Society of Classical Poets logo
  • About Us
  • Join
  • Donate
  • Poetry
    Random
    • 'Departure' and Other Poetry by James McKee

      The Society
      January 13, 2017
      Beauty, Culture, Poetry, The Environment
      4 Comments
    Recent
    • ‘Ghost Town’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

      The Society
      May 9, 2025
      1
    • ‘An Unfortunate Encounter’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

      The Society
      May 9, 2025
      4
    • ‘The Sky’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton

      The Society
      May 8, 2025
      6
    • ‘On Epic Madness’: A Poem by Bruce Dale Wise

      The Society
      May 8, 2025
      3
    • poem/winick/love

      ‘A Faithful Friend’s Advice’ and Other Poetry by Christian Muller

      The Society
      May 7, 2025
      4
    • ‘Riverside Breeze’: A Poem by Daniel Howard

      The Society
      May 7, 2025
      13
  • Submit
  • Contests
    Random
    • Complete the poem: 'The Tyranny of Fear and Lies...'

      The Society
      September 15, 2021
      Culture, Poetry, Poetry Contests
      47 Comments
    Recent
    • 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
    • The 2024 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry Competition

      The Society
      August 31, 2024
      16
    • The 2024 SCP International High School Poetry Competition

      The Society
      August 31, 2024
  • Journal
  • Essays
    Random
    • 'Communicating Universal Truths': An Interview with Betsy Hughes

      The Society
      June 16, 2016
      Essays, Interviews, Poetry
      5 Comments
    Recent
    • ‘Apologia’: An Essay in Verse, by T.M. Moore

      The Society
      April 6, 2025
      6
    • John Neihardt’s Epic ‘Cycle of the West’: A Video by Andrew Benson Brown

      The Society
      March 25, 2025
      19
    • Wanted: A Verse Curriculum and Pedagogy: An Essay by David J. Rothman

      The Society
      February 19, 2025
      7
    • The New York Times’ Attack on Shen Yun Is an Attack on Arts and Culture: SCP Editor

      The Society
      February 16, 2025
      14
    • ‘The Potentate and the Pontiff’: An Essay by Joseph S. Salemi

      The Society
      February 13, 2025
      18
    • Jupiter Hammon’s Christmas Poem: An Essay by Michael Curtis

      The Society
      December 23, 2024
      6
  • Education
  • Poetry Contests
  • Donate
  • About Us
  • Submit
  • Poetry
  • ‘Ghost Town’ and Other Poetry by Martin Rizley

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

    The Society
    May 9, 2025
    Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry
    4 Comments
  • ‘The Sky’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton

    The Society
    May 8, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    6 Comments
  • ‘On Epic Madness’: A Poem by Bruce Dale Wise

    The Society
    May 8, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    3 Comments
  • poem/winick/love

    ‘A Faithful Friend’s Advice’ and Other Poetry by Christian Muller

    The Society
    May 7, 2025
    Humor, Love Poems, Poetry
    4 Comments
  • ‘Riverside Breeze’: A Poem by Daniel Howard

    The Society
    May 7, 2025
    Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
    13 Comments
  • SCP Survey of Poets

    The Society
    May 6, 2025
    From the Society, Poetry
  • ‘Big Pharma Ads Are Everywhere’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson

    The Society
    May 6, 2025
    Poetry, Satire
    20 Comments
  • ‘Alive, Alive-o’: A Poem by Jeff Eardley

    The Society
    May 5, 2025
    Culture, Humor, Poetry
    8 Comments
  • ‘Territorializing’: A Poem by Mark Stellinga

    The Society
    May 4, 2025
    Children's, Humor, Poetry
    10 Comments
  • ‘Bear Spray’ and Other Poetry by Paul Burgess

    The Society
    May 4, 2025
    Children's, Culture, Poetry
    11 Comments
  • ‘The New Headmasters’: A Poem on British Boarding Schools, by Lucius Falkland

    The Society
    May 3, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    6 Comments

‘Winter Night’: A Poem by Martin Rizley

The Society
January 10, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
15 Comments
. Winter Night A full moon fills the sky with lustrous light And gives the vault of heaven in the night A golden sheen that gilds the cloudy...

