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      Beauty, Poetry, Translation
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Poetry

‘The Fate of Fine Art’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
March 6, 2019
Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
The Fate of Fine Art Too late to turn the clock back on fine art, Egregious oxymoron that it may Be called today, but where to find the start Of this, the slow beginnings of decay? For once we found...

Translation of ‘Farewell to the Royal Gardens at Aranjuez’ by Gálvez

The Society
March 5, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
7 Comments
Translation by Martin Hill Ortiz  Farewell to the Royal Gardens at Aranjuez by María Rosa Gálvez de Cabrera of Spain (1768-1806) Aranjuez: forest, rich with flowers, Through which the tangled Tajo...

‘Mother of Falun Gong’ and Other Poetry by Gleb Zavlanov

The Society
March 4, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
4 Comments
Mother of Falun Gong They said my mother would be back tomorrow, They said her smile would still shine proudly here, Her hand brush off the dreadful, bitter sorrow That manifests itself within a tear, But...

Who Killed Poetry? A Critique of Modernism and Post-Modernism (Part I)

The Society
March 3, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Education, Essays, Poetry
68 Comments
by Edward C. "Ted" Hayes   A Prefatory Poem (or a Gaggle of Goosefeathers) Some will judge this essai the exact thing it’s not – Distilled, unvarnished, contemned tommyrot For asserting mod...

‘Cabbage-Tree Day Break’ by Stephen McCarthy

The Society
March 2, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
  I like it, though it’s very dark; The firelight a fading arc Along the tree, whose ageing bark Shows day is near. I like it, but have questions yet: I do not know where this is set, And are...

‘Before the Darkness’ and Other Poetry by Dusty Grein

The Society
March 1, 2019
Beauty, Poetry, Rondeau
4 Comments
  Before the Darkness  a rondeau Before the darkness brings about the night and steals the world’s colors from your sight, paint all your memories in vivid hues. Let not the darkness be the path...

‘Let None Dare Call It Beauty’ by Adam Sedia

The Society
February 28, 2019
Beauty, Poetry
2 Comments
Let none dare call it beauty that commands Feigned praise from those whom fashion deems refined But deep revulsion from an honest mind Derided for the truth it understands: Inhuman, formless smears of...

Three Love Poems by Joseph Charles MacKenzie

The Society
February 27, 2019
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
14 Comments
Today the Wind for Elizabeth Today the wind through winter’s unclad bones Drowns in its woeful howl my soul’s discant; Beyond, a distant hunter’s oliphant Salutes the dead beneath their...
poem/freeman/alphabet

‘Who Needs QU?’ and Other Poetry by Raymond Gallucci

The Society
February 26, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
3 Comments
Who Needs QU? It’s time to retire Q-U. K-W’s logical choice. What’s Q do that K cannot do? And U’s vowel that has its own voice. Inkwire why bother with this, A kwest to our language...
poem/mckee/beauty

‘The Oak’ by Martin King

The Society
February 25, 2019
Beauty, Poetry
1 Comment
  Of unknown age, the great oak tree, initialed with past loves’ decree; Now stands alone on village green, a witness to life’s daily scene. It was in spring, some years ago, when verdant...

‘Salesman of Salesmen’ and Other Poetry by Steve Cooke

The Society
February 24, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
Salesman of Salesmen Infectious spirit, everybody’s friend,Hypnotic and fascinating, a forceOf pushy power, broiling to transcendObjections fully, only to endorsePositions he defends until the...

‘Making Spirits Bright’ by Frank De Canio

The Society
February 23, 2019
Beauty, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
1 Comment
  “Jingle Bells, jingle all the way” I sang to her to break the spell of what appeared to be her fell demeanor. Neither would she bray ‘in a one horse open sleigh’ “Hey!” but droned as...

Trump’s Border Wall Revives Frost’s ‘Mending Wall’ (and a Poet’s Response)

The Society
February 22, 2019
Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry
12 Comments
by Evan Mantyk As the border wall with Mexico that President Trump is building gains greater and greater attention, so too has the early 20th century poem, “Mending Wall,” by American poet Robert Frost....

‘The Clockmaker’ by Benjamin Daniel Lukey

The Society
February 8, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
7 Comments
    When I was young, I’d disassemble clocks So I could understand what made them go. With tools in hand, and pieces in a box, I’d wonder, and I’d look, and then I’d know. But...

