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    • 'How to Build a Monster' and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

      The Society
      April 9, 2024
      Culture, Poetry, Satire
      34 Comments
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    • ‘To the Venezuelan Drug Runners Sleeping in the Sea’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      September 7, 2025
    • ‘Hope’: A Petrarchan Sonnet by Jeffrey Essmann

      The Society
      September 7, 2025
      7
    • ‘Black Holes’ and Other Poetry by Beth Houston

      The Society
      September 6, 2025
      2
    • ‘Last Minute Change’ and Other Short Poems by Frank Rable

      The Society
      September 5, 2025
      15
    • ‘Prefab Tabernacle’: A Poem by Shaun C. Duncan

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      September 4, 2025
      7
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      The Society
      September 4, 2025
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      The Society
      July 1, 2019
      Beauty, Culture, From the Society, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests, Shakespeare
      2 Comments
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    • The 2025 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      September 1, 2025
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      September 1, 2025
    • The Best Haiku of 2025: Winners of the 2025 SCP Haiku Competition

      The Society
      August 28, 2025
      13
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      The Society
      July 26, 2025
      3
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      June 21, 2025
      644
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      May 13, 2025
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  • ‘To the Venezuelan Drug Runners Sleeping in the Sea’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

    The Society
    September 7, 2025
    Poetry, Satire
  • ‘Hope’: A Petrarchan Sonnet by Jeffrey Essmann

    The Society
    September 7, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    7 Comments
  • ‘Black Holes’ and Other Poetry by Beth Houston

    The Society
    September 6, 2025
    Culture, Poetry, Science
    2 Comments
  • ‘Last Minute Change’ and Other Short Poems by Frank Rable

    The Society
    September 5, 2025
    Humor, Poetry
    15 Comments
  • ‘Prefab Tabernacle’: A Poem by Shaun C. Duncan

    The Society
    September 4, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    7 Comments
  • ‘Poetic Justice’: A Poem on Russia-gate by Warren Bonham

    The Society
    September 4, 2025
    Poetry, Satire
    9 Comments
  • ‘Ned’s Bad Day’: A Poem by Cheryl Corey

    The Society
    September 3, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    13 Comments
  • A Video Poetry Reading of ‘Libra’ by Patricia Rogers Crozier

    The Society
    September 3, 2025
    Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
    5 Comments
  • ‘Meddling’: A Poem by Mary Jane Myers

    The Society
    September 2, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    3 Comments
  • ‘Sunflower Field’: A Poem by Adam Sedia

    The Society
    September 2, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    8 Comments
  • Two Views of Sleep: Poetry by Martin Briggs

    The Society
    September 1, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    13 Comments
  • The 2025 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition

    The Society
    September 1, 2025
    From the Society, Poetry, Poetry Contests

‘Independence Day, 2025’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 4, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. Independence Day, 2025 It’s so much more than red and white and blue And stars that spangle banners flying high. It’s something strong and...

A Poem After Chesterton’s ‘A Ballad of Theatricals’, by M.D. Skeen

The Society
July 3, 2025
Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. IRL —after G.K. Chesterton’s "A Ballad of Theatricals" (reprinted below) Though all the emails I receive—surprisingly politely...

‘The Playland’: A Poem by Shamik Banerjee

The Society
July 3, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
16 Comments
. The Playland Once in a playland caked with fresh-born mud, I saw a league of book-freed children smile collectively like petals of a bud in varied...

SCP Symposium In-Person in September in Naperville, Illinois

The Society
July 2, 2025
From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium
1 Comment
. Request for Expression of Interest SCP Poet Russel Winick has graciously agreed to host an in-person SCP Symposium at his large residence in...

‘Summer Family Cookout’: A Poem by Doug Stoiber

The Society
July 2, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. Summer Family Cookout Criss-cross, hamburger toss, _Flip that sizzlin’ patty! Pretty please, and top with cheese! _You’re the Great Grill...

‘Bayesian Hubris v. Mercy Seat 11A’: A Poem by James Sale

The Society
July 1, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
19 Comments
. Bayesian Hubris v. Mercy Seat 11A “Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, who miraculously walked away from the Ahmedabad disaster, in which more than 240...

‘Gorge’: A Poem on Fishing by Stephen M. Dickey

The Society
July 1, 2025
Poetry, Satire
10 Comments
. Gorge Millennia before the Bass Pro tours, Sonar fish finders and electric reels, Some unsung pioneer dreamed baits and lures, Felt in his blood...
poem/yapko/culture

‘On the Existence of Two Genders’: A Poem by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 30, 2025
Culture, Poetry
33 Comments
. On the Existence of Two Genders Note: This poem is written in response to the trans-driven push to promulgate the idea that gender is either...

