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    • 'The King' and Other Poetry by Michael Witcoff

      The Society
      July 11, 2020
      Culture, Poetry
      8 Comments
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    • ‘When Prices Surge’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

      The Society
      August 23, 2025
      4
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      August 23, 2025
      1
    • Inspiring Muse Poetry Challenge

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      August 22, 2025
      37
    • ‘Gull’: A Poem by Jim Hurford

      The Society
      August 21, 2025
      4
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      August 21, 2025
      11
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      The Society
      August 20, 2025
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      The Society
      April 16, 2021
      Culture, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
      78 Comments
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      July 26, 2025
      3
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      March 31, 2025
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      28
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  • ‘When Prices Surge’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman

    The Society
    August 23, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    4 Comments
  • ‘The Capital’: A Poem on Washington, DC by Bruce Dale Wise

    The Society
    August 23, 2025
    Poetry, Satire
    1 Comment
  • Inspiring Muse Poetry Challenge

    The Society
    August 22, 2025
    Love Poems, Poetry, Poetry Challenge
    37 Comments
  • ‘Gull’: A Poem by Jim Hurford

    The Society
    August 21, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    4 Comments
  • ‘Shackled’ and Other Poetry by Gigi Ryan

    The Society
    August 21, 2025
    Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Satire, Villanelle
    11 Comments
  • ‘Farewell Colbert’: A Poem by Warren Bonham

    The Society
    August 20, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    11 Comments
  • ‘There Was a Time I Tried to Love the Sun’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier

    The Society
    August 19, 2025
    Love Poems, Poetry
    9 Comments
  • A Video Poetry Reading of ‘The Settlers’ by Martin Rizley

    The Society
    August 19, 2025
    Poetry, Readings, Symposium, Video
    4 Comments
  • ‘Umbra’ and Other Cloud Poetry by Adam Sedia

    The Society
    August 18, 2025
    Beauty, Poetry
    16 Comments
  • ‘News of a Coup’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

    The Society
    August 17, 2025
    Culture, Poetry, Satire
    30 Comments
  • ‘To the Ancient Mariner’ and Other Poems by Brian Yapko

    The Society
    August 17, 2025
    Culture, Poetry
    24 Comments
  • ‘Pointless Poems’ by James A. Tweedie

    The Society
    August 16, 2025
    Humor, Poetry
    14 Comments

Poetry by Groth and Heine, translated by Julian Woodruff

The Society
July 27, 2021
Beauty, Poetry, Translation
18 Comments
. Rain Song by Klaus Groth (1819-1899) Pour, O rain, pour down to earth, Give my childhood dreams rebirth, When in reverie I roamed Shores where...

‘Salvator Mundi’ by Sandi Christie

The Society
July 26, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Ekphrastic, Poetry
14 Comments
. Da Vinci’s lauded “Savior of the World”— Commissioned by the King- Louis of France, * Entombed for years by paint but now unfurled While...

Winners of the First-Liners Poetry Contest

The Society
July 25, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Contests
30 Comments
. ⬙ Judged by Cynthia Erlandson See all entrants here. ⬙ . FIRST PLACE WINNER ($100) . A Slight Deviation from the Canterbury Tales after...

‘While Waiting Through the Night’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

The Society
July 25, 2021
Beauty, Love Poems, Poetry
33 Comments
. While Waiting Through the Night This morning, searching on the laptop, I Found notes I made upon the night she died. All through the darkest hours...

‘Lucky’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

The Society
July 24, 2021
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
15 Comments
. Lucky It stormed around our house last night, The lightning turned the black sky bright. Tornadoes came to join the fray, The morning news led me...

An Appeal to Activist Athletes at the Olympic Games, by Jeff Kemper

The Society
July 23, 2021
Culture, Poetry
19 Comments
. A Little Respect an appeal to activist athletes at the Olympic games You have the right to speak of truth or trash __In houses, restaurants, and...

Two Poems on Drinking and Other Poetry by Talbot Hook

The Society
July 23, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry
14 Comments
. O Happy Glass Another soul inside a glass deep red— I think on Provenance, effect and cause: Do you begin in wind? In sun, or rain? Inside a seed...

A Transgender Fable and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 22, 2021
Culture, Poetry, Rondeau
10 Comments
. The Lion Who Thought She Was a Zebra a fable East Africa is where this lion’s tale Takes place---a land of rugged plains of grass, Acacia trees...

‘Turbines’: A Non-Environmental Poem by Jeff Eardley

The Society
July 22, 2021
Culture, Poetry, The Environment
28 Comments
. They lie in serried ranks above the strand. These mighty, whirling monsters made of steel. Where once, a couple wandered, hand in hand, Not...

