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Poetry

‘On Palestrina’s Music’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 30, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
28 Comments
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHUuaA8DKiQ . On Palestrina's Music Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, Ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus. Psalmus 41:2 As the deer desires springs of water, So my...

Haiku Competition 2022

The Society
June 29, 2022
Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
612 Comments
. Our 2023 Haiku Competition is on now HERE. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members...

How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku?

The Society
June 29, 2022
Education, Essays, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
47 Comments
. How to Write Haiku What Makes a Good Haiku? by Margaret Coats The required 5-7-5 syllable form alone does not make a haiku. A good haiku ⦁ presents an observation of nature, or of human activities in...

Freedom in China Open Poetry Reading

The Society
June 29, 2022
Human Rights in China, Poetry, Readings
2 Comments
. You are invited to a reading of poetry that shines a light on the plight of ordinary, innocent people in China today who are unjustly persecuted by the communist government---a government indirectly funded...

‘Gleam by Any Means’ by David Watt

The Society
June 29, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
17 Comments
. Gleam by Any Means The poem that I seek to write, the piece with flair and form, Which raises spirits high as clouds on zephyr breezes warm, Or states a truth in such a way that brings a tear to the...

Poems on Sexualizing School Children, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 28, 2022
Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Groomers   The words the school kids speak are not their own--- Fiends mold the untrained brain till every thought Is hostage to their noxious sexual drone. Their toxic tongues are rife with hype that’s...

‘Life Is a Dream’ by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Translated by Elwin Wirkala

The Society
June 28, 2022
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
6 Comments
. Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681) Translated by Elwin Wirkala The king dreams he is king, and lives with this deception ordering, disposing of and governing, and all the applauses...

‘On Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields’ by Evan Mantyk

The Society
June 27, 2022
Culture, Poetry, Science
21 Comments
. On Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields Are we just rats within a maze? Perhaps. But then perhaps there’s more to rats than what We know. Take for example rats completing A water-maze within a lab at...

The Classical Figures Poetry Reading – Video

The Society
June 26, 2022
Poetry, Readings, Video
5 Comments
. https://youtu.be/DIhS6QTHh90 . Hosted by British poet James Sale and held by the Society of Classical Poets, the theme of this reading is classical figures in the broad sense. The 100 Days of Dante Poetry...

‘The Requisite’ by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
June 26, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
. The Requisite I may have made a great mistake In my pursuit of solitude and grace; Perhaps have stumbled unaware Into an all-too-human ache I don’t know I’ve the fortitude to face Or honesty its source...

‘Abiding Senescence’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 25, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Abiding Senescence My energy and physical abilities Will not again be limitless as once they were. To those more qualified to ponder facts like these, Without a single qualm or doubt I will defer. They tell...

‘Upon These Boughs that Shake Against the Cold’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 25, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. “Upon These Boughs that Shake Against the Cold” ---Shakespeare, Sonnet 73 Her script was always lovely and unique, And still unique when it began to wobble, Along with spoken words. Increasing...

‘There Is a Quiet Place’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
June 24, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. There Is a Quiet Place There is a quiet place Where we can go to hide. A place where no one sees us, That cannot be denied. There is a quiet place Where we can go to think. A place to solve our problems And...

‘Advice from the Untalented’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
June 23, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
19 Comments
. Advice from the Untalented They smugly said I’d never make much money From playing with my words and making art, That it would be a waste to spread such honey So any fool could tear the thing...

‘Australia in 2022’ by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
June 23, 2022
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. Australia in 2022 written on the eve of a federal election where everything is at stake but nothing is on the agenda. A nation now in name and nothing more, Misruled by milquetoast...

‘In God We Trust’ by James A. Tweedie

The Society
June 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. “In God We Trust” The motto for our nation boldly states, “In God we trust,” Which is, of course, a matter for each person to decide. We can’t assume such faith is held by all, nor is it just To...

