‘Shattered Prospects’ and Other Poetry by David Watt The Society January 3, 2019 Poetry 20 Comments Shattered Prospects Pursued by every shadow,He rode the winding wayTo where his love lay waiting:Trunk packed for ocean stay.An owl looked on in silence;A wombat backed away -It seemed, no-one had...
‘You Poor, Unfortunate Woman’ and Other Poetry by Janice Canerdy The Society January 2, 2019 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 3 Comments You Poor, Unfortunate Woman Last Monday was a special day for me. You got that big promotion and the raise! I pity you, for now your life will be a rat race through a long, nightmarish...
‘Arise, You Bones’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia The Society January 1, 2019 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry 15 Comments Arise, You Bones “Come, spirit, from the four winds, and blow upon these slain, and let them live again.” –Ezechiel 37:9 Arise, you bones of millions, scattered far, Half-buried, all forgotten, that...
‘Late Winter Sunset’ by M. P. Lauretta The Society December 31, 2018 Beauty, Poetry 24 Comments Written on Two Tree Island The golden fingers of the setting sun bestow their last caresses for the day. Although this present day may be undone, the sun will rise tomorrow come what may. Now Fauna’s...
‘Old Glory’ and Other Poetry by Jeff Nicholson The Society December 30, 2018 Poetry 26 Comments Old Glory It’s just another job—another day At work in dismal districts of this world. She sorts out shapes and strips of cloth unfurled; Enduring cruel hours for paltry pay. And having fitly...
‘The Demosthenian Literary Society’ and Other Poetry by Alexander King Ream The Society December 29, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 5 Comments The Demosthenian Literary Society The nobler and loftier days, gone by, The auld lang syne of the decades that fly, The vast contemplation of time and of space, The fast moving spirits of truth and of...
‘Letters We Wrote’ and Other Poetry by Tonya McQuade The Society December 28, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 22 Comments Letters We Wrote dedicated to Diane Fournier Across the months of summer and the states, We wrote our lengthy letters, wrote our lives – Descriptions of our summer days and dates, Each to our mailbox...
‘How to Plant a Tree’ by Alan Sugar The Society December 27, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 23 Comments Allow for growth; dig wide—but not too deep. Add soil amender to the raw red clay. Remove the rope. Take burlap bag away. Surround the root ball, mulch and go to sleep. And as the roots...
‘The Great War’ and Other Poetry by Janice Thompson The Society December 26, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 5 Comments The Great War The world abruptly shattered Colossal was the war And of it’s better victims The gentler arts of yore. Such shards of glass, well scattered, Across the global floor As rhyming verse in...
7 Poems for Christmas 2018 The Society December 25, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 31 Comments Sancta Dei Genetrix by Joseph Charles MacKenzie Pure Mother of divine Simplicity, Being-in-Himself now slumbers in thy creche, For, thou hast tightly wrapped Infinity In swaddling clothes and thine...
‘Happy Holidaze’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore The Society December 24, 2018 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry 7 Comments Happy Holidaze Our holidays we sanitize. They don’t offend or stigmatize. In fact we made them squeaky clean, but what, by jingle, do they mean? The Nutcracker: Waltz of the Flowers * A...
‘Penthouse Bolsheviks’ by Dylan Price The Society December 23, 2018 Deconstructing Communism, Poetry 5 Comments They look at you with contempt and sneer, A haughty air permeating there. "Equality" is their pernicious cheer; Floating up high on corrupted air. To battle for the poor, a...
‘The Finite Prairies Under Boundless Skies’ by Alessio Zanelli The Society December 22, 2018 Beauty, Poetry, The Environment 23 Comments The angler knows the stream, exactly where to cast the line. The fish in turn suspects what offers food disguises danger though it's urged to search the spot. The two engage in grueling fights, dead baits...
‘Weaknesses’ by Charlie Bauer The Society December 21, 2018 Human Rights in China, Poetry 10 Comments I read that Christ said: “Turn the other cheek,” And told good friends I held that notion, but Still wondered if that turning made me weak. The answer didn’t seem to be clear...
‘Heart’ and Other Poetry by Beverly Stock The Society December 20, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 4 Comments Heart Bleeding heart, a kindly soul Drives demand, you give your gold, Not for the cause they imbue, Guilt sequestered deep in you. Heavy, heavy, heavy heart: A joyous life's counterpart You’re...
A Translation of ‘Snow in Spring’ by Han Yu (768–824) The Society December 19, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation 3 Comments Translated by Jarek Zawadzki Upon the New Year's Day no fragrant flowers came out, Not till the second month did buds begin to sprout. The snow humiliates the spring for being late, And sprays white petals...
‘The Chinese Bill of Rights’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson The Society December 18, 2018 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry 27 Comments The Chinese Bill of Rights In China, laws regarding human rights May keep a simple man awake at nights, Suspecting that a Mand'rin guten Morgen Might mean the harvest of a vital organ. Old Adolf...
‘Ancient Melodies’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise The Society December 17, 2018 Art, Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry 10 Comments (All poetry by Bruce Dale Wise) Ancient Melodies by Ercules Edibwa No longer are they heard, the ancient melodies of Greece, so beautiful and lovely to the ear. One now can only imagine their mellow...
‘As I Grow Old’ by Martin King The Society December 16, 2018 Beauty, Poetry 9 Comments As I grow old and frail, you will support me still. If I should shout or rail, calmly, you peace instill. If I judge unfairly against innocent cause; you say to warily apply the rule of...
7 Classic Christmas and Seasonal Poems, and More The Society December 15, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry A Visit from St. Nicholas, 1823 by Clement Clarke Moore 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the...
