• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Saturday, October 17, 2026
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 Beauty

‘Ponderings on the Porch’: A Poem by Peter Venable

September 26, 2023
in Beauty, Poetry
A A
7
poem/venable/beauty

.

Ponderings on the Porch

The chutes of light this autumn day
__Beam down between the leaves.
Sun’s equinox has long since passed—
__Dew drips from grass and eaves.

This sacred porch! Secure and safe
__From wasps and snakes and mice.
Decaying pine straw rides the breeze—
__I sip green tea with ice.

The dogwoods’ first blush into red.
__The old wood fence tilts right.
Another season turns a page
__And sooner falls twilight.

The autumn of my year arrives.
__A butterfly flits by.
Sunrise. Sunset. A waning moon.
__A spider traps a fly.

The future bids: despair or hope?
__The grave—is it? Or more?
Today is one day near the last.
__Dark doom or heaven’s door?

.

.

Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48) and the Society of Classical Poets.

ShareTweetPin
The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.
Read Our Comments Policy Here

RandomPoems

Haiku and Limericks by Joe Tessitore
Beauty

Haiku and Limericks by Joe Tessitore

August 22, 2019

Haiku   When a newborn cries, locked in a room by itself, does it make a sound?   Fog enshrouds...

poem/bryant/satire
Culture

Poems on ‘Modern Times’ and Transgenderism by Susan Jarvis Bryant

August 24, 2023

. Modern Times . I. The Cutting-Edge Misogynist He slams the bland and damned old-fashioned type--- Those tiresome dinosaurs born with...

Next Post
poem/frank/culture

A Poem Inspired by Kimberly Hartke and Other Poetry by Joshua C. Frank

poem/flott/culture

'Abortion Notes': A Poem by Phil Flott

poem/almadhi/humor

'Labyrinthine Bag' and Other Poetry by Wael Almahdi

Comments 7

  1. Paddy Raghunathan says:
    3 years ago

    Very very nicely written.

    Reply
  2. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    3 years ago

    That is a beautiful poem of observation in the fall while sitting on what seems to be an old but beloved porch. I love the feel of nostalgia and the vividness of what was seen.

    Reply
  3. Cynthia Erlandson says:
    3 years ago

    Lovely imagery! I was especially taken by the first two lines.

    Reply
  4. Linda Alice Fowler says:
    3 years ago

    Such a soft seasonal poem. I felt the breeze while musing on the future. A bit of nostalgia. A bit of melancholy. Very nice!

    Reply
  5. David Paul Behrens says:
    3 years ago

    This poem has a nice flow to it. Well done!

    Reply
  6. David Hollywood says:
    3 years ago

    This very affecting poem is beautifully written. Wonderfully reflective with a fateful calmness. Many thanks.

    Reply
  7. Peter Venable says:
    3 years ago

    Thanks to all. Amazing how some just flow on the page.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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


  1. Dusty Grein on ‘Nature’s Family’: A Poem by Margaret CoatsOctober 17, 2026

    Brava Margaret. Your beautiful use of form and imagery shines through, as always. I love how you've combined the best…

  2. Rohini on ‘Nature’s Family’: A Poem by Margaret CoatsOctober 16, 2026

    Oh, Margaret! This is so beautiful and moving. I don't know why it reminds me of the hymn 'Brother, sister,…

  3. Rohini on ‘The River & The Sea’: A Poem by Rohini SunderamOctober 16, 2026

    Thank you, for reading it. That was the line that kicked off the poem in my head. I guess that's…

  4. Benjamin Perez on ‘The River & The Sea’: A Poem by Rohini SunderamOctober 16, 2026

    I greatly enjoyed reading this poem. Thank you so much for writing it. I especially liked the very beginning: She’s…

  5. Cynthia L Erlandson on ‘Nature’s Family’: A Poem by Margaret CoatsOctober 16, 2026

    Lovely, Margaret. I like that this covers pretty much all realms of Our Lord's creation. Regarding the form, I especially…

Subscribe to Daily Poems

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,660 other subscribers
No Result
View All Result

Resources

       1. A Guide to Writing Poetry

      2. The Best Poems of 2020      

      3. Poetry and Writing Contests

      4. Journals Accepting Formal Verse

Recent Poems

  • ‘Nature’s Family’: A Poem by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The River & The Sea’: A Poem by Rohini Sunderam
  • Poems by Derzhavin, Akhmatova, and Tyutchev, Translated by Kevin Rainbow
  • ‘After-Action Report’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘The Walking Wounded’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann
  • ‘Their Words, My Fault’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick
  • ‘Lazarus I’: A Poem by Jason Hunt
  • Poetry Challenge: Dictionary Delights
  • ‘In Defense of Rhyme’: An Essay by Euphrates Moss
  • ‘Gun Control’: A Poem by Kevin Ahern
  • ‘Power of a Pen’: A Poem by Janice Stanley
  • The Best Haiku of 2026
  • ‘One Night in Bangkok’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • ‘Invocation’: A Poem by D.R. Rainbolt
  • ‘Enjoy the Peace, Prepare for War’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • Faust Part Two, Act One: ‘A Pleasant Landscape’ by Goethe, Translated by Josh Olson
  • A Song Inspired by Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’, by Gunny Markefka
  • ‘Reappraisals of Mortality’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘What Is the Measure of My Days?’: A Poem by Peter Venable
  • ‘Polar Coordinates’: A Poem by Adam Sedia
  • ‘It Never Lies!’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘The Mahjong Flowers’: A Set of Sonnets by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Cassian’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘Mind Versus Beauty’: A Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Translated by Eric v.d. Luft
  • ‘Summer Sails’: A Poem by Paulette Calasibetta
  • ‘Aquarius’: A Poem by Patricia Rogers Crozier
  • ‘No Body Here on Earth’: A Poem by Gerard Maritato
  • A Visualized Reading of The Odyssey: Book 1, Produced by Andrew Benson Brown
  • ‘Now?’ and Other Poetry by Stephen DiLauro
  • ‘From California to Louisiana’: A Sonnet by Mark F. DeWitt

Categories

  • Acrostic
  • Alexandroid
  • Alliterative
  • Art
  • Best Poems
  • Blank Verse
  • Chant Royal
  • Classical Poets Live
  • Clerihew
  • Covid-19
  • Deconstructing Communism
  • Educational
  • Epic
  • Epigrams and Proverbs
  • Essays
    • Interviews with Poets
    • Poetry Reviews
  • Featured
  • From the Society
  • Great Poets
    • Dante Alighieri
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Emily Dickinson
    • Geoffrey Chaucer
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Homer
    • John Keats
    • John Milton
    • Robert Frost
    • William Blake
    • William Shakespeare
    • William Wordsworth
  • Human Rights in China
  • Limerick
  • Love Poems
  • Music
  • Pantoum
  • Performing Arts
  • Poetry
    • Beauty
    • Children's Poems
    • Culture
    • Ekphrastic
    • Found Poems
    • High School Poets
    • Humor
    • Riddles
  • Poetry Challenge
  • Poetry Contests
  • Poetry Forms
    • Curtal Sonnet
    • Haiku
  • Poetry Readings
  • Rhupunt
  • Rondeau
  • Rondeau Redoublé
  • Rondel
  • Rubaiyat
  • Sapphic Verse
  • Satire
  • Science
  • Sestina
  • Shape Poems
  • Short Stories
  • Song Lyrics
  • Sonnet
  • Symposium
  • Terrorism
  • Terza Rima
  • The Environment
  • Translation
  • Triolet
  • Video
  • Villanelle

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.