Society of Classical Poets logo
  • About Us
  • Join
  • Donate
  • Poetry
    Random
    • 'Out in the Open': A Poem by Steven Frattali

      The Society
      January 14, 2025
      Beauty, Poetry
      5 Comments
    Recent
    • A Poem for the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial, by Warren Bonham

      The Society
      July 21, 2025
      1
    • ‘The Inclusivity Policy of a British School’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

      The Society
      July 20, 2025
      4
    • ‘Don’t Call Me Shirley’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

      The Society
      July 20, 2025
      10
    • ‘On the Epstein Files Debacle’: A Poem by Drilon Bajrami

      The Society
      July 19, 2025
      5
    • ‘One Dumb Mistake’: A Sestina by M.D. Skeen

      The Society
      July 19, 2025
      7
    • ‘Not All Angels Play the Harp’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

      The Society
      July 18, 2025
      8
  • Submit
  • Contests
    Random
    • Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Contest Winners Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2019
      Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      2 Comments
    Recent
    • The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

      The Society
      June 21, 2025
      204
    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2025
      1
    • 2025 Friends of Falun Gong Poetry Competition

      The Society
      March 31, 2025
    • The Best Poems of 2024: Winners of SCP International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      February 1, 2025
      28
    • Winners of 2024 SCP International High School Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      February 1, 2025
      2
    • The Best Haiku of 2024: Winners of the 2024 SCP Haiku Competition

      The Society
      September 29, 2024
      14
  • Journal
  • Books
  • Members
  • Poetry Contests
  • Donate
  • About Us
  • Submit
  • Poetry
  • A Poem for the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial, by Warren Bonham

    The Society
    July 21, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    1 Comment
  • ‘The Inclusivity Policy of a British School’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

    The Society
    July 20, 2025
    Poetry, Satire
    4 Comments
  • ‘Don’t Call Me Shirley’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

    The Society
    July 20, 2025
    Humor, Poetry
    10 Comments
  • ‘On the Epstein Files Debacle’: A Poem by Drilon Bajrami

    The Society
    July 19, 2025
    Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
    5 Comments
  • ‘One Dumb Mistake’: A Sestina by M.D. Skeen

    The Society
    July 19, 2025
    Poetry, Satire, Sestina
    7 Comments
  • ‘Not All Angels Play the Harp’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

    The Society
    July 18, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    8 Comments
  • ‘Living Dead’: A Poem by James A. Tweedie

    The Society
    July 18, 2025
    Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
    18 Comments
  • ‘Martha’: A Poem by Scharlie Meeuws

    The Society
    July 17, 2025
    Beauty, Culture, Poetry
    7 Comments
  • ‘The Harvest’: A Poem by Peter Venable

    The Society
    July 16, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    5 Comments
  • ‘Unspoken Moments’: A Poem by Michael Pendragon

    The Society
    July 16, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    8 Comments
  • ‘The Hokey-Cokey—Chaucer Style’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

    The Society
    July 15, 2025
    Chaucer, Culture, Poetry
    14 Comments
  • ‘Poetic Influences’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton

    The Society
    July 15, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    8 Comments
article placeholder

‘Forever Burn’ by Clayton L. Sanders

The Society
March 23, 2013
Poetry
If I were dying, would you ask me to stay Until the Divine came to take me away From the Earthly protection of your arms, Ascending as energy,...
article placeholder

Spiritual and Emotional Paintings in Oxford, UK

The Society
March 21, 2013
Art
By Damian Robin The intricately patterned Oxford Town Hall is the latest UK venue for the The Art of Zhen Shan Ren, a continuous international...

‘As Icarus Drowns: After Breugel’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
March 19, 2013
Art, Poetry
As Icarus drowns in the deep-green, wine-dark sea, before the white, round fisher happily ensconced and th' extr'ordinary sailing ship...
article placeholder

‘Unicorns on New Mown Lawns’ and Other Poetry by Keith Robson

The Society
March 17, 2013
Poetry
1 Comment
Unicorns on New Mown Lawns Quintessential qualities quite quickly quantified Each reason for the morning winds that oh so slowly died, Some...
article placeholder

‘Opinions and Advice’ by Alan Jankowski

The Society
March 15, 2013
Poetry
4 Comments
People always offer opinions and advice, As to what you should or shouldn’t do, Though they can barely manage themselves, They seem to know...
article placeholder

‘To The Society of Classical Poets’ by Steve Johns

The Society
March 13, 2013
Poetry
To the Society of Classical Poets, The website you have is great for starting poets. I don’t know what I would have done without your help. I...

Art: An Angel Reads Li Bai

The Society
March 11, 2013
Art
In this new work by Li Jinyu, of New York City, an angel reads poetry by Li Bai of the Tang...
article placeholder

‘Looking for Your Keys’ and Other Poetry by Christopher W. Boyden

The Society
March 9, 2013
Poetry
1 Comment
Looking for Your Keys     While trapped between your life and soul. You look for keys to fit the hole, You struggle through your daily...