‘They’re Here!’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 21, 2021
Culture, Poetry
26 Comments
. . They're Here They are the Saintly Source of Good;  __The Keepers of The Truth.  They’re seeking you. You knew they would. Stand up. Speak...

‘Kilkenny Castle’ and Other Poetry by Lucia Haase

The Society
July 21, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. Kilkenny Castle A moat runs dry revealing secrets buried those conquerors and conquered knights had known. The past, a relic—bits and pieces...

‘Making All Things Orderly’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

The Society
July 20, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
25 Comments
. Making All Things Orderly Stare at grey clapboards in unbroken rows That seem to follow the unceasing sound Of thrumming traffic, with no vibrant...

‘CCP Members in World Organizations’ by Damian Robin

The Society
July 20, 2021
Culture, Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry
5 Comments
. in reference to an Epoch Times' exposé We’re in the loop, we’re up the sleeve, we’re near the Party’s armpit. As high rank cadres we...

Two Mythological Poems by Joseph S. Salemi

The Society
July 19, 2021
Beauty, Blank Verse, Culture, Humor, Poetry
13 Comments
. Heliotrope Phaeton, son of the god Helios, attempted to drive his father’s celestial chariot. His inexperience caused him to burn up part of the...

‘With How Sad Steps’ and Other Petrarchan Sonnets by Peter Austin

The Society
July 19, 2021
Beauty, Humor, Poetry
9 Comments
. With How Sad Steps from a Philip Sidney sonnet With how sad steps, O Moon, you climb the skies! How silently, and with how wan a face! What see...

‘Nest Egg’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson

The Society
July 18, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
23 Comments
. Nest Egg The things for which I hoped have come and gone: The power to express a cogent thought; Ability to wake at break of dawn; Approval from a...

‘Saddle Tramp’ by Leland James

The Society
July 18, 2021
Beauty, Ekphrastic, Poetry
5 Comments
. —like his saddle, hat, and spurs No silver on this cowboy’s working saddle; borne bedrolls, stray calves, and dry canteens, carried beside lame...

Whitman’s Curse: Contemporary Poetry as Solipsism

The Society
July 17, 2021
Essays, Poetry
28 Comments
by Adam Sedia Contemporary poetry is plagued by several characteristic vices: obscurity, banality, nihilism---each a topic for examination in its...

‘At the Heart of Division’ by Paul A. Freeman

The Society
July 17, 2021
Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. Each view deemed inconvenient is a fake, no matter if deep down you know it’s true. When one lot says a colour’s red, I’ll make a bet with...

‘A Girl in Her Own Words’ by Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406), translated by Margaret Coats

The Society
July 16, 2021
Beauty, Humor, Poetry, Translation
23 Comments
. Am I, am I beautiful? Surely my face qualifies: Forehead pearly bright to rise Over sweetest lips cerise. Tell me if I’m beautiful! Cupid’s...

‘The Western Star’ by Jack DesBois

The Society
July 15, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Readings
12 Comments
. https://youtu.be/9VRUjxFxQ2A?list=PLfUp4UiBMcEZC4Hgnr33FpijP5W5mRNo6&t=102 “A star!” the wise man shouted, “Look, a star!” forgetting...
poem/winick/aging

‘O Say Can It Be?’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore

The Society
July 14, 2021
Beauty, Deconstructing Communism, Haiku and Senryu, Poetry
7 Comments
. O Say Can It Be? "How long you been suckin’ up oxygen, friend? For seventy years? Well now that’s gonna end! And moochin’ off Social Security...

‘Brimstone’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 14, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry, Rondeau Redoublé
35 Comments
. Brimstone I sniff a whiff of brimstone in the tone Of smooth effusions oozing from his tongue. A lick of sulfur clings...

Three Poems on Oölogists, by Peter Hartley

The Society
July 13, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
33 Comments
. A Black-Listed Species The avian community is glad He’s dying out, the mad oölogist. With every species on the British list He always wanted...

‘Birds in Flight’: A Pair of Poems by David Whippman and Evan Mantyk

The Society
July 12, 2021
Beauty, Poetry
34 Comments
. Birds in Flight by David Whippman “Free as a bird,” that's what we always say, "It's time to spread my wings and fly away, I have to find...

Turn a Famous Poem into a Limerick: Poetry Challenge

The Society
July 11, 2021
Humor, Limerick, Poetry, Poetry Challenge, Poetry Contests
153 Comments
. Choose a famous poem and write it in limerick form, putting the title of the original poem at the top. Please fit your chosen poem into one...

‘Riots Everywhere’ by Jeff Kemper, After Hank Snow’s ‘I’ve Been Everywhere’

The Society
July 11, 2021
Culture, Music, Poetry
28 Comments
. The below poem is a memoir of the summer of 2020, to be sung to the tune of “I’ve Been Everywhere,” with apologies to Geoff Mack and Hank...