‘Those Who Do Not Remember the Past . . .’ by James A. Tweedie The Society December 14, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 16 Comments Of Roland and of Kings I sing of Arthur and Excalibur, The Table Round and fealty professed By knights devoted to a noble quest For what was right and good, and pure. I sing of Percival and...
‘Ode to the Lats’ by Connie Phillips The Society December 13, 2018 Humor, Poetry 18 Comments Oh Lat, dear Lat, where art thou at? Methinks thou seem a bit too flat... On Superman, and blokes like that, Your rippling mass is no doormat! With Arnold, Dwayne the Rock, and Hulk, The goal...
‘Advice to an Aspiring Careerist’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society December 12, 2018 Culture, Humor, Poetry 22 Comments —from A Gallery of Ethopaths Schools are diploma mills that provide Credentials for people who have to hide In the small chinks of some corporation Or a bureaucracy’s minor station. Pay your...
‘A Poem’s Truth’ by Michael Stutz The Society December 11, 2018 Beauty, Poetry 4 Comments A poem's truth, when presently revealed Inside its lines where they had first congealed Will fill you with a youthful ardent joy— Like first unwrapping ribbons on a toy, Or spring, when...
‘To Write of Death’ by Jeffrey Essmann The Society December 10, 2018 Culture, Poetry 6 Comments If poets are supposed to write of death then let me O! poetically regret the beating heart abruptly stopped, the breath that falls like lead upon the coverlet. Let me intone the soft and wistful...
‘Dryads’ Winter Lament’ by Wandi Zhu The Society December 9, 2018 Beauty, Poetry 15 Comments As autumn breezes blow away The warmth of summer’s sun, Then shortened is the light of day When we had danced as one. The prelude to the winter snow Is sung by icy rain, The rosiness of...
‘There are No Long-Term Consequences When the End is Near!’ by Lee Goldberg The Society December 8, 2018 Humor, Poetry 11 Comments A wondrous thing that happens as your exit becomes near, is that “long-term” consequences need not cause you fear! Bottom line: there’s no “long-term” when soon you’ll meet your...
‘The Anchor’ by Steven Shaffer The Society December 7, 2018 Humor, Poetry, The Raven 10 Comments after Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" __Once upon an evening dreary, I searched for news, at least in theory, Over many a dubious and mendacious channel that I abhor— __While I surfed, nearly barfing,...
‘Pinhead’ and Other Poetry by Michael Curtis The Society December 6, 2018 Beauty, Poetry 23 Comments Pinhead While sitting on a pinhead __Stuck in an angel's wing Holding still a piece of thread __I tap my head to think, I tap again, to no avail, __It seems I have forgot The answer to the...
‘Let Them Go’ by Mickey Kulp The Society December 5, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle 13 Comments a villanelle Be still now and let them go. Their trials and losses fade away. Briefly, they were yours to sow. Children stumble, cry, and grow. They are young and so they stray. Be still now and let...
‘Here Comes the Hybrid Bus’ by K.G. Jackson The Society December 4, 2018 Beauty, Humor, Poetry, The Environment 5 Comments Here Comes the Hybrid Bus Here comes that brand new hybrid bus Round the street so pretty; It's length so long it makes the turn, And bends right round the city. It's certainly looking very...
‘The Threads’ by Evan Mantyk The Society December 3, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 13 Comments on the state of poetry today I see the threads have all aligned __In a patchwork tapestry That seemed at first all but resigned __To the death of poetry. The colors of the patchwork poems, __Splendid...
‘To Nicholas Wilton’ by Joseph Charles MacKenzie The Society December 2, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments Traditional Sacred Polyphonist of England Wilton! Could music make the dead to rise, Spare life its toil, move wills from sloth, Bind happy lovers in their troth, Or lift a heart to soar upon the...
‘Ms. Hayden, On Your Selection of Our Next Poet Laureate’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore The Society December 1, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 16 Comments Ms. Hayden, On Your Selection of Our Next Poet Laureate: For poetry to rise again Seek one who has applied the pen To that which all can understand, To verse which is sublime and grand. Choose one who...
‘Politician or Poet’ and Other Translations of Ryhor Krushyna’s Poetry The Society November 30, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry, Translation 8 Comments Politician or Poet When in one’s soul the politician calls forth – The poet’s voice withers and comes to naught. And poems become a bedlam of propaganda Praising the party’s agenda. The poet’s...
‘The Hindu’s Lament’ by Edmund Jonah The Society November 29, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 6 Comments The Hindu's Lament As I passed a lonely temple in the after-evening glow, On the banks of the Ganges where the quiet waters flow, When the sun had sunk to rest and cool softness touched the air, I saw a...
‘To Chavistas’ and Other Poetry by John Gao The Society November 28, 2018 Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry 4 Comments To Chavistas You profit off the indignance of the poor just like the imperial loansharks you denounce, you’ve murdered trees and poisoned lakes and swore the water’s safe to drink then gloat to...
A Beginner’s Guide to Sapphic Verse (with Audio) The Society November 27, 2018 Education, Essays, Poetry, Poetry Forms, Readings, Sapphic Verse 37 Comments by James A. Tweedie My interest in Sapphic verse arose from a discussion thread on an SCP post some months ago. I researched the subject and decided to try my hand at it. Recently, I submitted my poem to...
‘Cosmic Dance’ by Sathya Narayana The Society November 26, 2018 Beauty, Poetry 10 Comments When born, they said he came into the light! He realised soon it's another kind of gloom, where innocence had lost to odious blight and wisdom went crisscross in carnal looms. With his one foot...
‘The Poet’s Soul with Artful Pen’ and Other Poetry by Roy E. Peterson The Society November 25, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 13 Comments The Poet's Soul with Artful Pen Few will read with understanding What the poet is intending. Nouns and verbs are still concealing Concepts with a double meaning. Adjectives, and adverbs too, Are used...