‘Therapy’: A Poem by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
June 30, 2025
Culture, Humor, Poetry
22 Comments
. Therapy ---After "Help! I Can’t Stop Speaking in Iambic!" by Cynthia Erlandson Help! I can’t stop writing psychobabble!No matter what I pen, it...

‘Every Square Inch’: A Poem by Frank Rable

The Society
June 29, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Every Square Inch Her every square inch, her breath, and her voice, In all this and more my soul can rejoice. The beat from her heart, the wink...

Two Poems on Cardinals, by T.M. Moore

The Society
June 29, 2025
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
12 Comments
. Cardinals The cardinal is my favorite bird.They mate for life, or so I’ve heard.You hear them sing antiphonally—it’s like a game they play,...

Report on Results of the SCP Survey of Poets

The Society
June 28, 2025
From the Society, Poetry
13 Comments
. Report on Results of the SCP Survey of Poets by Roy E. Peterson and Evan Mantyk The survey had 60 respondents, about 1/3rd of them were SCP...

SCP Poetry Competition Winners’ Symposium—You’re Invited! (Updated with Link)

The Society
June 28, 2025
From the Society, Poetry, Readings, Symposium
3 Comments
. The SCP Poetry Competition Winners’ Symposium Join the Symposium...

‘Rolling the Dice’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
June 28, 2025
Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Rolling the Dice “Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist.”...
poem/bonham/culture

‘A Whale Is a Whale’: A Poem After Ogden Nash, by Jonathan Bear

The Society
June 27, 2025
Culture, Poetry
3 Comments
. A Whale is a Whale ---after Ogden Nash While laughing aloud at Ogden's smart rhymes, I was struck by a way to interpret his lines. Though Nash's...

‘Hope’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
June 27, 2025
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Hope ---in homage to Langston Hughes Hold steadfastly to hopeFor if hope should subsideLife’s a slippery slopeWhere dreams only...

‘Dad and I’ and Other Poems by C.B. Anderson

The Society
June 26, 2025
Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. Dad and I Our sessions last an hour or two at most, for we get through them just as fast as can be managed, trying not to stir the ghost of hurts...

‘Rodrigo’s Lament’: A Poem by Damon Rose

The Society
June 26, 2025
Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Rodrigo’s Lament The legendary knight El Cid duels with his fiancé’s father. His rasping knavish voice profanes my good name. It grates my...

‘New York, New York’: A Poem on the NYC Mayor Race, by Brian Yapko

The Society
June 25, 2025
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. New York, New York “Give up Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island too…” (with apologies to Rodgers & Hart) How many songs about New York...

‘A Sonnet for My One True Love’ and Other Poetry by Aaron Nydegger

The Society
June 25, 2025
Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Sonnet for My One True Love Forever let the night go on and on, My body to your softness gently pressed, Nor let the touch of shameful, blushing...

‘Gruesome’: A Poem on the LA Riots of 2025, by Adam Wasem

The Society
June 24, 2025
Poetry, Satire
17 Comments
. Gruesome Grinning Gavin smooths his tie, Makes sure he’s framed against blue sky. He pats his hair—one’s out of place; He frowns to note...

A Poem on John Duns Scotus, by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
June 24, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
6 Comments
. Doctor Subtilis ---Blessed John Duns Scotus (1265--1308) A proud and canny Scot from Duns am I, an infant when Franciscans reached our coast. These...

‘Another Species’ and Other Poems by Sally Cook

The Society
June 23, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. Another Species Each time you felt some shame you could confess The sins you had committed, but instead You whispered a revision, something less In...

‘Six’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

The Society
June 23, 2025
Culture, Love Poems, Poetry
10 Comments
. Six Bitter were the crimson seeds, Beautiful they were to me, Sparkling like ruby beads, In his palm of ivory. Dark they were to look upon, Rivers...

‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ by Rilke and ‘Reconciliation’ by Goethe, Translated by Josh Olson

The Society
June 22, 2025
Ekphrastic, Music, Poetry, Translation
10 Comments
. Archaic Torso of Apollo by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) translated from German by Josh Olson We cannot know that enigmatic head in which his eyes...

‘The Prayer Blanket’: A Poem Based on the Real Experience of Tim Cassar

The Society
June 22, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Prayer Blanket ---as related to me by my friend Tim Cassar, who recently survived a brain cancer operation by Brian Yapko The paramedics came....