‘Dirge for a Dying Diva’ and Other Sonnets by Lionel Willis

The Society
July 10, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Music, Poetry
12 Comments
. Dirge for a Dying Diva Who’s alive now who ever heard the voice That once adorned La Scala and The Met, A native of this land where we...

‘Sequoia Forests, Plexiglass, and Masks’ by Cynthia Erlandson

The Society
July 9, 2021
Beauty, Covid-19, Culture, Poetry
17 Comments
. This poem is inspired by a column in The Epoch Times written by John Falce, entitled “The Experience of Freedom” The rugged beauty of our...

‘The Best and Worst of Times’ by Cheryl Corey’

The Society
July 9, 2021
Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. The Best and Worst of Times “It was the best of times, it was …” but how Can anyone forget those words once pearled By Dickens so very long...

A Poem on the Miss Nevada Contest Winner: ‘Disengendered’ by Michael Curtis

The Society
July 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
5 Comments
. She is not a she in the Silver State. Never shall be. In the bones of her heart He will ever be he, unwombed by fate, Crafted by lies, makeup, the...

‘From the Bay of Naples’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko

The Society
July 8, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. From the Bay of Naples To Titus Caesar and the Senate, Hail! Gaius Pliny brings you news most dire From Naples where your frightened people...

Review: ‘Light In the Darkness—The Poetry of Peter Hartley’

The Society
July 7, 2021
Clerihew, Essays, Poetry, Reviews
19 Comments
Reviewed Book: Light In the Darkness—The Poetry of Peter Hartley, Dunecrest Press, 2021. by James A. Tweedie Peter Hartley writes poems. Good...

‘Hunter Biden, New Millennial American Painter’ by Bruce Dale Wise

The Society
July 6, 2021
Art, Culture, Humor, Poetry
10 Comments
. Hunter Biden, New Millennial American Painter “It’s Generic Post Zombie Formalism Illustration”  ---Jerry Saltz “a…vaguely psychedelic...

Two Poems on Amber, by Margaret Coats

The Society
July 6, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
29 Comments
. Amber Song I come from amber, Baltic gold, A gem but not a stone, And not a thousand ages old, A girl from pine sap grown, When fully cured, of...

A Poem in Memory Johnny Cash: ‘June’ by Mike Bryant

The Society
July 5, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
37 Comments
. June in memory of Johnny Cash (1932--2003) Johnny was no average guy, __The troubled man in black. His life, by evil, went awry, __And loving...

‘Bird of Prey’ by Raymond Gallucci

The Society
July 5, 2021
Humor, Poetry
9 Comments
. In present, past and future, My parrot’s quite a moocher. She’ll eat whatever suits her __No matter whose it is. If what you’re eating...

‘Fireworks’ by Adam Sedia

The Society
July 4, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
11 Comments
. The roar of battle rends the moonlit skyWith distant thunder as of cannons booming.And bursting, crashing, popping salvos flyAbove the roar, the...

‘July Fourth, 2021’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

The Society
July 4, 2021
Culture, Poetry
30 Comments
. Do you know as twilight gleams with showers; Fluorescent flowers, that rocket-red-glare flare, Wowing with their pyrotechnic powers That bloom...

A Poem for Independence Day, July 4th, 2021, by Roy E. Peterson

The Society
July 3, 2021
Beauty, Culture, Poetry
8 Comments
. The Future's Illumined by the Deeds of the Past inspired by a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville The future’s illumined by deeds of the...
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  1. Drilon Bajrami on ‘When Prices Surge’: A Poem by Paul A. FreemanAugust 23, 2025

    The price of EVERYTHING is soaring, as you so eloquently put it in verse, Paul. Even the price of a…

  2. Paul A. Freeman on ‘When Prices Surge’: A Poem by Paul A. FreemanAugust 23, 2025

    The chaos of dynamic pricing over the Oasis concerts really got my goat, Margaret. You're average punter just isn't treated…

  3. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘When Prices Surge’: A Poem by Paul A. FreemanAugust 23, 2025

    Prices can go up for several reasons. The first (as you say) is "when demand outstrips finite supply." This is…

  4. Margaret brinton on ‘When Prices Surge’: A Poem by Paul A. FreemanAugust 23, 2025

    The first morning showing at my local cinema is just eleven dollars. And our Oasis Center has free gallery shows.…

  5. Gigi Ryan on ‘Shackled’ and Other Poetry by Gigi RyanAugust 23, 2025

    I am glad this spoke to you. The repetition in Villanelles is so useful for prayers. The Psalms, too, use…

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