‘Tongues as of Fire’ and Other Poetry by Phillip Whidden

The Society
June 22, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
4 Comments
. Tongues as of Fire If men desire to find belief, to sing It out through throats works best to make the soul Embrace it.  This will make the sought faith zing Behind their hearts and manliness’s whole. The...

‘The Duke D’Alençon Meets Joan of Arc’ by Ben Broussard

The Society
June 21, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. The Duke D’Alençon Meets Joan of Arc What task from the dauphin comes to me hence? A lowly maid now seeks his audience. This Joan, a girl from province unheard of, They say she can hear voices from...

‘An Open Poem to Evil’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
June 20, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
. An Open Poem to Evil “Gravity is real... it’s hard to keep a bag of shit in the air forever.” ---Alex Wilhelm You goofy spoofin’ kooks are pitchin’ poop. You’re selling poison no one wants to...

‘Apollo in Retirement’ by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 20, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
42 Comments
. Apollo in Retirement Quite early he approached a humble hut, With saxifrage and canneberge sun-brewed To melt the stone that galled the shepherd’s gut, And brighten him with warmth of health renewed. The...

‘A Glass for My Father’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
June 19, 2022
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. A Glass for My Father Marie-Maurille de Virot, Mademoiselle de Sombreuil (February 14, 1768—May 15, 1823) My father was the Marquis de Sombreuil: An old man when it happened, but back then The Revolution...

‘On the Extradition of Julian Assange’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 18, 2022
Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
. On the Extradition of Julian Assange The fiends who wield the power here on earth (The ones who gag our speech to gain control) Are shouting out just what the truth is worth By extraditing this heroic...

‘Who Bled’ by Alexander King Ream

The Society
June 17, 2022
Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
8 Comments
. Who Bled When all is said and life be trod, One takeaway the Son of God Made clear, when rising from the dead? The winner here's the Guy who bled. . . Alec Ream is a writer living in the Northern Neck of...

A Modernization of ‘To His Coy Mistress’ and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
June 17, 2022
Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
13 Comments
. A Modernization of “To His Coy Mistress” You say we should some years delay The coming of our wedding day, But God commanded us to try To fruitful be and multiply. To make new life, we cannot shirk; The...

‘In Praise of Bollywood’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 16, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
. In Praise of Bollywood To India! To visit from afar... My journey there would be a dream fulfilled. To visit Delhi, Agra, Bangalore, To ride an elephant, pluck a sitar; I’d see a thousand temples loudly...

‘Speechless’ and Other Poetry by Clive Boddy

The Society
June 16, 2022
Beauty, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
7 Comments
. Speechless I have smelt the perfect scent of the flower of a rose, Known intoxicated freedom where frangipani grows. Watched majestic rivers meet the wild and moody sea, And flown right over mountains where...

‘Decolonising the Curriculum’: A Dual Scenario by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
June 15, 2022
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Decolonising the Curriculum – Dual Scenario on Salford University's recent treatment of the sonnet. We must decolonise our poetry Because it’s the twenty-first century, So don’t get preachy, telling...

‘Why This Time, Why This Place?’ by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
June 15, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Why This Time, Why This Place? When I die And leave this land, Please dear Lord Extend Your hand. Extend Your hand To this good soul, Who finds this life Does take a toll. The toll it takes Has many...

‘My Thoughts Laid Bear’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 14, 2022
Humor, Poetry, Readings
24 Comments
. . My Thoughts Laid Bear  “Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering” ---Winnie the Pooh I like to mull....
poem/flott/culture

What Is ‘Pro-Choice’? and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
June 13, 2022
Culture, Humor, Limerick, Poetry
12 Comments
. What Is “Pro-Choice"? If my child were sent to die, Be chopped to pieces like a pig, To spare him death, I’d plead and beg, __His life with mine to buy. Yet pregnant moms demand their “rights” To...

