‘The View from the Hill’ by Martin Rizley The Society March 8, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 13 Comments . "He has made everything beautiful in its time. . ." (Ecclesiastes 3:11) The sun shines so brightly on this verdant hill Where I sit in silence so peaceful and still; I've come here alone to survey the fair...
‘The English Cantos: Volume 2: StairWell. Canto 1 Ascent’ by James Sale The Society March 7, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Dante, Epic, Poetry 13 Comments . The poet has now escaped Hell, and has arrived in Purgatory or what he calls the StairWell. But he seems to have been abandoned by Dante, and has a fresh set of problems to confront. In this first section of...
Poem Circulating Online Laments Canceling of Dr. Seuss Books The Society March 6, 2021 Children's, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry 35 Comments The author of the above poem, circulating online, is unknown. From The Epoch Times (March 2, 2021) "Biden Omits Mention of Dr. Seuss From ‘Read Across America Day’ Amid Concerns of Racist...
‘The Tango Argentine’ by Daniel Kemper The Society March 6, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 6 Comments . Do they still dance on old walkwayswith lowered shoulders, mastered breathand almost martial, measured gazethough one that's bent on life, not death?Will men with class step up and raisean arm and pause: a...
‘Tradition’ by Troy Camplin The Society March 5, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 4 Comments . I've battled beside Gilgamesh, the Bull Of Heaven slain by us. I've fought beside Achilles, hot beside a burning hull, And watched as Agamemnon, captured, died. With Oedipus I've lost my vital eyes With...
‘The White Man’s Burden’ by Rudyard Kipling: Poem, Background, and Analysis The Society March 4, 2021 Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry 60 Comments . A Teaching Tool for High School English Language Arts or Global History Teachers by Evan Mantyk . Background of Kipling and British India Rudyard Kipling The poet, Rudyard Kipling, was born in British India...
‘Who Knew’ and Other Poetry by Áine Mae The Society March 4, 2021 Beauty, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry 22 Comments . . Who Knew How often I crushed autumn leaves Until I saw a robin drink From one that cupped the fallen rain, And many times too, I did break Icicles dripping from a roof. How often in the spring I plucked A...
A Review of James A. Tweedie’s Mostly Sonnets: Formal Poetry in an Informal World The Society March 3, 2021 Beauty, Essays, Poetry, Reviews 13 Comments Reviewed Book: Mostly Sonnets: Formal Poetry in an Informal World by James A. Tweedie, Dunecrest Press, July 2019 by Theresa Rodriguez As a fellow sonneteer, I felt like I was reading the words of a kindred...
Poetry Challenge: Write a Sonnet in Iambic Monometer The Society March 2, 2021 Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests, Poetry Forms 122 Comments . This challenge was conceived by Paul A. Freeman after reading a sonnet in iambic monometer by James A. Tweedie, "Allergies." Mr. Freeman's example is below. Make your own and post it in the comments...
‘In Your Dreams Grandad’ by Jeff Eardley The Society March 2, 2021 Humor, Poetry 22 Comments . . He met her one Summer, the girl of his dreams, A freckle-faced beauty just out of her teens. He chatted her up, and he thought he’d done well, But with these young women, you never can tell. She said...
A Poem on the Tyranny of Google, by Bruce Dale Wise The Society March 1, 2021 Culture, Poetry 26 Comments . . Frankly, There Are Many Ways To Spell Uggly “the Baleks von Bilgen…new coat of arms—a giant crouching under a fir tree” —Heinrich Böll, “The Balek Scales” by Esca Webuilder In the dark...
‘The Magpie’s Chorus’ and Other Poetry by David Watt The Society March 1, 2021 Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry 33 Comments . The Magpie’s Chorus With sunlight at full power And silence in the air, I sought a shaded bower, A cool drink, and a chair. But then, I heard the trilling Of magpies in the trees Pour out like liquid...
On Gov. Cuomo: ‘Governor Mussolini’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore The Society February 28, 2021 Covid-19, Culture, Haiku and Senryu, Humor, Poetry 32 Comments . Governor Mussolini Fifteen thousand souls,Killed by the stroke of his pen,For whom no bell tolls. . . Covid Chronicles I saw a naked face today---It nearly took my breath away!I knew the girl and so I asked...