A Reading of a Poem by Washington Allston (1779–1843)

The Society
March 7, 2013
Art, Beauty, Poetry
‘On The Group Of The Three Angels Before The Tent Of Abraham, By Raphael, In The Vatican’ O, now I feel as though another sense, From heaven...
article placeholder

‘Zombie Dawning’ and Other Poetry by James Ph. Kotsybar

The Society
March 5, 2013
Poetry
2 Comments
Zombie Dawning The zombies are coming; no one knows why – no time to ponder such things anyhow. Apocalypse gives us no time to cry. Survival...

2013 Poetry Journal Released

The Society
March 5, 2013
Featured, From the Society, Poetry
1 Comment
The Society of Classical Poets is pleased to announce the publication of its First Annual Poetry Journal, available on Createspace and Amazon....

Art Analysis: Gustave Jean Jacquet by Kara Lysandra Ross

The Society
March 3, 2013
Art
Gustave Jean Jacquet (1846–1909), is known among scholars as one of William Bouguereau’s top students. Although Jacquet’s subject matter was...

Commentary: Three Tributes to Formalist Poetry by Alan Nordstrom

The Society
March 1, 2013
Essays, Poetry
Verse Forms as Evokers of Poetry I wish to dispute the notion that a “poem” arrives in the formal poet’s mind as if it were a compressed...
article placeholder

‘A Season of Youth’ by Doug Thornton of France

The Society
February 27, 2013
Poetry
The simple fruit the body once begot To please the supplicating year’s poor sky, Who pleaded tearful, nor did have a plot For bare escapes the...

‘Composed Upon a Sunlit Chair’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
February 26, 2013
Art, Poetry
"Heavenly Hurt, it gives us—" —Emily Dickinson A sunlit chair by Michael John Hunt sits in light, inside a house with open door. It's at...
article placeholder

‘Alas Babylon’ by C.Q. Hone

The Society
February 25, 2013
Poetry
1 Comment
The losses of this lifetime in retrospect I see Reflect a downward spiral of a flawed society: can we now recapture a mere morality? Erase...
article placeholder

On China’s Air Pollution: An Urbanelle, Winter 2013

The Society
February 23, 2013
Poetry
"How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry/ Every blackning Church appalls…” —William Blake, London “The Beijing Cough may not be as bad as the...
article placeholder

‘Elegy for a Blush’ and Other Poetry by Reid McGrath

The Society
February 23, 2013
Poetry
Elegy for a Blush No more does she show her flower; No more does the maiden cower. Snow-white cheek has turned to tawny. All the lads are...
article placeholder

‘History’ and Other Poetry by Steve Johns

The Society
February 21, 2013
Poetry
History There’s a story in every piece of history. Each time I probe into a part of history, I see wars, plagues, triumphs, romances, and...
poem/smagacz/life

‘A Sketch of Stone Roberts’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
February 19, 2013
Art, Poetry
A line that travels down the middle of the scene divides the picture's plane in two: above, the vast and airy openess o' th' arching building,...

Poetry Competition Winners Announced

The Society
February 15, 2013
From the Society, Poetry
Dear Competition Participants, Thank you for your submissions! I am pleased to announce the winner and honorable mentions of the 2012 Society of...

Valentine’s Day Poem: Flowers for My Lady

The Society
February 14, 2013
Art, Poetry
1 Comment
How that florid scent Wafts through your two vents Making all your senses yield To wilderness in a field. How the petals soft Carry you...

Anand PKC: ‘A New Day Rising’

The Society
February 14, 2013
Art
1 Comment
Anand PKC’s “transcendental realism” is on view now through Feb. 27 at Walter Wickiser Gallery, Manhattan, NY.   Featured Image: A...
article placeholder

‘To Plait Celestial Chains’ and Other Poetry by Bob Aldridge

The Society
February 13, 2013
Poetry
To Plait Celestial Chains They also serve who only stand and wait. - John Milton, “On his Blindness” They also serve who only stand and...
article placeholder

‘Armor’ and Other Poetry by Sabrina Chen

The Society
February 11, 2013
Poetry
2 Comments
Armor Discard the anxious sheath which guards The balanced song inside Lest ballads deep in ebony Reverberate untied Forgo the throttling...
article placeholder

Poetry Analysis: On Two New Millennial Poems

The Society
February 8, 2013
Poetry
By Lew Icarus Bede             It is difficult, if not impossible, to know the state of poetry in any language during its "present...
article placeholder

‘Mount Solitude’ and Other Poetry by Ruth Hill

The Society
February 7, 2013
Poetry
Mount Solitude Snow shelves sit like sentinels Waiting for a tuft-eared lynx Stacked like dishes jutting jewels Balance weights on tiny...
article placeholder

‘Spring’s Rhyme’ and Other Poetry by Amy McCombs

The Society
February 6, 2013
Poetry
Spring’s Rhyme Colour floods so slowly, Each petal takes its time-- It blossoms near to holy As it enacts Spring’s Rhyme. The petals...