‘Withering Slights’ by Michael Glassman

The Society
February 7, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
4 Comments
I start to age ten minutes out of bed, More fragile now but not yet dead. My son-in-law hovers round me when I walk In case I stumble as we talk. My daughter’s gift to me: a three-pronged cane Concealed...

‘Reinigeadal, Harris’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
February 6, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
  Reinigeadal, Harris So many years ago it was, a child Tramped up from East Loch Tarbert’s rocky shore Across the peat hags underneath the wild And dismal sky that overhung the moor. No road...

‘Star Needles’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
February 5, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
Star Needles A star is just a bauble stuck on what We view as sky.  Lest it let winter in, We join sky fabric back together. When It makes a split, a slice of light slips through The center of each...

Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion (A Rhyming Poetry Translation)

The Society
February 4, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
11 Comments
The Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion ( 蘭亭集序; Lántíngjí Xu), from the 4th century AD, is generally regarded as the greatest work of Chinese calligraphy. Although...

‘The Music of the Earth’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
February 3, 2019
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
  The Music of the Earth In walking home from church one winter's eve, I paused to hear the echoes down the street; The dead leaves rattled dryly on the branch And scraped along the sidewalk at my...

God Rest We Merry Gentlemen (An Essay)

The Society
February 2, 2019
Culture, Essays, Humor, Poetry
2 Comments
by Gregory Spicer “Death and taxes” bemoan us now, as ever. Yet as I bask in the fading embers of Christendom's most sentimental season, my mind freshly equips itself for the new year by conjoining...

Announcing the 2019 Poetry Competition Winners

The Society
February 1, 2019
Education, From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests
13 Comments
Thank you to everyone who participated! We have had more quality submissions this year than in any past year and it has been a privilege to read and judge them. Congratulations to the winners! First Place...
poem/life/death/river

‘It’ and Other Poetry by Daniel Leach

The Society
January 31, 2019
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
It... It plays upon the glowing, sunset boughs, When shadows have enveloped all below, And distant, other-worldly thoughts arouse A passion in the poet’s soul to go Beyond the earth, beyond the...

‘The Fiancé’ and Other Poetry by Sheri-Ann O’Shea

The Society
January 30, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
8 Comments
The Fiancé inspired by Anthony Trollope’s "Can you forgive her?" (1864-1865) Alice, he wants your money, honey. Alice, he wants your cash. He’d never ask you without it don’t doubt it – He’s...

‘February’ and Other Poetry by Theresa Zappe

The Society
January 29, 2019
Beauty, Poetry
6 Comments
February  February froze the skating pond, Beauty gone, still this we won’t deny, She was thoughtful with her airy wand, Thankful, think, a rink beneath the sky! Sons and daughters make their skate...

A Translation of ‘The Lake’ by Alphonse de Lamartine

The Society
January 28, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
12 Comments
Translation by Michael Coy The Lake Thus, ever driven onward to new shores, borne constantly away, Can we never, in the Ocean of the Ages, drop anchor for a day? Oh, this beautiful lake!  The...

‘Going Along to Get Along’ by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
January 27, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Humor, Poetry
61 Comments
Dedicated to far too many of my contemporaries, and they know who the hell they are. I. I am the perfect poet— I strike a dainty pose. I sniff the air for floral scent And elevate my nose. I’m...

‘Tiger Fire’ by Sally Sandler

The Society
January 26, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
27 Comments
  The fire waits with tiger paws on silent haunches by the hill, then mounts the rock with clinging claws, and contemplates the moment it will pounce—on sagebrush dry as bones, under a ghostly...

‘Common Language’ and Other Poetry by Mike Ruskovich

The Society
January 25, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
36 Comments
Common Language I hear the music of the artist's brush Bruise with color the canvas' white, Feel the composers' fingers rush Across the keyboard into night To lodge clear notes in the blackest sky, Stars...

‘Transhumanism’ and Other Poetry by Joe Spring

The Society
January 24, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Science
10 Comments
Transhumanism Somewhere about there’s a slithering sound of man’s enmity, causing excitement and casting the seeds of calamity, claiming enlightened revision of old postmodernity. Oh! But the thought...