‘My Inner Attorney’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
January 10, 2025
Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. My Inner Attorney "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father...

Two Idylls of Bion of Smyrna, Translated from Greek by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
January 9, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Translation
20 Comments
. Two Idylls by Bion of Smyrnatranslated by Joseph S. Salemi . Idyll V Great Cypris stood before me in a dreamy hazeHolding by her fair hand the hand...
poem/yapko/satire

‘None for All’ and Other Poetry by Peter Lillios

The Society
January 9, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
15 Comments
. . None for All Backbones wilt and waistlines grow; Brightness dims as diodes glow. It’s history’s course, a simple fact, Declared with...

‘Healing Hands’: A Poem for the National Health Service, by Drilon Bajrami

The Society
January 8, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Healing Hands ---in appreciation of the care provided (free of charge) by the NHS, the National Health Service of the UK, while I was...

‘Happy’: A Poem by Joseph Stuart

The Society
January 8, 2025
Beauty, Poetry
3 Comments
. Happy ---for B.K. A ground to play, a set to swing, A slide to slide, a bell to ring: She walks the way of there and then. “Hap-py,” she says;...

On ‘The Three Little Pigs’ and Other Poems by Anna J. Arredondo

The Society
January 7, 2025
Children's, Culture, Humor, Poetry
21 Comments
. Watch Out! Now, “The Three Little Pigs” is a tale More for cautioning than for amusing: Learn its lessons and you may prevail; Heed them not,...

‘A Hero in My Head’: A Villanelle by Phillip Whidden

The Society
January 7, 2025
Poetry, Satire, Villanelle
31 Comments
. A Hero in My Head Though never even in the war he loomed A hero there.  At least in my blond head, Our father braved it out where Jap planes...

‘The Adoration of the Peacock’: A Poem for Epiphany by Rachel A. Lott

The Society
January 6, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
13 Comments
. The Adoration of the Peacock ---on The Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi The world is a-gawk at a gaudy surprise, for...

A Poem and Video in Honor of Inauguration Day: ‘The Reincarnations of Donald J. Trump’

The Society
January 6, 2025
Classical Poets Live, Poetry, Readings, Video
27 Comments
. https://youtu.be/LRxp0nZS2hM . video by Andrew Benson Brownpoem by Evan Mantyk . The Reincarnations of Donald J. Trump . I. 218 B.C. Above the...

‘Bollical Dogs’ in Response to T.S. Eliot’s ‘Jellicle Cats’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
January 5, 2025
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
26 Comments
. Bollical Dogs I have a complaint! T.S. Eliot hogs All the fun with his stories of Jellicle Cats! So let me (inspired by zoo catalogs) Write of...

‘Caleb in Canaan’: A Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
January 5, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
21 Comments
. Caleb in Canaan  Green fields, walled towns, strong foes, but we are fit To overcome. Forward, I say. It’s ours. These forty days of foraging...

‘The Shepherd God’: A Poem by Jane Schulert

The Society
January 4, 2025
Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry
14 Comments
. The Shepherd God On Autumn eves when solipsistic stars__Peer down on bloody, towering oaksWhose gnarled, twisted branches create bars__Encaging man...

‘A Freshman Pep Talk’: A Poem by Julian Woodruff

The Society
January 4, 2025
Humor, Music, Poetry
10 Comments
. A Freshman Pep Talk ---upon reading “Composers to Listen to While Studying,”by Andrew Benson Brown, in The Epoch Times, Nov. 2, 2024 You’re...

‘Topics Over Time’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick

The Society
January 3, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
16 Comments
. Topics Over Time At 10 boys talk about the games in which they’ve played. At 14 they discuss the girls and “progress” made. At 16 there’s...