Photo Exhibit: Shiprock and Mont St. Michel

The Society
February 5, 2013
Art
PHOENIX—What does a rock formation in New Mexico have to do with an old abbey in France? It’s not the premise of a paperback novel, but a...
article placeholder

An Odysseus Sonnet Sequence by Jessica F. Smith

The Society
February 4, 2013
Homer, Poetry
My Love, Penelope My love, Penelope, I'm incomplete– You are not here, and I feel so alone; Love is a chore, without you there's no...

Poetry Analysis: ‘Death Be Not Proud’ by John Donne

The Society
January 31, 2013
Poetry
4 Comments
Death Be Not Proud Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think’st thou...
article placeholder

‘Instead of Sominex’ and Other Poetry by Meryl Stratford

The Society
January 30, 2013
Poetry
2 Comments
Instead of Sominex Write a sonnet tonight before you go to bed. Just fourteen lines before you fall asleep. Something to clear your...
article placeholder

‘Quids Pro Quo’ and Other Poetry by Lynn Veach Sadler

The Society
January 29, 2013
Poetry
1 Comment
Quids Pro Quo Does beauty matter?  You, of all, know why: it skirts the edge of my and your decay. It brings at once both smile and knowing...
article placeholder

‘On Cancer, Guns, and Hit ‘n Runs’ and Other Poetry by Javeed Chida

The Society
January 28, 2013
Poetry
On Cancer, Guns, and Hit 'n Runs The chemo sessions wore him down, He so despised the sterile smells, The chatter, beeps, and flimsy gown, And...

‘Sonnet—To a New Yorker, Evan Mantyk’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
January 26, 2013
Art, Poetry
  "every where the trace of men"                         —William Cullen Bryant In Thomas Cole's The Catskills and Lake...
article placeholder

‘Dogfight Sonnet’ and Other Poetry by Julia Gordon-Bramer

The Society
January 25, 2013
Poetry
Dogfight Sonnet Demon snarl curdles into a roar doubled with the counter-howl of defense. Darkened winter street was quiet before that tired...
article placeholder

‘All Such Poets Emit Great Delight’ and Other Poetry by Lacey Longpre’

The Society
January 24, 2013
Poetry
All Such Poets Emit Great Delight. All such poets emit great delight. In such darkness they radiate light. Though despite the demise, They...
article placeholder

‘Alabaster (The Statue)’ and Other Poetry by Jennifer Morgan

The Society
January 23, 2013
Poetry
Alabaster (The Statue) I see the fineness And sense divineness From smoothest feet to marble brow A curve of lip A tilt of hip As gentle as...
article placeholder

‘The Wu Wei-ter’ by Damian Robin of England

The Society
January 22, 2013
Poetry
A meeting round a social platter Seduced me in a human game. I sensed the moral tone go flatter But did not put this in the frame. We are here...
article placeholder

‘Apprenticeship’ and Other Poetry by Catherine Wald

The Society
January 21, 2013
Poetry
1 Comment
Apprenticeship The poem will prove a stern and daunting master to those who pussyfoot around the truth and, weaving daisy chains from each...
  1. 133
  2. 134
  3. 135
  4. 136
  5. 137
  6. 138
  7. 139
  1. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Not All Angels Play the Harp’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonJuly 21, 2025

    What a wonderful comment, M.D. I have written more than 150 songs, but I had not considered this one of…

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘The Inclusivity Policy of a British School’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis BryantJuly 21, 2025

    What a sad commentary on what has happened in Great Britain. Your zingers were perfect stingers! Now if that poem…

  3. Roy Eugene Peterson on A Poem for the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial, by Warren BonhamJuly 21, 2025

    Great subject and great poem that sums up what has happened to our county and our culture.

  4. Martin Briggs on ‘The Inclusivity Policy of a British School’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis BryantJuly 21, 2025

    Thank you for this, Susan: a worthwhile statement well made.

  5. Mike Rogers on The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku CompetitionJuly 21, 2025

    bare trees show clear moon my thought-moon growth gone shines white inside leaves still grow

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Daily Poems

Subscribe to receive updates in your email inbox

poetry/benson brown/reading

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Alliterative
  • Art
  • Beauty
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Chaucer
  • Children's
  • Classical Poets Live
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Culture
  • Dante
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Education
  • Ekphrastic
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
  • Featured
  • Found Poem
  • From the Society
  • Haiku and Senryu
  • High School Submissions
  • Homer
  • Human Rights in China
  • Humor
  • Interviews
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
  • Poetry Challenge
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
  • Popular Poetry Archives
  • Readings
  • Reviews
  • Rhupunt
  • Riddles
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Rubaiyat
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shakespeare
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • The Raven
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

Poetry Archive

  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • Poetry Resources
  • Poetry Readings
  • High School Poetry
  • Translation
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
  • From the Society
  • Poetry Archive
  • Education
  • Humor
  • Reviews
  • About Us
  • The Raven
  • Riddles
  • Journal
  • Members
  • Terms of Use
  • The Society of Classical Poets © 2024