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      The Society
      March 16, 2018
      Beauty, Culture, Poetry
      5 Comments
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      The Society
      January 25, 2021
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      January 24, 2021
      6
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      The Society
      January 24, 2021
      9
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      January 23, 2021
      19
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      January 23, 2021
      16
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      January 22, 2021
      4
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      June 27, 2018
      Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Riddles
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      December 8, 2020
      70
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      148
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      March 11, 2019
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      January 12, 2021
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      26
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      December 13, 2020
      58
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      22
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Poetry

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Poetry

The Rebirth of Epic: A Review of James Sale’s HellWard

The Society
August 22, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Epic, Essays, Poetry, Reviews
31 Comments
by Andrew Benson Brown James Sale’s HellWard is the first volume of a planned trilogy entitled The English Cantos. If the quality of the current volume is any indication of the two forthcoming ones, then...

‘Those Unknown’ by Camille Cechini

The Society
August 21, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
  a villanelle My heart goes out to those unknown, Whose life by Time’s cruel hand erased, Their ravaged, riven, nameless stone. Shattered, lost, grass o’ergrown, No date to tell when coffin...

A Poem on Judgment Day and Other Poetry by Leo Zoutewelle

The Society
August 20, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
16 Comments
  Ab Initio Mundi* *ever since the beginning of the world At first the darkness reigned o’er all that was, Until a little point of light emerged. That grew and grew regardless, as it surged Ahead...

‘The Bell Now Tolls’ by Martin Rizley

The Society
August 19, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
24 Comments
  in memory of my father-in-law, Pietro Lorefice (1938-2020) The bell now tolls, dear Pietro, for this hour When we must bid your faithful soul adieu, And lay to rest that mortal frame we knew, Now...
Poem Rhet Butler

‘Hollywood Interview’ by David Whippman

The Society
August 18, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
  My marriage failed (they always do.) Emotionally unequipped To work things out without a script, We didn’t try to talk it through. What do I pay that therapist for? You can’t see what...

‘Uncle Joe and the Virtual Convention’ by Jeff Kemper

The Society
August 17, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
  When the wokest of folk virtually convoke In a year of elections and riots and fear, Uncle Joe from the basement the Nanny will stoke. He’ll invoke Ms. Kamala as newscasts evoke, “She’s a...
Fishing in boat on ocean

‘Upon a Boat, by Ocean Bound’ by Alexander King Ream

The Society
August 17, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
3 Comments
  Upon a boat, by ocean bound, Below the sun, upon the sound, The bait, a line, a reel, a fish: Bound for butter, herbs and dish.     Alec Ream is a writer living in the Northern...

A Satire on Joe Biden Picking Kamala Harris, by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 16, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
24 Comments
  Madcapfesto We’ll unlock prison gates and let the inmates saunter out. We’ll tear down wall and rule; we’ll sponsor every lug and lout. We’ll overlook drug smuggling and the trafficking of...

Understanding Bad Poetry: The Verse of William Topaz McGonagall

The Society
August 16, 2020
Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
by Joseph S. Salemi The poetic effusions of some people are so incompetent that they cross the line into unexpected humor, and thereby become valuable. Such is the case with the work of William Topaz...

‘We Came Together With An Open Mind’ by James Allan Kennedy

The Society
August 15, 2020
Poetry
16 Comments
a villanelle We came together with an open mind No crass intolerance or blinkered view Is it too much to ask us to be kind? The streets in which we children played were lined With generosity, and we all...

The 17 Best Haiku of 2020

The Society
August 15, 2020
Beauty, Culture, From the Society, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
7 Comments
Winner and Runners-up of The Society of Classical Poets 2020 Haiku Competition Judged by Mike Bryant and Susan Jarvis Bryant See all entrants here.   Thunder-bellied clouds Move slow over heathered...

‘A Ditty’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
August 14, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
18 Comments
  A Ditty What happened to the human race? It vanished, friend, without a trace. And what, pray tell, of humankind? You may well seek, but will not find. And finally, humanity? It slipped into...