‘Free Verse: Recondite Done Right!’ by Tonia Kalouria The Society February 28, 2021 Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 13 Comments . In Astrophysics, I’m ranked “One,” and Greek and Latin I find fun. All serve me well at Crossword “Times,” with each day’s matrix solved by nine. Most free verse, though? Puzzles...
‘Eyes on the Prize’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society February 27, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 33 Comments . Eyes on the Prize __What time it is Can be determined only by the Sun. __The choice is his, By whom all duties have been duly done, __To set the pace Whereby all useful progress shall be measured. __In such...
‘A Song of Saint Francis’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society February 26, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 16 Comments . A Song of Saint Francis Good friends, I wander vale and hill The Master’s words upon my lip; My only thought: to do His will And sing such Love as makes hearts skip! Rejecting wealth, prestige and sword...
‘Three Experiments in Poetic Form’ by James A. Tweedie The Society February 25, 2021 Beauty, Poetry, Poetry Forms 30 Comments . Midday Dreaming The raindrops fall like teardrops from a sad and sodden cloud; Their spattering the sound of some a- doring, cheerful crowd. I touch the cloud with outstretched fingers Lifted to the...
A Poem for Gina Carano: ‘Forced Out’ by Bethany Mootsey The Society February 25, 2021 Culture, Poetry 13 Comments . It feels like a galaxy far, far away,__But it’s just the US of AWhere a woman is canned, her prospective gigs banned,__For refusing to mutely obey. Speech marshals have spoken, patrollers of space;__Even...
‘A Lenten Prayer’ by Joe Tessitore The Society February 24, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 23 Comments . Of all Creation, who am I Who sins against Thee, Lord Most High? Of all that crawl, of those who creep, No one has ever sunk so deep. Of those who swim and those who fly, Least of them all, this sinner,...
‘Chasing Dryads’ by Julie Desmond The Society February 24, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 15 Comments . As a child, they could not keep me from trees And craggy, tangled limbs and aching arms. I loved the camouflage, the filtered breeze, Nose-smacked tang of moss and far-off farms. Grandma's had a crook just...
‘Owl Ensconced on Oaken Branch’ by Corey Elizabeth Jackson The Society February 23, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 21 Comments . Owl ensconced on oaken branch, A wingèd spirit rare, His gaze is wisdom: calm, intent, Bewitching and aware. Soulful and implacable, His feathered stillness bright Is outlined by cerulean sky, A beacon...
‘Grauballe Man’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley The Society February 21, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 46 Comments .. Grauballe Man He lies exposed to view in this glass case Exactly as he lay three hundred years Before our Christ was born, between his ears Torn open with a savage force: his face, All blackened by the peat...
‘Remembering Sandy Hook, Ct 12/14/12’ by Ed Gutt The Society February 20, 2021 Culture, Poetry 10 Comments . Remembering Sandy Hook, Ct 12/14/12 Over 8 Years Later That day God's Angels' tears were shed,When first grade books and blackboards bledPure blood that stained a beige room red.Sad parents tuck ghosts into...
‘Obit: English Pronouns’ by Jan Darling The Society February 19, 2021 Culture, Humor, Poetry 31 Comments . Dear friends we gather here to say goodbye To words once used to speak both truth and lie. The HE and SHE and HIS and HERS and MINE By ZIE interred forever at ZIR shrine. No more can we know ZIM or VER by...
A Poem on the Death of Rush Limbaugh (1951-2021), by Joe Tessitore The Society February 18, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 12 Comments . Rush He was larger than life And it cut like a knife When his wife let us know That he died. From this kind of grief There can be no relief. Such a powerful blow Meant I cried. 12:06 comes around, I’m...
A Monosyllabic Poem: ‘To West’ by Adam Sedia The Society February 18, 2021 Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry, Poetry Forms 8 Comments . Too long, too long, my love, Have we lain out here. Too long, too long, my love, Have our ease, our cheer Fixed us fast, sprawled in cool shade, With our arms and breasts clasped near, Too pleased to note...
