Look Away “Look away, across the fabled sea,” Our fathers cried, with voices loud and clear, There’s a place...

  Sunday Morning in Canada By all accounts he was a thoroughly Unpleasant man. His wife divorced him and His...

  Bean I found you in a shelter, cold and wet, your dark, expressive eyes fixed on my own. They...

  The Swan’s Song He brewed his words in cauldrons on the moors. They doubled as they bubbled to the brim. He conjured...

  The Gravedigger I garden to acquaint myself with graves. Accompanying death with every turn, my spade exhumes pharaonic tombs,...

  Waiting for the Perfect Man A woman waiting for the perfect man, though she was far from perfect, had...

  The George-A-Saurus Forget the Jabberwocky, son--- Instead beware the George-A-Saurus: A wicked monster you should shun; Whose single goal...

  When Asked: “What’s Your Favorite Season?”   ---a villanelle I can’t decide which season I like best; they all...

  https://youtu.be/jd7Zxqf4zDs?si=Ny4BwTAKFJ0378sl   The Last At-Bat of Lyndon Braun The crowd was on its feet because they knew it was...

  The Perpetual Battle   I From Arad north to Hazor acrid smoke Rose from each cyclopean citadel Of Canaan---altar-fires...

  Spring in the Moment It is a time to learn to walk. Too many ages have we spent In...

  Have a Nice Week! I wish you a wonderful week! May Monday go smoothly and sleek, And Tuesday productive...

  At the No-Win Inn The room for error is across the hall, Between the storage bin for grave mistakes...

  When the Phone Rings I can’t still be excited when the phone rings, I was for decades, but no...

Deep Water   I. Kōan I ponder by the ancient pool. A frog jumps in. I hear a splash. The...

  The Dunes The dunes are marching, blown along Saharan landscapes. Grain by grain they stream across a barren plain,...

The Society of Classical Poets Journal XIV has been published! It features poetry, translations, and essays selected from those published...

  The Cover-up Everything went smoothly on the morning that we launched __And headed off to make our flight through...

  The Poet's Plight I sit at dusk and bear the scorn, sarcastic talk Of friends, and brood upon the...

  After the Turning Point ---a double refrain ballade At slender hindrances we fall, Uneven ground, path shadowy; To tainted...

  Forest Fire Fantasy ---a trenta-sei The smoke from summer fires filled the air, A lightning storm had been the...

  Where the Ground Gives Way Once I took your face into my hand, and sunlight showed the tears within...

  Two-Tier Keir: Being a Short Account of a Trickster He sought to be in politics--- _Self-virtued Dalai Lama. Instead,...

  Canzone of Parting   I There are secluded places in the wild Where the breeze settles, like a weary...

  What Happened to the Ayatollah?   I The Ayatollah’s disappeared: It’s just as all his friends have feared; But...

  An Excerpt Get up and amble through the city of the massacre, then lock your eyes, and, with your...

  A Very Early Taste of Poetry by Joseph S. Salemi The earliest and most important steps in attaining literacy...

  Murder at the Stocker Mansion A Poetic Noir Whodunit   ---San Francisco. 1948. 1. Prologue The Stocker mansion sits...

  Barabbas They named their chosen one and set him free. They picked a thug who reeked of others’ blood....

  Out of the Box Round and round the mulberry bush The monkey chased the weasel. The monkey thought ‘twas...

  To the Captive Sun You set now, levitating low, Just deigning lazily to throw Your gently flaming, scarlet glow...

  The Birthday of a Bride A woman, when she enters into labor on the day She brings at last...

  The Precious Blood The blood of Jesus bought me from the hands Of foes for whom I scorned divine...

  Stabat Mater Dolorosa by Jacopone da Todi (1228-1306) translated by Morrison Handley-Schachler In the hour of crucifixion, Mourning and...

  The Lip Surely before I have felt as though heaven _were pressed to my lips such as this, Yet...

  Who Do You Think You Are? You don’t know me, nor do you know my friend. You’re ignorant of...

  NOTE: Winners and rankings now available here: https://www.classicalpoets.org/winners-and-rankings-of-the-great-american-poetry-competition/ In partnership with the White House's Freedom 250 initiative. Submit Email...

  Unexploited Providence “Why am I here?” I was afraid to ask, While walking—half asleep—this land of wonders. So, stumbling...

  What We Learn From Breaking Waves Those who climb the furthest up the shore Are not the waves that...

  Pigeonholed The box they shove her in is small and dark. It skews all views and leaves her little...