Poetry

. The North Pole's on Lockdown ‘Tis the night before Christmas; it pains me to say--- The North Pole’s on lockdown before the big day. The elves have been furloughed and fester in bed. The toy...

. The Tunnel to Australia It’s raining every day in Merrie England. It’s falling from the sky most every day. But I’ve just heard about a place that’s burning, In a country that’s so very far...

. The People That Walked in Darkness The Christmas lights are out tonight, __Early and fierce and brave. The lawns of all suburbia, __A parti-colored nave. Their swollen ranks caused me to think __How changed...

. Hedge Theory The hedge plants are trimmed by a gardener with shears As they have been, like clockwork, for twenty-five years. Yet they push out new shoots in continuing hope Of extending their reach through...

. This Present Madness “To sleep! Perchance to dream; aye, there’s the rub…..” ---Shakespeare, Hamlet I The daily nightmare hovers; and each night We pray to stay unconscious---not to dream (Perchance...

. Twelve Chaucerian Limericks for Paul Freeman Some pilgrims went riding to Kent, And here’s how the journey was spent: As they traipsed through the dale They each told a tale Of sacred or worldly...

. Critical Race Theory It’s quite amusing when some first Defend it with persistence, Then---feigning that they’ve not reversed--- Deny its whole existence. . . Federal Government Logic The National...

. Habeas Corpus Of those whose job it is to get results It might be asked: to what infernal purpose? Extortion, threats, felonious assaults, And foul deceptions only scratch the surface Of crimes they’re...

. Journey’s End To Adventuresome Children at Bedtime Mountain, forest, stone, and stream all glisten under sun, While golden morn and midnoon beam call children out to run. But after day has had his say, see...

. The Harp  by Gustavo Bécquer | from Spanish by Cheryl Corey Obscured by corner shadows, gathering dust, perhaps forgotten over time—there stands the silent harp. So many hidden notes entombed on muted...

. Three Sisters Clotho When mother sat me down, I feared the worst. Her words, however, offered praise instead. “Your gentle hands are motherly,” she said. “That’s why I’ve chosen you to be the...

. Panic What is this feeling that sometimes afflicts Us with awful intensity and fear? A feeling close to panic, very near To dread, to terror; something that constricts The breathing, chokes the throat and...

. Fool’s Gold The gutsy suffragettes gained girls the vote--- One bold soul trampled by a monarch’s horse Grabbed patriarchy by the gloating throat. Her ghost changed every voiceless woman’s...

. A Spider in My Room In the corner, there's a spider Between the ceiling and the wall. Its legs are long, its body small, Seeing it there my eyes grow wider, Fearing it to be the kind Of spider I’ve been...

. . Bidenflation to the finale of “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie Fuel prices go up Tomorrow Bet your shrinking dollar that tomorrow They will soar! Inflation will rise Tomorrow All the things you...

. Tidal Lock for Michael Collins died (Oct. 31, 1930 - April 28, 2021):, Apollo 11 Command Module Astronaut who saw the dark side of the moon Has one brave man's small step dethroned the moon And brought the...

. A Flower for Giannina Milli by Alceste De Lollis (1820-1887) | translated from Italian by Adam Sedia A fragile herb, this blooming flower, I planted with my hand one day; Once more I fed refreshing...

. Lightning Could Strike Just when hope Is out the door, Has flown the coop, Has said “No more.” Just when "up" You have now "given," Just when life Seems so now riven. In she walks Her smile so...

. Tamara to Emily for Emily Dickinson We viewed the lighted houses well below, whose roads ran serpentine through mounding snow, zoomed in on walls that formed each hollowed room, then juxtaposed the gaiety...

. There Was a Free Nation That Swallowed a Lie sung to the tune of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" . https://youtu.be/luLcKkCHWFo There was a free nation that swallowed a lie. I don’t know why...

. Advent Twist "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple . . . But who may abide the day of his coming? and who...

. Sibylline Sonnets for Advent The sibyls were ecstatic prophetesses active from about 600 B.C. in the Greek coastlands of Asia Minor, and in Greek colonies on the west coast of Italy. A few apparent...

. Samode Palace Hotel An erstwhile palace, and all wished to claim a former sultan's, not a servants', room. So we drew keys, for all had paid the same and won two turrets and a vast bedroom. But, best,...

. So Simple Lies are told to Balkanize, To disenfranchise, federalize, To bloat the vote. An anecdote, A narrative, a false footnote To cast their spell on sheepish folk, Who swell with pride because they’re...

. Maria Montessori Seldom felt hunky-dory. Her vision for education Fell short of inspiring a nation. . King George the Second It has often been reckoned Would have been more fecund Had more mistresses...

. The Devil and the Hounds of Hell Over and over in the gloom of night, In degrees of Celsius or Fahrenheit. From deep in the middle of a hard-won sleep, An evil entity begins to creep. A dark, diabolical...

. What Is Truth? a pantoum To keep us blind and riven You falsify the facts. You will not be forgiven--- These are a tyrant’s acts! You falsify the facts Promoting news that’s fake. These are a tyrant’s...

. We Are in for Another Covid Christmas! We are in for another Covid Christmas: __Lockdown tales of woe. ____Now forbidden to fly his sled __Santa is drenched in dread And Rudolph’s rosy nose has lost its...

. Turn, Turn, Turn I, whose heart is closed and locked, Who turned away when your Son knocked And who, through sin, did turn my soul Into a twisted lump of coal Turn now, Holy Mary, to you. Least worthy, no...

. Daphne and Apollo “O foolish Cupid,” fair Apollo mocked. “To think that you, a wanton boy, should dare To think yourself the equal to a man Of arms, or even to a god like me, In putting arrows full...

. Failure to Strive Do, or do not.  There is no try. —Master Yoda We’ve traveled far, or so it seems to those Of us who shy from setting distant goals Requiring passage through unending rows Of thornhedge...

. Elemental, My Dear Slight air and purging fire, the first my thought, the other my desire. ---Shakespeare, "Sonnet 45" I am of air and fire wrought, though I am drawn to water like a dowsing rod. Carousing...

. Passer Mortuus Est, from Carmen 3 by Catullus (84-54 B.C.)| Translated from Latin by R.W. Rhodes My baby's favored fledgling dropped and died,and caused us both to weep; and when we cried,each Venus and...

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCmLSOndstY . CREDITSPoetry: Robert FrostAudio/Visual Work: Society of Classical PoetsVoice-Over: S.A. ToddPhoto: "Yellow Forest" by Eflon (used under creative Commons...

. The Biden Oil Refrain As President, on his first day, He closed old Keystone down, Then shut off Arctic drilling, Forty-thousand jobs left town. He cancelled key oil leases, Barred new highly needed...

. The Gusting Winds The gusting winds, they blow, it seems, more bleakly this December; They bite my cheeks and chill my bones and freeze my aging flesh. As I ascend this windblown hill at sunset, I...

100 Days of Dante Poetry Contest Sponsored by the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing with the Society of Classical Poets . . Introduction 100 Days of Dante is a collaborative resource aimed at educating...

. A Shot in the Dark   "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help. " ---Ronald Reagan The experts push experimental science, Big...

. The lights went off, for long enough, And in the darkness things got rough, All four quarters gushing red— Some bloody politician's dead, We liked him once, yes, very much, And wanted to have four of...

. Listening to Bach While the World Falls Apart for Adrianna, Paul, and Beth I Sight isn’t needed---the continuous cracking of all The pillars supporting civilization, is audible. Thunderous crumbling of...