Poetry

. My Inner Attorney "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord,...

. Two Idylls by Bion of Smyrnatranslated by Joseph S. Salemi . Idyll V Great Cypris stood before me in a dreamy hazeHolding by her fair hand the hand of baby DesireWhose head hung heavily downward, in an...

. . None for All Backbones wilt and waistlines grow; Brightness dims as diodes glow. It’s history’s course, a simple fact, Declared with pride—or else with tact. Vigor falters, wits regress; The...

. Healing Hands ---in appreciation of the care provided (free of charge) by the NHS, the National Health Service of the UK, while I was hospitalised as a pain patient. I thank the Lord for healing hands,...

. Happy ---for B.K. A ground to play, a set to swing, A slide to slide, a bell to ring: She walks the way of there and then. “Hap-py,” she says; “hap-py,” again. A ball for foot, a nut for...

. Watch Out! Now, “The Three Little Pigs” is a tale More for cautioning than for amusing: Learn its lessons and you may prevail; Heed them not, and you may end up losing. For we, none of us, live in a...

. A Hero in My Head Though never even in the war he loomed A hero there.  At least in my blond head, Our father braved it out where Jap planes zoomed And zapped his buddies.  All but him were doomed To bit...

. The Adoration of the Peacock ---on The Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi The world is a-gawk at a gaudy surprise, for kings walk on foot while the commoners ride, and I, though a...

. https://youtu.be/LRxp0nZS2hM . video by Andrew Benson Brownpoem by Evan Mantyk . The Reincarnations of Donald J. Trump . I. 218 B.C. Above the mellow grass, cliff faces soarLike walls to house a huge...

. Bollical Dogs I have a complaint! T.S. Eliot hogs All the fun with his stories of Jellicle Cats! So let me (inspired by zoo catalogs) Write of beasts ripe for versificational chats. But shall I vaunt...

. Caleb in Canaan  Green fields, walled towns, strong foes, but we are fit To overcome. Forward, I say. It’s ours. These forty days of foraging have fed Twelve spies good fare and knowledge requisite. Let...

. The Shepherd God On Autumn eves when solipsistic stars__Peer down on bloody, towering oaksWhose gnarled, twisted branches create bars__Encaging man in Fortune’s spokes,When groaning wind rustles through...

. A Freshman Pep Talk ---upon reading “Composers to Listen to While Studying,”by Andrew Benson Brown, in The Epoch Times, Nov. 2, 2024 You’re ready? Get down to it, cram the night through.What a...

. Topics Over Time At 10 boys talk about the games in which they’ve played. At 14 they discuss the girls and “progress” made. At 16 there’s the homework everybody’s got, At 18 work or college and...

. Kill or Cure? “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patientwhile nature cures the disease.” ---Voltaire . Possible Side Effects: May cause lacerations to lobes of the brain__Or clusters of...

. Enduring Sight Our blindest heroes walk among us, here, where legendary blindness gives us sight. King Oedipus still lives, and so does Lear in texts that draw their distant fates too near by pulling us...

. Americans in Florence Ooo David! Whoa, you’re well-hung! But why a foreskin, underslung? Your left hand, do you hold a sling or dead Goliath's severed thing? Stop giggling, girls, show some respect. You...

. Oh, the Days Oh, the days of poop and vomit! My best dress had drool upon it While I walked my teething child Up and down the hall for miles. Oh, the days of poop and vomit! When the baby chose to not...

. Meditation 4 "Now our Lord bestowed great gifts through small means..." ---Homily on Our Lord (11) "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." ---1 Corinthians...

. My New New Year I’m shunning bards of lilt and kilt tonight. My cup o’ kindness guzzled dry by kin Has urged the spurning of that worn-out rite Of seeing lame old, same old new years in… The fizz. The...

. December 31 __Another year _Gasps out its dying breaths. __Oh, do not spare _Any further Death’s ___Swift hand _From seizing its demand! __Do not rue __An end now due. Another year begins anew. __The...

. A Creation Myth The curtain opens. A million violinsCrescendo. Trumpets blare. A single drumBeat booms. In perfect time, the cosmos spins.The Hero enters, sees what soon must come: A surging wave of life...

. Nordic Memories They rise with the dawn of fashion Their eyes for new booty are keen, To ride the tide of nostalgia For something that they’ve never seen. Their patrons board the longship, Geared up for...

. Lines Written in a Time of Illness My body is weak, and this reflects my soul,Who baser pleasures is obsessed to know;For the mind, of late, has been filled with resentmentAnd not contented by mere...

. The Matters of Life With furrowed brow she knits away her troubles,Her wrinkled face so tight and drawn with age.The skeins of yarn unwind in rapid motionAs woes translate to tight and tighter gauge. Tho...

. Help! I Can’t Stop Speaking in Iambic! Help! I can’t stop speaking in iambic Pentameter! No matter what I say, Somehow it keeps on coming out that way. It’s not the first time. Could it be a...

. On Learning of a Lover’s Death Your parting words were not exactly nice, But when I read the news that you had died, At least for old times’ sake, I should have cried. I haven’t—yet. Is that a crime?...

. The Blank-Page Stage I once embraced the blank-page stage, when words would somehow always rhyme, but now my brain shows signs of age, and operates on its own time. So now, I dread the clean-slate...

. Catching Up An hour passes in a second. A month goes by in just an hour. The rosy future that once beckoned Has now become a withered flower. Complaints about the pace of time Do nothing to arrest its...

. 'Twas the Day After Christmas ‘Twas the day after Christmas. Mom went to the store To return all her presents and gift herself more. The stockings still hung on the big mantle there, While she was out...

. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming Every year I either compose new music for Christmas or create a new arrangement of a familiar carol. This year I have chosen, “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming,” a hymn which...

. Ode to a Christmas Pudding O fragrant orb of dark and luscious depths Made with magic conjured every year By souls who know the spell---those tricky steps That summon plummy culinary cheer, You started as a...

. Stars Voluble Profound and lightless silent night _Lay still with curtains closed. Into unspeaking dark the Word Descended from his regal throne And rose from Israel below, _A supernova blaze Encircling...

. Christmas in Florida I watched him pass! St. Nick himself---Kris Kringle,Who hails from Buffalo, not the North Pole.He waved; I heard bells on his golf-cart jingleAs he sang karaoke rock and roll. That’s...

. A Present Unclaimed Under the tree is a present unclaimed Paper and ribbon and bows, good to go. Who is it for? “Who it’s from” isn’t named. Where is the tag? No one here seems to know! “Maybe,”...

. Professional musician and SCP poet Jeff Eardley performs a medley of Christmas songs on his guitar. Merry Christmas from the Society of Classical Poets! . . Jeff Eardley lives in the heart of England...

. Make Room, He’ll Come In Have you spent much time wandering, feeling distressed,and upon your arrival, found no place to rest?You can’t possibly know what it’s like till you’ve beenwhere you longed...

. Santa Claus Has Passed Away As is their custom every year, the Men’s Club promptly after class had half the hallway commandeered and cheerfully began to pass out toys and games as grade by grade the...

. Love Broke Through Time On the first Christmas night Love broke through time With pain to Mary and her child whose bed Was straw with ox and ass in nearby stalls. Love arrived in suffering and shame. All...

. A Remarkable Day "He's God in human form!" whispers the crowd In motley clothes and groups of twos and threes Beneath the bulky, partly-aqua sky. As nighttime slowly drops, birds meet the breeze And soar...