• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books
No Result
View All Result
Society of Classical Poets
No Result
View All Result
Home Poetry Culture

‘Isaiah 5:20—Uncancellable’ and Other Poetry by Russel Winick

April 11, 2021
in Culture, Poetry
A A
10

.

Isaiah 5:20—Uncancellable

They often call good evil,
And call the evil good.
Misclassifying basics?
One wonders how they could.

With light for darkness put,
And darkness put for light,
Seems schooling, friends, and news,
Reversed what’s wrong and right.

Then put sweet for the bitter,
And bitter for the sweet,
Such tales proliferate
As cancelling’s complete.

Totalitarian effects
They readily ignore,
With dubious assertions,
Of ends they’re striving for.

And thus they will continue
To transform society,
Inevitably opposite
Of how it’s claimed to be.

Deception unabated,
Can’t question what they say,
But reckoning will come,
As woe on Judgment Day.
.

.

Changed Priorities

Though equal rights for women,
Was once cause celebre,
It’s being cancelled now,
Unchampioned today.

Requiring females race
Against a kid born male,
Due to biology,
Ensures that most will fail.

No sketchy science claims,
Can controvert this fact,
So only changed priorities
Explain the new law backed.

.

.

Russel Winick recently started writing poetry at nearly age 65, after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.

ShareTweetPin
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
Read Our Comments Policy Here
Next Post
A Poem on Biden’s Infrastructure Plan, by James A. Tweedie

A Poem on Biden's Infrastructure Plan, by James A. Tweedie

‘An Elegy for Bach’s Lost Cantatas’ by Lionel Willis

'An Elegy for Bach's Lost Cantatas' by Lionel Willis

‘And What Of Art’ and Other Poetry by Sally Cook

'Messed Up Doesn’t Rhyme with Best' by Phillip Whidden

Comments 10

  1. Cynthia Erlandson says:
    4 years ago

    Excellent, and prophetic! I’m sure Isaiah would approve.

    Reply
    • Gail says:
      4 years ago

      Indeed.

      Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      4 years ago

      Thank you Cynthia and Gail. I tried to stay faithful to that marvelous passage.

      Reply
  2. Mo says:
    4 years ago

    The negative- All you say is correct.
    The positive – There is comfort in knowing others can see the reality.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      4 years ago

      That’s true. Thank you!

      Reply
  3. mark whitters says:
    4 years ago

    Believer or non-believer, in private we all deeply hope for a comeuppance in the face of such injustices. Unfortunately we can’t say so publicly!

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson says:
      4 years ago

      You just did. Welcome to The Society of Classical Poets.

      Reply
  4. Yael says:
    4 years ago

    That’s a great rendering of Isaiah 5:20 plus commentary, all in one neat and contemporary sounding poem. I agree with Cynthia that Isaiah would approve.

    Reply
    • Russel Winick says:
      4 years ago

      Thank you Yael. I much appreciate your feedback.

      Reply
  5. Cheryl Corey says:
    4 years ago

    Welcome to the “Po biz” Mr. Winick. If you’re interested in books on writing poetry, here are a few of my staples: the very readable “Making Your Own Days” (Kenneth Koch, 1998); “Writing Metrical Poetry” (William Baer, 2006); “A Poet’s Guide to Poetry” (Mary Kinzie, 1999) – a little more technical and challenging, it includes exercises. Also, if you can get your hands on them, Perrine’s “Sound and Sense”, and “Rhyme’s Reason” (John Hollander, 1981) – a slim 50 page booklet/primer on versification and meter.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Russel Winick Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. Joseph S. Salemi on A Video Reading of the Poem ‘None for All’ by Peter LilliosOctober 4, 2025

    I loved this poem when I saw it here at the SCP earlier this year, and hearing it recited with…

  2. The Society on The 2025 Society of Classical Poets International Poetry CompetitionOctober 4, 2025

    Yes, as long as it was published in 2025 here or anywhere else.

  3. Shamik Banerjee on ‘Rare Books’: A Poem by Mary Jane MyersOctober 4, 2025

    A well-articulated poem about discovering preserved antique books through a dear friend. While reading the poem, I was wondering how…

  4. Rusty Rabon on ‘J.K. Rowling’s Response to the Assassination of Charlie Kirk’: A Poem by Warren BonhamOctober 4, 2025

    Thank you for putting this quote to verse. It is often a challenge to give to others the liberty of…

  5. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Angel’ and Other Poetry by Beth HoustonOctober 4, 2025

    Beth, your two poems were on subjects I love and beautifully written. I have a whole book of poems about…

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Archive

Categories

Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Submit Poetry
  • Become a Member
  • Members List
  • Support the Society
  • Advertisement Placement
  • Comments Policy
  • Terms of Use

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Poems
    • Beauty
    • Culture
    • Satire
    • Humor
    • Children’s
    • Art
    • Ekphrastic
    • Epic
    • Epigrams and Proverbs
    • Human Rights in China
    • Music
    • Performing Arts
    • Riddles
    • Science
    • Song Lyrics
    • The Environment
    • The Raven
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Terrorism
    • Covid-19
  • Poetry Forms
    • Sonnet
    • Haiku
    • Limerick
    • Villanelle
    • Rondeau
    • Pantoum
    • Sestina
    • Triolet
    • Acrostic
    • Alexandroid
    • Alliterative
    • Blank Verse
    • Chant Royal
    • Clerihew
    • Rhupunt
    • Rondeau Redoublé
    • Rondel
    • Rubaiyat
    • Sapphic Verse
    • Shape Poems
    • Terza Rima
  • Great Poets
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Homer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Dante Alighieri
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
    • William Blake
    • Robert Frost
  • Love Poems
  • Contests
  • SCP Academy
    • Educational
    • Teaching Classical Poetry—A Guide for Educators
    • Poetry Forms
    • The SCP Journal
    • Books

© 2025 SCP. WebDesign by CODEC Prime.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.