vaunt the lilac and sunflower!Now, had that song been mine I would...

. The Vile Monkey and the Patient Buffalo ---adapted from a Jataka tale of India A powerful old buffalo Once ranged the Indian countryside. Over the rolling hills, in cool Dark caves and tangled woods, he plied. One day, he found a tree where he could rest And for a...

. Predawn High Sierra Hike The new-moon, star-lit darkness does not hide The beauty that surrounds me on the trail, As silhouettes of trees and mountains guide My feet into the wilderness like braille. For darkness has a beauty of its own, With whispered wind and brook-song beyond sight, As...

. A Ballad of Fortune "Be brave now, my darlin', We're migrating West! Let's pack up our wagon And then take a rest. Tomorrow we're starting--- At sunrise, is best." "But, Jimmy, I'm frightened," His young wife, she said. "The perils are many; We might end up dead. I won't...

. An American Explains (to a Curious Brit) On politics here---well, it twists and it bends, Confusing beginnings with stranger dead-ends. I’m mostly apolitical, shrugging, you see, I listen to all---or to none---let me be. The media swirls like a tempest gone wild, Each outlet insists it has truth undefiled....

. To Truth ---in memory of Charlie Kirk (1993 – 2025) You fly above the flap and fray,Beyond the stir of earthy air.On dauntless tongue, you find the way__To spread your care. Your song is bright and bold and plain,Sung with fire in the faceOf hatred (wracked with raw disdain)__In...

. Blood, Sea ---after Italo Calvino Beyond the blight of urban sprawl, About six hundred yards from shore, A pod of fishing vessels trawl The coastal waters. Sea gulls soar And dip above the crack and spall Of massive piers in search of gore And kitchen scraps. Crustaceans crawl Along...

. The poem "The Loons of Colby Lake" by Michael Pietrack read by the poet himself at the Society of Classical Poets online Poetry Symposium on June 28, 2025: . https://youtu.be/4hQEBDIPrn4 Video created by Andrew Benson Brown.

. On Charlie Kirk and His Assassins Make people think. Engage them in debate. Allow them to articulate with reason The things they think. Defuse their unearned hate And gently guide them back from wrath and treason. Show Christian love and yet an iron hand. Be patient with them, they...

. Four Slogans of Qi Hong In Chongqing, China, August 29th, on high-rise walls, a bold display of anticommunist ideas sprawled. With two sets of projectors and surveillance cameras, Qi Hong sent out into the city these large messages: “It’s only with no communists that China can be new; And...

. A Victorian Dad Advises on Parenthood When children eat their daily gruel, _They must not be heard. Seen, they may be. As for talk, _Not a dickie bird. Slurping’s out, the sniffles too _And if your kids thus vent, Whip them with a birch tree branch _Severely, don’t relent....

. Pamela’s Garden You’ll find her in the garden every day,Her comfort and her confidence so bright.Among the dahlias purple stemmed bouquetHer radiance reflects an inner light. She doesn’t care for those who just pretendto cultivate a feeling for the soil.With loving touch so gentle does she tendher trellis roses...

. Another North The Megalopolis just north of here Rumbles and heaves and slumbers not at all, Though I at evening am not so near To be afflicted by its charmless call. Cicadas’ speech spreads over me this night When I step out from house to darkening grass To find...

. Why She Broke Up with Him Not long before their college graduation, His bright and beautiful four-year girlfriend, With no more than a sudden conversation, Brought their long-happy romance to an end. The guy was devastated, and shut down. He absolutely could not fathom why, Though he’d be leaving...

. Thy Servant Elizabeth _“Well-done, unswerving servant,” _All the church bells rang _On all the roads of England, _While all the angels sang _Above the long procession _That formed her funeral; _The car conveyed her body _As her Christ assumed her soul. _In clashing grief and triumph, _The strong-voiced, iron-tongued...

. To the Venezuelan Drug Runners Sleeping in the Sea To Tren de Aragua—congratulations on your new life as Caribbean flotsam. Hello there, fellows—great to see you there. I guess you never thought you’d be like fish. One minute in a boat, and then a flare Of hot exploding metal....