‘Hong Kong’s Freedom Fighters’ by Douglas J. Lanzo

The Society
August 13, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
5 Comments
  dedicated to all those braving injustice in Hong Kong with nobility of spirit Muffled voices, anguished cries, Trampled freedom, published lies, Flouted treaties, threatened fates, Outlawed...
Sgt James J Regan

On a Photo of Sgt. James J. Regan’s Grieving Fiancee, and Other Poetry by Rod Walford

The Society
August 12, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
  Hero of Her Heart On February 9, 2007 Sgt. James J. Regan of the 3rd Battalion 75th U.S. Ranger Regiment was killed on active service in Iraq. Some time after the funeral, Sgt. Regan's fiancee Mary...

‘Defy the Mask’ by David Watt

The Society
August 11, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
9 Comments
  Due to a recent government edict, approximately 5 million Australians must wear masks whenever they leave the house. We wear a mask because we’re told That COVID has us in its hold, And if outside...

‘Blake’s Prairie Fair’ by Bob Schildgen

The Society
August 10, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
  Cotton candy is, yes, is angel hair spun out while merry-go-rounds whirl full-speed with satisfaction fully guaranteed in the local splendor of Blake’s Prairie Fair. Surely the most...

‘The Prisoners in Manacles’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
August 9, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
All poems by Bruce Dale Wise The Prisoners in Manacles by Lu “Reed ABCs” Wei The prisoners in manacles in western China were just on a day out, stated the Chinese ambassador. The picture shows the...

‘Oh, When I Think Back’ and Other Poetry by Theresa Rodriguez

The Society
August 8, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
  Oh, When I Think Back Oh, when I think back to those halcyon days, When I believed the possibility That truest love would manifest to me And highest hopes would set the heart ablaze, I looked...

‘The Taj Mahal’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
August 7, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
44 Comments
  Taj Mahal Built to commemorate a love that died Four hundred years ago, how sad to say She never saw what we can see today. Serenely does its massive bulk preside Above a seeming swamp on every...

‘Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, by Joseph Lange’ and Other Poetry Julian Woodruff

The Society
August 6, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Music, Poetry
3 Comments
  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, by Joseph Lange (1783? / 1789?); as viewed by a Philistine Consider Lange’s well-known portrait Of his in-law, a composer: It’s good, we see, but it requires A scrutiny...

Ecclesiastes 6, Recast in Classical Poetry, by T.M. Moore

The Society
August 5, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  Full Lives, Empty Souls after Ecclesiastes 6 There is an evil I have seen in those who live beneath the sun: A man to whom God gives both wealth and riches, and who knows respect among his...

English Tomb Poetry, With an Introduction by James A. Tweedie

The Society
August 4, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Found Poem, Poetry
12 Comments
by James A. Tweedie On my most recent visit to England in 2017, I paused to record a number of prominent grave monuments that included poetic tributes to the deceased. Here are the four I found most...

‘Laocoön’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

The Society
August 3, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
  Laocoön To prophesy is not a gift to those So gifted, who can see in subtle signs What is to pass; they bear the double woes Of speaking truth to unbelieving minds And knowing none can thwart the...

‘Verses on the Death of His Father’ (‘Coplas por la muerte de su padre’) by Jorge Manrique

The Society
August 2, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
3 Comments
translated by Alan Steinle. Introduction and translation copyright ©2020 by Alan Steinle. Skip Introduction and go to poem.   Introduction Poetry is that which is worth translating. The poem dies...

‘Rueing Tattoos’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
August 1, 2020
Culture, Humor, Poetry
53 Comments
  Rueing Tattoos When young she was drawn to that skin-art taboo of embellishing flesh with a tattoo or two. Now time’s marching on and gravity’s struck, her sweet chickadee is akin to a...

A Poem on Moses on the Mount by Jeffrey Kemper

The Society
July 31, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
  On Consecrated Ground Moses on the Mount; Exodus 3-4 Moshe, a Hebrew truant from His resident Egyptian land Committed crimes with this outcome: His life was now in Pharaoh’s hand. Absconding...