‘Kill or Cure?’ and Other Healthcare Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
January 3, 2025
Poetry, Satire
31 Comments
. Kill or Cure? “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patientwhile nature cures the disease.” ---Voltaire . Possible Side Effects: May...

‘Enduring Sight’ and Other Poetry by Mike Ruskovich

The Society
January 2, 2025
Culture, Poetry, Villanelle
3 Comments
. Enduring Sight Our blindest heroes walk among us, here, where legendary blindness gives us sight. King Oedipus still lives, and so does Lear in...

‘Americans in Florence’ and Other Poems by Mary Jane Myers

The Society
January 2, 2025
Blank Verse, Culture, Poetry, Satire
19 Comments
. Americans in Florence Ooo David! Whoa, you’re well-hung! But why a foreskin, underslung? Your left hand, do you hold a sling or dead Goliath's...

‘Oh, the Days’: A Poem on Motherhood, by Gigi Ryan

The Society
January 1, 2025
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
16 Comments
. Oh, the Days Oh, the days of poop and vomit! My best dress had drool upon it While I walked my teething child Up and down the hall for miles. Oh,...

Two Meditations in Verse by T.M. Moore

The Society
January 1, 2025
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
9 Comments
. Meditation 4 "Now our Lord bestowed great gifts through small means..." ---Homily on Our Lord (11) "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or...

‘My New New Year’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 31, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
44 Comments
. My New New Year I’m shunning bards of lilt and kilt tonight. My cup o’ kindness guzzled dry by kin Has urged the spurning of that worn-out...

‘December 31’: A New Year’s Poem and Other Poetry by Adam Sedia

The Society
December 31, 2024
Beauty, Poetry
14 Comments
. December 31 __Another year _Gasps out its dying breaths. __Oh, do not spare _Any further Death’s ___Swift hand _From seizing its demand! __Do...

‘A Creation Myth’: A Poem by Evan Mantyk

The Society
December 30, 2024
Culture, Epic, Poetry
17 Comments
. A Creation Myth The curtain opens. A million violinsCrescendo. Trumpets blare. A single drumBeat booms. In perfect time, the cosmos spins.The Hero...

‘Nordic Memories’: A Poem by Dan Tuton

The Society
December 30, 2024
Culture, Poetry
13 Comments
. Nordic Memories They rise with the dawn of fashion Their eyes for new booty are keen, To ride the tide of nostalgia For something that they’ve...

‘Lines Written in a Time of Illness’ and Other Poetry by A.J. Illingworth

The Society
December 29, 2024
Beauty, Poetry
4 Comments
. Lines Written in a Time of Illness My body is weak, and this reflects my soul,Who baser pleasures is obsessed to know;For the mind, of late,...

‘The Matters of Life’: A Poem by Margaret Brinton

The Society
December 29, 2024
Beauty, Poetry
12 Comments
. The Matters of Life With furrowed brow she knits away her troubles,Her wrinkled face so tight and drawn with age.The skeins of yarn unwind in rapid...

‘Help! I Can’t Stop Speaking in Iambic!’: A Poem by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
December 28, 2024
Humor, Poetry
33 Comments
. Help! I Can’t Stop Speaking in Iambic! Help! I can’t stop speaking in iambic Pentameter! No matter what I say, Somehow it keeps on coming out...

‘On Learning of a Lover’s Death’ and Other Poetry by Cheryl Corey

The Society
December 28, 2024
Beauty, Ekphrastic, Poetry
18 Comments
. On Learning of a Lover’s Death Your parting words were not exactly nice, But when I read the news that you had died, At least for old times’...

‘The Blank-Page Stage’ and Other Poetry by Warren Bonham

The Society
December 27, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. The Blank-Page Stage I once embraced the blank-page stage, when words would somehow always rhyme, but now my brain shows signs of age, and operates...

‘Catching Up’ and Other New Year’s Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
December 27, 2024
Culture, Poetry
18 Comments
. Catching Up An hour passes in a second. A month goes by in just an hour. The rosy future that once beckoned Has now become a withered...

