‘Memento Mori’: A Sonnet by Sasha A. Palmer The Society April 6, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 6 Comments . We stick to what we know, what we can touch, Hold in our hands; unable to foretell What lies ahead, denying Time with such Abandonment, pretending...
A Translation of François Villon’s ‘Ballade of Prayer to Our Lady,’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society April 5, 2021 Acrostic, Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation 11 Comments . Ballade of Prayer to Our Lady (in the voice of the poet’s mother) by François Villon (1431-1463), from French by Joseph S. Salemi Lady of...
Four Poems for Early Spring, by C.B. Anderson The Society April 5, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 20 Comments . Rededication The sullen days of winter Remain a galling splinter Within my thickened skin, So let the games begin! Though I’m inclined to...
Life Under the CCP: ‘Family’ by Damian Robin The Society April 5, 2021 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 18 Comments for Xiaoyao Yin and her UK family Loud thumps were more than company; __front door as thin as any. Mum walked across the noise to see __each thump...
‘If He Came Now…’: An Easter Rondeau by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society April 4, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondeau 20 Comments . If He came now, God’s only Son, To save a world that’s come undone Would we continue to defy His truth, to stoke the ruthless lie That claims...
‘Peace and Love Are Here’ by Sandi Christie The Society April 4, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 9 Comments . The world is full of suffering and pain; We wait in fear for death to walk our way; We look for anyone that we can blame Projecting fear and hate...
A Poem for Easter Sunday: ‘Lord of the Cross’ by James A. Tweedie The Society April 4, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 10 Comments . “The strife is o’er, the battle won”—18th c. Hymn As hapless hope and hopelessness collide The mid-day sun looms black above the cross; A...
‘Easter!’: Translation of an Italian Sonnet by Joseph S. Salemi The Society April 4, 2021 Culture, Poetry, Translation 13 Comments . Easter! by Rosario Previti (1882-1967), from Italian by Joseph S. Salemi Why your bitter torment on the cross, Martyr of Golgotha, if the world on...
‘Magnificat’ by Brian Yapko The Society April 3, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments . Praise Him for the lightning in the gale,For balmy winds, for crystals in the snow.Wonder at the gaudy peacock’s tail,Observe how huge the...
Easter Season Sonnets by Anne de Marquets (1533–1588), translated by Margaret Coats The Society April 3, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Translation 21 Comments . Sonnet 181 Jesus had suffered more than we can tell, But when released, His soul at once aspired To save the just, whom their long wait had...
‘Pilate’s Wife’ by Cynthia Erlandson The Society April 2, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 17 Comments . I’ve had a nightmare! Let that just man go! You’re right that he’s done nothing wrong. They’re wrong To want him dead. No, nothing you...
‘Pietà’ by James A. Tweedie The Society April 2, 2021 Art, Beauty, Culture, Poetry 9 Comments . Behold the Queen of Heaven weeping, seeping __Tears that rend her heart and ours. As one __Who mourns she grasps and clasps the...
‘A Mother’s Eyes’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society April 2, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 45 Comments . She burns to bear his burden (take the weight) But he is far beyond her guiding reach. Beyond her soothing arms, he meets his fate. Her heavy...
Two Poems for Easter, by Martin Rizley The Society April 2, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 14 Comments . The Lovely World Behold the frozen, flaxen fields at morn– The tall grass shining on the hills of clay Which sunlit wisps of winter frost...
A Poem on the Equality Act: ‘Second-Place Sue’ by Julian Woodruff The Society April 1, 2021 Culture, Poetry 18 Comments . Sue was the star of Central High. In girls’ athletics she excelled. Her competition would just sigh. The best of it she ably quelled. Track,...
‘For the Birds’ and Other Poetry by Joe Tessitore The Society April 1, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 20 Comments . For the Birds The cardinal in his bold, red cloak; His wife so subtle, so bespoke. In complimentary blues and grays, The raucous jays---they have...
‘On the Seasons’ by Erin J. Kahn The Society March 31, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 9 Comments . With what perfection are the seasons spun; When we grow tired of the opulent sun, A wind from the north comes fanning our cheek The trees turn...
‘Dedicated to Those Who Give up Chocolate for Lent’ by Tonia Kalouria The Society March 30, 2021 Culture, Humor, Poetry 16 Comments . A Box of Chocolates is like Life: (That Mrs. Gump she got it right.) You never know just what you’ll get, so take a chance: Jump in; don’t...
‘Nature’s Magic’ and Other Poetry by David Irby The Society March 30, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 8 Comments . Nature's Magic Some say that there is magic in the night,but it holds no more marvels than the day.The sun emits her own fantastic lightwhile moon...
‘Ode to Hidden Splendor’ and Other Poetry by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society March 29, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 41 Comments . Ode to Hidden Splendor I heard your rolling croon beyond my vision Blooming in the balm of winter’s breeze--- A...