Three Poems of the Nuclear Age by Peter Austin

The Society
July 30, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, The Environment
6 Comments
  Tomoko When the Enola Gay dropped ‘Little Boy’, Tomoko---just a little girl herself--- Was robbed of any hope of earthly joy And sentenced to a life upon the shelf, Until, that is, she and...

A Poem for Kargil Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory Day), by Satyananda Sarangi

The Society
July 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
"During the war, the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing Tiger Hill and other posts as a part of ‘Operation Vijay’. Indian soldiers had secured this victory after a...

‘Golden Gloves’ and Other Poetry by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 29, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
22 Comments
Golden Gloves My father fought in Golden Gloves. Back then The ring was where you slugged your way to hopes. It was no place for fey, aesthetic men— There’s no nuance on canvas, or the ropes. I...

Amid U.S. Riots, A Reflection on Robespierre’s July 28 Execution, by Rob Crisell

The Society
July 28, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
7 Comments
  A Proposal---July 28, 2020 Upon this date in 1794, The French Revolution concluded in gore, As Robespierre’s head hit the blood-stained floor Of Paris’s Place de la Concorde, Leaving poor...

Poetry Readings from 2020 SCP Symposium – ‘A Celebration of Meter and Rhyme’ (Session II)

The Society
July 28, 2020
Children's, From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
1 Comment
All of the below poems were read on May 31, 2020 at The Society of Classical Poets Symposium, which was held online due to the pandemic. Below are poems from Session II....

Three Monkey Tales in Poetry, by Terry L. Norton

The Society
July 27, 2020
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
  How Monkeys Came to Be adapted from a Palestinian folktale Monkeys and people once were one. For monkeys had from Adam come. As Adam's sons in every way, Those monkeys looked like us today. Yet...

Three Poems Dealing with Garden Pests, by C.B. Anderson

The Society
July 26, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
  The Gardener at War Throughout our lives we hustle and we slave __To turn our gardens into magic places __Where beauty at its pinnacle erases Our darkest intimations of the grave; But what mundane...

A Poem on BLM Riots: ‘The Enemy Within’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 25, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
35 Comments
  "One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship." ---George Orwell We are the fearsome force for good who’ll...

A Poem in Tribute to Dame Vera Lynn (1917-2020), by Jeff Eardley

The Society
July 25, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
24 Comments
  Vera A fine and sunny Summer’s day And now our Vera’s slipped away. Auf Wiedersehen, we’ll meet again; We don’t know where, we don’t know when. A proper looker in the day, A smile to...

‘From J.S. Bach’s French Suites: An Allemande’ by Leo Zoutewelle

The Society
July 24, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
19 Comments
  Alike a trusted hand that comes to rest On harried shoulders to relieve the stress, This allemande fulfills its basic quest: Bestowing thorough genial redress. When just too much encumbrance...

Poetry on the Death of America, by Joe Tessitore

The Society
July 23, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
17 Comments
  No Epitaph The lies lie heavy on his chest, Striped red, striped white, now tattered vest And soon to draw his final breath--- Who’ll mourn this Son of Freedom’s death? I look around,...

‘Clean Beauty’ by Kevin O’Keeffe

The Society
July 23, 2020
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
  How wild become the eyes! How fine it is to learn! That the beauty in the sky's Cold torch of perfect pearl, Or in the trunk of the laburnum With those swaying yellow leaves That catch the...

‘The Trial of Saint Joan of Arc (d. 30 May 1431)’ by Theresa Rodriguez

The Society
July 22, 2020
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
  You had to act, because you heard the voices Within your head. Saint Michael came to you, Saints Catherine and Margaret. But what choices Did you have? You knew them to be true, Not demons or...

On the Resignation of Bari Weiss from The New York Times, and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Kemper

The Society
July 21, 2020
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
12 Comments
  With Sorrow Do I Leave It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning from The New York Times. ---Bari Weiss, opinion writer, 13 July 2020 With sorrow do I leave The New York...
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Resources

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