‘Twas the Day After Christmas’ by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
December 26, 2024
Poetry, Satire
10 Comments
. 'Twas the Day After Christmas ‘Twas the day after Christmas. Mom went to the store To return all her presents and gift herself more. The...

‘Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming’: A Musical Arrangement by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 26, 2024
Music, Poetry
5 Comments
. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming Every year I either compose new music for Christmas or create a new arrangement of a familiar carol. This year I...

‘Ode to a Christmas Pudding’: A Poem by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
December 25, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Ode to a Christmas Pudding O fragrant orb of dark and luscious depths Made with magic conjured every year By souls who know the spell---those...

‘Stars Voluble’: A Christmas Poem by Margaret Coats

The Society
December 25, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
32 Comments
. Stars Voluble Profound and lightless silent night _Lay still with curtains closed. Into unspeaking dark the Word Descended from his regal...

‘Christmas in Florida’: A Poem by Brian Yapko

The Society
December 25, 2024
Culture, Humor, Poetry
22 Comments
. Christmas in Florida I watched him pass! St. Nick himself---Kris Kringle,Who hails from Buffalo, not the North Pole.He waved; I heard bells on his...

‘A Present Unclaimed’: A Christmas Poem by James A. Tweedie

The Society
December 25, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. A Present Unclaimed Under the tree is a present unclaimed Paper and ribbon and bows, good to go. Who is it for? “Who it’s from” isn’t...

A Yuletide Medley Performed for Christmas Day by Poet Jeff Eardley

The Society
December 24, 2024
Music, Poetry
10 Comments
. Professional musician and SCP poet Jeff Eardley performs a medley of Christmas songs on his guitar. Merry Christmas from the Society of Classical...

‘Make Room, He’ll Come In’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

The Society
December 24, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
4 Comments
. Make Room, He’ll Come In Have you spent much time wandering, feeling distressed,and upon your arrival, found no place to rest?You can’t...

‘Santa Claus Has Passed Away’: A Christmas Poem by Jeffrey Essmann

The Society
December 24, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Santa Claus Has Passed Away As is their custom every year, the Men’s Club promptly after class had half the hallway commandeered and cheerfully...

‘Love Broke Through Time’: A Poem by Gigi Ryan

The Society
December 24, 2024
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
7 Comments
. Love Broke Through Time On the first Christmas night Love broke through time With pain to Mary and her child whose bed Was straw with ox and ass in...
  1. 4
  2. 5
  3. 6
  4. 7
  5. 8
  6. 9
  7. 10
  1. Margaret Coats on Sonnets for Shakespeare’s Birthday, by Margaret CoatsMay 9, 2025

    Thanks, Laura, for finding these! Shakespeare's plays include a number of female characters who cross-dress to protect themselves, then find…

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Ghost Town’ and Other Poetry by Martin RizleyMay 9, 2025

    I have seen many ghost towns when I was living in Arizona. Your excellent detail captures the essence of them…

  3. Margaret Coats on ‘An Unfortunate Encounter’: A Poem by Paul A. FreemanMay 9, 2025

    Paul, you give a clear description of the rude incident, but the emotion of the whole lies in the perceptive…

  4. BDW on ‘On Epic Madness’: A Poem by Bruce Dale WiseMay 9, 2025

    “As Aeschylus said that his tragedies were τεμάχη of the great Homer’s banquet, so my poems draw on them.” —Acwiles…

  5. Mike Bryant on ‘The New Headmasters’: A Poem on British Boarding Schools, by Lucius FalklandMay 9, 2025

    This poem does deserve attention. It must hit too close to home for some. It certainly reminds me of the…

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

Resources

       Teacher and Homeschooler Guide

       How to Write with Meter

       Poems of the Year

       Best Love Poems of 2022

       Best Haiku of 2023

 

Poetry Challenges

Click here to select from a wide range of free, fun, and creative poetry challenges.

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

  • 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