‘The Ballerina Praying’ by Joe Tessitore The Society March 29, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 9 Comments . The candlelight was dim and spare And Claire was there, lost in prayer And slightly swaying to and fro (She dances for Him, this I know) And I do...
‘Sinister Symbols’ by James A. Tweedie The Society March 28, 2021 Deconstructing Communism, Human Rights in China, Poetry 10 Comments . O, how I wish I could write about pandas, Cute, bamboo-shoot-eating, black and white pandas. Furry and cuddly like overgrown teddy bears, Roly and...
‘The Parting of the Sea’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society March 28, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 19 Comments . The Parting of the Sea Salvation in the parting of the Sea, Its churning waves pierced by a knife of cloud And split in two allowing us to...
Two More Poems with ‘Conceits’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society March 27, 2021 Beauty, Blank Verse, Essays, Humor, Poetry, Poetry Forms 10 Comments . The Bibliophile’s Birth Certificate Marius Michel (1846-1925) was one of the most prominent and gifted bookbinders in France. He produced work in...
‘Exodus 12’ by Theresa Rodriguez The Society March 27, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 18 Comments . “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” ---Exodus 12:13 As you have commanded, the blood to The lintel and the doorposts of my...
A Beacon in the Darkness: The Poetics and Poetry of Robert Frost The Society March 26, 2021 Essays, Poetry 9 Comments . “A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” ---Robert Frost An Essay by Adam Sedia To many in America, Robert Frost is the grandfatherly...
‘An Autumn Path’ by Angel Villanueva The Society March 25, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 7 Comments . The path he takes this early day Is dressed in dew and straws of hay. The morning mist obscures his view; The barn, though near, seems far...
‘The Librarian and the Bonfire’ by Brian Yapko The Society March 24, 2021 Culture, Poetry 31 Comments . The fire roars and spits within the square Blazing angry red. The rabble looks With savage joy; their whooping lards the air. Such glee to see the...
A Poem on Dictionaries: ‘Panlexia’ by C.B. Anderson The Society March 24, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 39 Comments . Don’t you love the Oxford Dictionary? When I first read it, I thought it was a really really long poem about everything. —David Bowie A...
‘An Australian Kangaroo Visits the Second Impeachment Trial of President Trump’ by Jan Darling The Society March 23, 2021 Culture, Humor, Poetry 16 Comments . A kangaroo visiting from Australia beholds the kangaroo court attempting to impeach President Trump for the second time and, taking the current...
‘Grain’ and Other Poetry by Stephen Ramsek The Society March 23, 2021 Beauty, Culture, High School Submissions, Poetry 25 Comments . Grain If the future were a famine And tomorrow were a blight, Would we close our eyes today in Light of Future’s tragic sight? If the future...
‘Pain, Product, and Poetry’ by Joseph S. Salemi The Society March 22, 2021 Essays, Poetry 24 Comments I went to my first opera when I was six years old. My mother took me to the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Saint of Bleecker Street, on...
‘You Are There’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society March 21, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 29 Comments inspired by the late John Whitworth’s “The Examiners” Through the burst of youth and giggles in the balm of budding spring, __You are...
‘For John Whitworth (1945-2019)’ by Dwayne Barrick The Society March 21, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 15 Comments . A touch of wit is worth its writ in gold. We miss you, John, for being ever bold. You spoke your mind or, rather, wrote it down with learning...
‘An Intelligent Cup of Coffee’ by Daniel Kemper The Society March 20, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 33 Comments . “That must have been some cup of coffee!” ---Charles Ellik The coffee spins and I am not the same. The time in which I move is muddy,...
‘Daffodils in the Snow’ by Shari Jo LeKane The Society March 19, 2021 Beauty, Poetry 18 Comments . Memories frozen in pinnacles glow, tattooed in lingering beauty and sorrow now fade by the light of forgotten tomorrows with nowhere to go, yet so...
‘Saint Joseph’s Table’ by Margaret Coats The Society March 19, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 34 Comments . The night before, old furniture And scrap wood set afire Smoke out the winter’s wickedness— An equinoctial pyre Of habits, sins, misfortunes...
‘The Second Roman Empire’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook The Society March 18, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Humor, Poetry 22 Comments . The Second Roman Empire Those were the days, when Julius Caesar Saw a country and would seize her, And the busty Roman matrons Ran the house and...
‘The PRC’s “To-Do” List’ by James A. Tweedie The Society March 18, 2021 Culture, Human Rights in China, Poetry 14 Comments . Every one of us makes “To-Do” lists to help us on the way So we won’t forget the many things we plan to do each day. Every country has a...
‘This Brave American, Ashli Babbitt’ and Other Poetry by Bruce Dale Wise The Society March 17, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 22 Comments . This Brave American, Ashli Babbitt “It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands.” —Sophocles, “Antigone” by Usa W...
