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    • 'Childhood Conjugation' and Other Poetry by David O'Neil

      The Society
      December 16, 2019
      Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
      5 Comments
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    • ‘The Spring Has Come’ and Other Poems by Adam Steinle

      The Society
      May 14, 2025
      2
    • ‘If You Ever Break Down’ and Other Poetry by James A. Tweedie

      The Society
      May 14, 2025
      4
    • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

      The Society
      May 13, 2025
      1
    • ‘Pressed for Time’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson

      The Society
      May 12, 2025
      8
    • poem/duncan/satire

      ‘Ogre Food’: A Poem by Steve Cooper

      The Society
      May 12, 2025
      14
    • National Limerick Day: Post Your Limerick Here

      The Society
      May 12, 2025
      63
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    • The Society of Classical Poets 2019 Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2018
      Education, From the Society, High School Submissions, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      3 Comments
    Recent
    • 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

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      September 29, 2024
      14
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      August 31, 2024
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  • ‘The Spring Has Come’ and Other Poems by Adam Steinle

    The Society
    May 14, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry, Rondeau
    2 Comments
  • ‘If You Ever Break Down’ and Other Poetry by James A. Tweedie

    The Society
    May 14, 2025
    Poetry, Satire
    4 Comments
  • Winners of Friends of Falun Gong 2025 Poetry Competition Announced

    The Society
    May 13, 2025
    Human Rights in China, Poetry, Poetry Contests
    1 Comment
  • ‘Pressed for Time’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson

    The Society
    May 12, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    8 Comments
  • poem/duncan/satire

    ‘Ogre Food’: A Poem by Steve Cooper

    The Society
    May 12, 2025
    Humor, Poetry
    14 Comments
  • National Limerick Day: Post Your Limerick Here

    The Society
    May 12, 2025
    Limerick, Poetry
    63 Comments
  • ‘Written in a Cubicle’ and Other Poems by Shamik Banerjee

    The Society
    May 11, 2025
    Culture, Humor, Poetry
    10 Comments
  • ‘Back in the U.S.S.R.’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

    The Society
    May 11, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    18 Comments
  • An Ekphrastic Poem on Pearce’s ‘Saint Genevieve’ by Jeffrey Essmann

    The Society
    May 10, 2025
    Ekphrastic, Poetry
    9 Comments
  • ‘Supernova’: A Poem on Ben Shimoni and Other Poetry by Margaret Coats

    The Society
    May 10, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    18 Comments
  • ‘Ghost Town’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

    The Society
    May 9, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    10 Comments
  • ‘An Unfortunate Encounter’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

    The Society
    May 9, 2025
    Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
    12 Comments

Three Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
November 15, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
. Poetry A poem, subscribing to a plan, Flies higher than the highest planes, Seems safer than a rose-red tan, Or traffic in the fastest lanes, Where...
poem/bryant/culture

‘It Seems Like Only Yesterday’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
November 14, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
14 Comments
. It Seems Like Only Yesterday Votes and virtue did not yield Control of our own border, And context did not supersede A breach of law and...

‘Sounds Like Paradise’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
November 14, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Sounds Like Paradise Kids are in the backyard playing; __The dog is playing too. I think that sounds like Paradise--- __Doesn’t it to you? Wife...

‘Beware the Lion’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

The Society
November 13, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. Beware the Lion "Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" ---1 Peter 5:8 Beware the lion! Stealthily...

A Poem for Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 12, 2023
Culture, Poetry
96 Comments
. Superior Pontiff for Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, deposed November 11, 2023 Our Father in heaven gives the Bread On which the need of...

‘The Navy’ and Other Love Poems by Paul Fort, Translated by Joshua C. Frank

The Society
November 12, 2023
Love Poems, Music, Poetry, Translation
10 Comments
. The Navy by Paul Fort (1872-1960) translated by Joshua C. Frank We find them all again in brief In little loves that last one day, Every joy and...

Two Poems for the Indian Holiday Diwali, by Rohini Sunderam

The Society
November 12, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
12 Comments
. Glow Brave little candle, shining bright! You send out rays of hope all night. Within your heart you hold a flame, A yellow flame, with loving...

‘London, 11-11-2023’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
November 11, 2023
Culture, Poetry
45 Comments
. London, 11-11-2023 As wreaths of poppies roar in rebel red Commemorating all our noiseless dead, The streets of London buzz with blatant...

‘The Soldier’: A Veterans Day Poem by Richard Lackman

The Society
November 11, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The Soldier He started as a little boy from any small hometown. He loved to throw and hit a ball but never gained renown. His parents taught him...