Classical Poetry and the Martial Ethos: An Essay by Andrew Benson Brown

The Society
June 13, 2022
Culture, Essays, Homer, Poetry
6 Comments
. Classical Poetry and the Martial Ethos by Andrew Benson Brown . The Heroic Age Towards the end of “Egil’s Saga,” one of the masterpieces of Icelandic literature, the eponymous hero composes a verse to...

Lines On Dreadful Instagram Poetry by S.A.Todd

The Society
June 12, 2022
Culture, Humor, Poetry
24 Comments
. "Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing" ---Lines On Dreadful Instagram Poetry A halitosis belch of steam Spewed out in words. Ream after ream Of cheese puff, air-stuffed offerings Of...

‘Judge Not’ by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 11, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Dante, Poetry, Terza Rima
23 Comments
. Judge Not We notice, Signor Alighieri, that You have a rather well developed bent For taking your opponents to the mat And showing them that in the Main Event They will be pinned like insects to a wall To...

‘Classical Camouflaged’ and Other Poems by James Ph. Kotsybar

The Society
June 11, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. Classical Camouflaged __It begins, like all prose poems today, with a bit of narrated diary, as though it were a tale by Hemmingway, but more self-conscious and less flowery. __It then proceeds to rub the...

‘Canzone to the Virgin’ by Petrarch, Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 10, 2022
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
21 Comments
. Canzone to the Virgin by Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) Translated by Margaret Coats Virgin beautiful, vested with the sun And crowned with stars, who pleased the Sun supreme So much that within you He hid...

Two Sonnets on the Epstein-Maxwell Case, by Shaun C. Duncan

The Society
June 9, 2022
Culture, Poetry
20 Comments
. Jeffrey Epstein in His Cell On nights like this a lesser man might pray; Instead he dreams of islands in his cell And sends his thoughts a thousand miles away To there await the hour of his farewell. The...

‘Nature at Peace’ and Other Poems by James A. Tweedie

The Society
June 8, 2022
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Nature at Peace The feeder for our hummingbird. Was torn down by a bear today. She didn’t growl a single word She just reached up and had her way. And then, as if they owned the place, Two deer sashayed...

‘A Tribune to Mrs. Malaprop’ by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 7, 2022
Humor, Poetry
28 Comments
. A Tribune to Mrs. Malaprop My fellow poets, lend me your arrears! Of arms and divan I sing. Let’s have three cheers For Mrs. Malaprop, that dole enchanting tongue-tried Miss Communicating aunt From...

‘Gravitas’ by Andrew Benson Brown: On the Sack of Rome, 390 B.C.

The Society
June 6, 2022
Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. "Gravitas" On the Sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 B.C. adapted from Livy’s “Ab Urbe Condita,” Book V, Chapters 38-42 The sunset torched the summer sky, __The spectral moon rose round When a shadow...

Share Your Poetry on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Part III

The Society
June 5, 2022
Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Share your poetry on currently unfolding Russo-Ukrainian war in the comments section below.  We received a large response on our first post of poetry on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and our...
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  1. Alan Steinle on ‘If You Ever Break Down’ and Other Poetry by James A. TweedieMay 15, 2025

    I just turned my phone to landscape mode and realized you wrote the first poem in anapestic meter. Sounds good.

  2. Margaret Coats on ‘If You Ever Break Down’ and Other Poetry by James A. TweedieMay 15, 2025

    James, I must say I am grateful, on behalf of women in general, for guys in all types of vehicle…

  3. James A. Tweedie on National Limerick Day: Post Your Limerick HereMay 15, 2025

    For Paul and Joe: Some say he's God-blessed, or he's cursed. The best that we've had or the worst. "Make…

  4. Alan Steinle on ‘Emmaus’: An Easter Poem by Jeffrey EssmannMay 15, 2025

    I especially like your sestet and the final line really hits it home. The last line or two of a…

  5. James A. Tweedie on National Limerick Day: Post Your Limerick HereMay 15, 2025

    Back in the day when my wife and I were living in Edinburgh, a man we knew (with de rigueur…

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