The Society of Classical Poets 2025 Haiku Competition

The Society
June 21, 2025
Haiku and Senryu, Poetry, Poetry Contests
644 Comments
. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). Among members of the Society of Classical Poets,...

‘Together’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
June 21, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
30 Comments
. Together The windows of our dawning day_Let light in through the dew,But outdoors ambling in cool air,_I knew that I’d find you. Close comfort,...

‘I Would Say Yes’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan

The Society
June 20, 2025
Humor, Love Poems, Pantoum, Poetry, Villanelle
15 Comments
. I Would Say Yes ---a villanelle for Larry on our 36th Anniversary We were young and rather stupid then, But still I see that we were meant to be. I...

‘The Comings and Goings of Heaven and Earth’: A Poem by David L. Williams

The Society
June 20, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
9 Comments
. The Comings and Goings of Heaven and Earth Clouds’ movement in the sky, the sight of birds, phenomena that draw an upward glance, may sometimes...
poetry/mantyk/don quixote

‘Tilted Tales’: Three Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 19, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Triolet, Villanelle
21 Comments
. Clueless ---a villanelle How can I tell what is and isn’t true In daffy days that stupefy the wise? I’m sifting through the chaos for a...
poem/anderson/beauty

‘Enigma’: A Poem by Steve Cooper

The Society
June 19, 2025
Love Poems, Poetry, Shape Poems
5 Comments
. . . Steve Cooper is a retired professional career counselor. He lives near Salem, Oregon. He has one traditionally published picture book on...

‘Periwinkle’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
June 18, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
11 Comments
. Periwinkle Don't know that I was on the spectrum, no, But I was weird. I read too much and played Pretend too much. My mind too often strayed To...

‘A Winter’s Tale’ by Jeff Eardley

The Society
June 18, 2025
Children's, Humor, Poetry
18 Comments
. A Winter's Tale There’re many strange and spooky tales, That come from England’s hills and dales. When Winter tightens up its grip, As feet and...

‘Get Along, Little DOGE-ie’ and Other Social Commentary Poetry by James A. Tweedie

The Society
June 17, 2025
Poetry, Satire
19 Comments
. Get Along, Little DOGE-ie Should come a day my fortunes be increased, It’s guaranteed such bounty will be fleeced. For government, like vacuum...

‘Salmon Skin’ and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

The Society
June 17, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. Salmon Skin _Laid temptingly Upon a china dish, _Poached perfectly, A long, pink flank of fish. _Its scents amaze. Fork poised to dig right in, _I...

‘What Is a Man?’: A Poem by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
June 16, 2025
Culture, Poetry
15 Comments
. What Is a Man? “Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child?” ---Jeremiah 30: 6 The prophet’s statement clearly is...

A Poem for Father’s Day: ‘The Weight of a Father’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
June 15, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
30 Comments
. The Weight of a Father . I. The Smell of Sawdust On bawling-brother, busy-mother days, The saint who slew the dragons in her dream Whisked her...

‘Shakespeare’ and Other Poetry by Lee Evans

The Society
June 15, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Shakespeare
13 Comments
. Shakespeare The Master strolled upon the beach, __And stooped to find Among the shells washed up in heaps, __Mere husks of Mind— Selecting them...

‘Florida Beach Vacation 2025’: A Poem by Evan Mantyk

The Society
June 14, 2025
Culture, Poetry
12 Comments
. Florida Beach Vacation 2025 They buried me in pale white sand. _They took away my phone. The mouse was wrested from my hand _And now I’m all...
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  1. Anne Butler on Take a Tour of Poet Gigi Ryan’s ‘Backyard’September 7, 2025

    Hi Gigi! I found one of your lovely poems on Jewelweed, and wanted to ask permission to use it in…

  2. Paul A. Freeman on ‘Hope’: A Petrarchan Sonnet by Jeffrey EssmannSeptember 7, 2025

    'I like that (Hope) should hum instead of sing'. I felt this line summed up the poem. As we age,…

  3. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Hope’: A Petrarchan Sonnet by Jeffrey EssmannSeptember 7, 2025

    A very carefully crafted sonnet -- in fact, a model for perfect sonnetry. Despair is a sin, and hope is…

  4. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Hope’: A Petrarchan Sonnet by Jeffrey EssmannSeptember 7, 2025

    This precious poem is about a personal about face that reflects a change from what was once despair brought on…

  5. Martin Briggs on Two Views of Sleep: Poetry by Martin BriggsSeptember 7, 2025

    Thank you, C.B. I'll take your word for it....

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