Real War Stories, Retold in Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 11, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. War Paths in honor of veterans I have known through the retelling of their stories. . “Any Man’s Death Diminishes Me” Preface “Be killed...

‘Returning Soldiers’: An Armistice Day Poem by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
November 10, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Returning Soldiers With hedgerows, fields and trees the soldiers of a forward trench have rested with unease, reduced beyond a carcase...

‘Carving Fingers’: A Poem by Daniel Kemper

The Society
November 10, 2023
Art, Beauty, Poetry
27 Comments
. Carving Fingers "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." ---St. Paul Percy exhales with a scowl and he spits. In his hickory fingers,...

‘Until You Try’: A Poem by Michael Charles Maibach

The Society
November 9, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
10 Comments
. Until You Try "You’ll never know Until you try…" Make this mindset Your battle cry! Your first few steps, A paper route. Try out for...

‘Free Press’: A Poem on the Media, by Warren Bonham

The Society
November 9, 2023
Poetry, Satire
13 Comments
. Free Press Our founding fathers fought the fight __to conquer tyranny. Once won, the Congress met to write __new laws to keep us free. They knew...

‘Israel: A Leftist’s Guide’ by David Whippman

The Society
November 9, 2023
Poetry, Satire
21 Comments
. Israel: A Leftist's Guide Hamas atrocities? Don't say a word,To point them out would be an act of treason.A level playing field? Don't be...

‘The Moon Hung Low…’: A Poem by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
November 8, 2023
Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. . “The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow skull.” ---Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray . The moon hung low in the sky like a yellow...

‘Alfie’s Answer’: A Poem by Peter Duff

The Society
November 8, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Alfie’s Answer “What’s it all about, Alfie?” ---Hal David Not selfish pleasure, as I thought, but love For isolated pleasures quickly...

‘The Stream of Love’: A Sonnet by Daniel Howard

The Society
November 7, 2023
Love Poems, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Stream of Love Like swollen streams in Spring, young love will roarThrough every obstacle that checks its flow,Though not so fast that winter...

‘Treasure in Heaven’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
November 7, 2023
Poetry, Satire
13 Comments
. Treasure in Heaven "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But...

‘Ecstasy and Me’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
November 6, 2023
Beauty, Poetry
10 Comments
. Ecstasy and Me I’ve not, I fear, the spiritual thrust To quite propel myself to mystic heights; To taste the inconceivable delights That saints...

‘The Miasma Enshrouding Disneyland’ and Other Disney Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 6, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry
35 Comments
. The Miasma Enshrouding Disneyland I came here as a fairytale-struck child; The tickets cost less than a week of pay And we would spend a carefree,...

‘Ode to Old Tom’: A Poem on the British Ale, by Jeff Eardley

The Society
November 5, 2023
Humor, Poetry
33 Comments
. Ode to Old Tom Old Tom he stalks the English Dales, The Patron Saint of potent ales. He makes you wobble when you walk, He makes you gobble when...

Traitors on Ice: Canto XXXII of Inferno, Translated by Stephen Binns

The Society
November 5, 2023
Dante, Poetry, Translation
5 Comments
. . Traitors on Ice: Canto XXXII of Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) translated by Stephen Binns . If I could summon up such raucous rasp __in...

‘Beyond the Shadows’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
November 4, 2023
Alexandroid, Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. Beyond the Shadows  The light from above may be blinding And cause us to shelter our eyes, But promises God makes are binding, For laggards as...

A Poem Inspired by Music from Aandhi, 1975: ‘Paths’ by Paddy Raghunathan

The Society
November 4, 2023
Love Poems, Music, Poetry, Villanelle
12 Comments
. Paths —Inspired by “Is Mod Se Jaate Hain” (see below) by Gulzar from the film: Aandhi, 1975 Sheer multitudes of paths diverge from...

On Paintings by Hunt and Millais: Two Ekphrastic Poems by James A. Tweedie

The Society
November 3, 2023
Art, Ekphrastic, Poetry, Shakespeare
17 Comments
. Two Ekphrastic Poems . The Light of the World, Holman Hunt As predawn darkness shrouds the land, With warm-lit lantern in his hand The risen...

‘Icarus Sings’ and Other Poetry by Paris Michael

The Society
November 3, 2023
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
6 Comments
. Icarus Sings I’ve tempted fate, And sought the sun, I’m Icarus, I’ve come undone. My wings have failed, For what it’s worth, My long...

‘Jack and Jill’ Style Nursery Rhymes Challenge

The Society
November 2, 2023
Children's, Humor, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
55 Comments
. Poet Paul A. Freeman challenges you to write a nursery rhyme in the style of the Mother Goose classic "Jack and Jill." Below is his model example....