Three Poems Before Sleeping, by C.B. Anderson

The Society
January 23, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
The Catholic Work Ethic I'll do as much as I am able __Before the sun has set. I doubt that I will run the table __Because I haven't yet __Achieved my full potential. There will be time to lie in...

‘The Afternoon of Man’ and Other Poetry by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
January 22, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
7 Comments
The Afternoon of Man Fourteen or so, one autumn afternoon, my homework done and supper hours away, I scuffed along on sodden paths bestrewn with yellowed leaves in woods where I’d once played. Perhaps...

‘Saint Agnes’ by Bruce Wren

The Society
January 21, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
  This evening of your festive day I pray _Oh Agnes, little model of the pure, _Oh girl with smiling eyes, and faith so sure: They won for you the martyr's palm this day. For neither threat nor...

‘Moscow Zoo’ and Other Poetry by A.M. Juster

The Society
January 20, 2019
Poetry, Shakespeare
13 Comments
Moscow Zoo We saw the mass grave at the Moscow Zoo. A sullen man dug up a human skull Then held it high for journalists to view. Forensic specialists arrived to cull Remains and clues from this...

‘Sonnet II: Liu Xitong’ and Other Poetry by Evan Mantyk

The Society
January 19, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. Sonnet II: Liu Xitong Liu Xitong (pronounced Leo She-tong) recently spoke on Capitol Hill about the persecution he faced in communist China for his practice of Falun Gong. Read about the event and his story...

‘A Love Sonnet’ by Jan Darling

The Society
January 18, 2019
Beauty, Poetry
13 Comments
after the style of Petrarch The aching of your leave clings sadly, still And pangs of emptiness I lone endure But slowly I ascend towards love pure; The path of life lies stretched – a long steep...

‘In Memory of Romeo and Juliet’ by Victor Tyne

The Society
January 17, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Education, High School Submissions, Poetry
7 Comments
  These twain ephem’ral lives were fraught with woes When they, a boy and girl in morn of life, Defied their due inheritance as foes And chased a star-crossed love as man and wife. Belovéd by...

‘Listening to the Lark’ by Daniel Magdalen (with Video)

The Society
January 16, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Video
24 Comments
On Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, a romance for violin and orchestra inspired by George Meredith’s poem of the same title (see both below). Past years of smoke and pain, a tune in ether...

‘The Pointless Voice of James Joyce’: A Sonnet by James A. Tweedie

The Society
January 14, 2019
Culture, Humor, Poetry
20 Comments
Author's Note: This Sonnet, formatted as both prose and poetry, is written as a parody of James Joyce; specifically, his final two novels, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. For the record, I number myself among the...

‘A Poet’s Prayer’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
January 13, 2019
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
A Poet's Prayer My words are lying, cold and still; reproaching me, their silence shrill. With emptiness, my heart they fill. Inspire me, Lord, if You will. Should You decide I'm past my prime I'm...

‘Tbilisi თბილისი’ by Ralph C. La Rosa

The Society
January 12, 2019
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Poetry
7 Comments
(1976-1978) In Soviet Georgia, I feel linguistic shock. At first assuming residents speak Russian, I say Nyet, not Ara, igniting discussion of Moscow’s nagging, Russifying clock alarms, as predictable...
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  1. Cheryl A Corey on ‘Today Like Yesterday’: A Poem by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Translated by Paul BurgessMay 18, 2025

    Paul, your nicely done translation inspires me to return my attention to the many partially completed Spanish translations of my…

  2. Frank Rable on ‘Today Like Yesterday’: A Poem by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Translated by Paul BurgessMay 18, 2025

    Still, in English, I found it worthwhile to reread it a number of times. It spoke directly to the emotional…

  3. Mike Bryant on ‘Jargon’: A Poem by Warren BonhamMay 18, 2025

    Warren, your poem is sharp and skillfully written, with a strong critique of how slogans can manipulate and oversimplify. I…

  4. Paul Burgess on ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ and Other Poetry by Brian YapkoMay 18, 2025

    if presented*

  5. Paul Burgess on ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ and Other Poetry by Brian YapkoMay 18, 2025

    I love to read this kind of ambitious work in formal verse. You have done a great job of combining…

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