The Power of One: Monosyllables in Classical Poetry The Society February 18, 2021 Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms 17 Comments by Adam Sedia The origin of poetry is inextricably tied to music. The earliest poems---the Homeric epics, the Chinese Book of Songs---were all lyrics to be sung. Because vowels allow the open voice to sing...
‘Ashless Wednesday’ by Joe Tessitore The Society February 17, 2021 Culture, Poetry 12 Comments . The Great Reset has rocked the world--- What untold evil has unfurled! Unshakable foundations crumble. Through the rubble, nations stumble. Who is not shaken to the core By all that was and is no...
‘An Apple a day’ by Jeff Eardley The Society February 17, 2021 Humor, Poetry 16 Comments . The Internet’s a work of art, Now everybody’s phone is smart. They’re very compact, very small, And so, begins a tale so tall. For once upon a time, a gent, A load of cash one day he spent. Delighted...
‘Texas Freeze (surely an oxymoron)’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society February 16, 2021 Humor, Poetry 37 Comments . For others it may be a breeze. Those hardy Arctic folk would wheeze With laughter as we Texans sneeze __And shiver. This slick of ice and lick of snow; This frightful bite as ill winds blow Nips our...
‘Stones’ by Daniel R. Leach The Society February 16, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 7 Comments . These stones that like huge sculpted figures lie __Amid the trunks of moss and fern-clad trees, Eons of creatures have seen born and die __And the land’s face carved by the shifting seas. ____All of...
‘God Save Poetry’ by Don Shook The Society February 15, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 6 Comments There is a scourge that permeates our midstWhich we cannot so easily dismiss.Elitists strive to elevate this curse;A type of art most poets call free verse. True poetry once rhymed and had some form,A...
‘Though Worlds May Die and Silent Be’ by Roy E. Peterson The Society February 14, 2021 Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry 11 Comments . . Till rolling seas cease heaving high, The starry nights stop passing by, The universe is wrapped in flame, And there is no one left to blame. __Until then? ... You’re my loved one. Till sun no longer...
‘The Wife’s Lament’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society February 14, 2021 Humor, Love Poems, Poetry 11 Comments . For my friend Rose R., with sincere condolences. Good Lord, imagine my bad luck: I’m married to a hockey puck. I don’t know how it came about— A lover morphed into a lout! You’re a widow, not a...
‘L O V E…’: and Other St. Valentine’s Day Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society February 14, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry 22 Comments . L O V E... It’s not a dozen scentless hothouse roses. __It’s not a chocolate-box of sweet cliché. It’s not the scorching kiss that lust imposes __To lead the fired and fevered flesh astray. It’s not...
‘Blossom Brief’ by Michael Curtis The Society February 14, 2021 Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry 2 Comments . Among the many flowers in the vase, ‘Tis I—the flower with the pretty face, Full humor, sound stamen, and skill in fun— Who is to say to you, Michele, “Well done.” As so the master charged. Yet...
‘A Damsel in Distress’ and Other Valentine’s Day Poetry by Damian Robin The Society February 13, 2021 Poetry 8 Comments . A Damsel in Distress A hot, courting Knightin blithering armourVowed on his horse he would never-ever harm herThen he revved up his stallion and bamboozled off hard,Heavy metaled to the damsel across the...
‘Waiting for “I Do”’ by C.B. Anderson The Society February 13, 2021 Humor, Love Poems, Poetry 17 Comments C.B. Anderson was the longtime gardener for the PBS television series, The Victory Garden. Hundreds of his poems have appeared in scores of print and electronic journals out of North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Australia and India.
For Valentine’s Day: ‘The Tale of the Rose’ by Christine de Pisan (1364–1431), translated by Margaret Coats The Society February 13, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Love Poems, Poetry, Translation 22 Comments . . The Tale of the Rose (Excerpt) by Christine de Pisan (1364-1431), translated by Margaret Coats . This Tale comes from the Paris home of the Duke of Orleans, brother of the King of France, where on Saint...
‘Fool’s Wisdom’ and Other Sonnets by Theresa Rodriguez The Society February 12, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 27 Comments . Fool’s Wisdom “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” ---Psalm 139:14 I am amazed at what some fools believe Who say I am a fool to have belief In a creative force. To preconceive Against this...