‘Child’s Laughter’: A Poem by Jane Schulert

The Society
November 2, 2023
Beauty, High School Submissions, Poetry
13 Comments
. Child's Laughter It bubbles forth from deep inside his soul; Joy twinkles brightly through his youthful eyes, For any pain he knows, his laugh...

Two Poems for Dia de los Muertos, by Brian Yapko

The Society
November 1, 2023
Poetry
31 Comments
. To Dance with Death I caught the fierce gaze of the trickster, Death. He charred bleak Aztec ruins with his breath And shadowed me through pueblo,...
poem/coats/beauty

‘All Saints Day’ and Other Spiritual Sonnets by Coignard, Translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
November 1, 2023
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation
19 Comments
. All Saints' Day by Gabrielle de Coignard (c.1550–1586), translated by Margaret Coats O Saints, you have your heritage in hand Because you battled...
poem/hayes/culture

‘The Legend of Ole Stingy Jack’: A Poem by Kevin Matthew Hayes

The Society
October 31, 2023
Culture, Poetry
1 Comment
. The Legend of Ole Stingy Jack Do you recall Ole Stingy Jack?Whose tricks cost him a great set back?They say he tricked the Devil twice,But when...
poem/bryant/culture

‘Word Witch’ and Other Halloween Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
October 31, 2023
Culture, Humor, Poetry, Villanelle
19 Comments
. Word Witch She’ll tease and tempt with mystic words, __This foxy sorceress. Her syntax soars like sun-bound birds--- __This wizard...

‘The Great Sonnet’: A Poem by Prison Inmate Bob H. Cook

The Society
October 30, 2023
Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Great Sonnet I set myself to write a sonnet. I labored hard and long upon it. Sweet verse some maid might shed a tear at, More ere's than one...
poem/yapko/humor

‘Mrs. Cyclops’ and Other Odyssey Inspired Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
October 30, 2023
Homer, Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
34 Comments
. Mrs. Cyclops Ain’t really gonna leave. I’ll just pretend, Brontesa. Cy and I are bound. I simply Can’t bear to turn a blind eye to my...

‘The Democratic Party Dressed for Halloween’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
October 29, 2023
Poetry, Satire
34 Comments
. The Democratic Party Dressed for Halloween The Democratic Costume Party is held on Halloween With Hillary as Jezebel, the dangerous sleazy...

‘Plato’s Pumpkins’ and Other Halloween Poetry by Leland James

The Society
October 29, 2023
Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. . Plato’s Pumpkins  A patchwork quilt of pumpkins sown with gourds, odd fellows green and yellow ‘twixt-and-‘tween October’s orbs of...

Extract from DoorWay Canto 3: Constellation of the Virgin, by James Sale

The Society
October 28, 2023
Beauty, Epic, Poetry
24 Comments
. Extract from DoorWay Canto 3: Constellation of the Virgin DoorWay is the Poet’s journey through Heaven. Having left the constellation of Libra in...
poem/arredondo/death

‘Apocalypse Women’: A Poem by Monika Cooper

The Society
October 28, 2023
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Apocalypse Women The Christians gather at the baby’s grave. There are no tall stones in the children’s field. Red scarves veil women’s heads...

‘Autumn’ by Rilke and ‘The Art of Poetry’ by Verlaine, Translated by Bruce Phenix

The Society
October 27, 2023
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
23 Comments
. Autumn by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), translated by Bruce Phenix The falling leaves seem fallen from afar, as though in heaven distant gardens...
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  1. James A. Tweedie on ‘If You Ever Break Down’ and Other Poetry by James A. TweedieMay 14, 2025

    Julian, Nice story. Where I live, our 27-mile long Pacific Ocean beach is part of the Washington State highway system.…

  2. James A. Tweedie on ‘If You Ever Break Down’ and Other Poetry by James A. TweedieMay 14, 2025

    Roy, You are very welcome.

  3. Brian Yapko on ‘Ogre Food’: A Poem by Steve CooperMay 14, 2025

    I enjoyed this poem, Steve. There is much craft here to admire and much about it that is quite funny…

  4. Joseph S. Salemi on National Limerick Day: Post Your Limerick HereMay 14, 2025

    That particular limerick is well known in High Anglican and Catholic circles. I have heard it in a slightly different…

  5. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Ogre Food’: A Poem by Steve CooperMay 14, 2025

    Margaret, the assertion that the diction of this child "is exactly right" is simply a convoluted attempt to save the…

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