Poetry

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDSWs61Ye0E . Sonnet XVIII of the Sacred Rhymes by Lope de Vega (1562-1635) translated by Martin Rizley What have I, that you’d seek me as a friend? What interest draws you, Jesus, to my door, All drenched with dew, as you have come before, In winter’s dark, the long...

Equilateral Proverbs: A Poetry Challenge by James A. Tweedie Construct a rhyming, rhythmic intelligible proverb or saying where the first and last words in each line rhyme. Twin couplets are preferred but not required. My examples alternate trochaic tetrameters and pentameters, but any form is acceptable so long as it...

. The Villainy of Icicles That sword of Damocles! That glacial Iago! A prism forged of ice, sharp and aloof; An icicle out of Doctor Zhivago Malevolently hanging from our roof... It waited for the perfect moment when I stood beneath it as I shoveled snow. The wind picked up....

. Fear for the Future When I ponder the future I get so distraught For the Leftists control Most production of thought. . . To Better Protect Democracy The WAPO and the New York Times Should move all their reporters, Into the Democratic Party’s National headquarters. . . Loss of...

. Trust My life unfolds as time goes by. Some days I laugh. Some nights I cry. I yearn for peace, as all folks do. When stress prevails, my doubts accrue. Grim darkness lures my peace and hope. From deep inside, I strain to cope. Life’s peaks are tall, its...

. A House Divided Against Itself A rondeau redoublé inspired by Dennis Prager's piece here.  In troubled times this will take place: A war of words, a cruel riposte; Deep truths that bleeding hearts won’t face So they destroy what matters most. The past saw children raise a toast To...

. The City, 1852 by Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (1817-1888) translated by Dusty Grein Past the gray beach, beside the gray sea, lies a wondrous gray city of old. Heavy fog blankets the roofs all around and in silence, the sea roars quite bold. No rustling of trees in the...

. The Shadow of My Sorrow As soon as day has dawned and night is done, The shadow of my sorrow follows me, Outgrows the shape by which it came to be, Consuming it when night is new begun; And being my likeness, how can I outrun My other self,...

. Church Mice a sonnet corona  There is a tale that’s writ in German history. A church was passed each Sunday by a train. Its death-knell whistle blew as it flew swiftly To Hell as stricken souls shrieked out in vain. These yells were muffled by the lusty singing Of...

. Time Travel I chance upon a sylvan glade, an Orphic place: moon threads, a lace of nightkin shadows. A trill of breeze awakes the guardian trees, live oaks in gowns of moss, tall runes of pine. I hear the soft slow sound of fairy rings, up from the inner...

. Carnivore Picks a Fight and Vegan Responds . CARNIVORE O man vegetarian with lifestyle agrarian, You’ve fallen as prey to a scam! We advise you to eat, every day, ample meat: Fish and beef, pork and chicken and lamb. VEGAN O great busybody, condescending and snotty, Your words are...

. Castile by Miguel de Unamuno (Spain, 1864-1936)translated by Cheryl A. Corey O Castile! You raise me up in the rugged palm of your hand;To the sky that burns, that cools, that holds you under its command. A mother of hearts and arms for a land that’s sinewy, lean, and clear;Who...

. The Snuff Box from a true story told in My Mother by Fr. Bernard Vaughan (1847-1922) When I was just a little boy, My mother served us shepherd’s pie. We thirteen children sniffed with joy, With statue faces, on the sly. But quenching hunger was my goal, So while...

The Best Poems of 2022: Winners of the 11th Annual SCP International Poetry Competition Judges Joseph S. Salemi, James Sale, Evan Mantyk Past First Place Winners James A. Tweedie (2021) Susan Jarvis Bryant (2020) Joseph Charles MacKenzie (2019) Adam Sedia (2018) C.B. Anderson (2017) James Sale (2016) Ron L. Hodges...

. First Place ($200 Prize) Christiana Thomas, homeschooled 12th grade student in Oregon. "Worth Disguised" . Second Place Laurel Aronian, 10th grade student at St. Luke’s School in Connecticut. "The Fluctuations of Modernity and Antiquity" Claire He, 11th grade student at Carmel High School, Indiana. “For the French Revolution” ....

. Disemboguement You woke something deep within me, not at first sight, but the second: When distractions ceased to spin me, my eyes focused; your eyes beckoned--- sheer perfection then I reckoned you to be, and this not idly, but explosively and widely; __doubt and reservation crumbled in a heap....

. So Close By At one point I was told that I Was purposely created by Some perfect being in the sky Who watches as I live and die. If that was true, I wondered why When perched atop His throne up high He’d let creation go awry; I asked...

. Love and Loss: Poems for Viktoria Sokoli . Love I I once loved a girl called Viktoria Sokoli With eyes of the colour of spinach and broccoli. Her skin was as soft and as smooth as a peach; Her breasts left me utterly robbed of all speech. Her thighs...

. Comfort I gaze upon the endless sea against high cliffs, on golden sand— her everlasting majesty. Through ages rolling wild and grand, oblivious to time and space, against high cliffs, on golden sand. Her every mood my cares erase— there’s healing in each surge and flow, oblivious to time...

. Media You told us lies, ignored our cries. __Your platforms you abused. You cancelled truth; you damaged youth, __And we are not amused. You took big bites from human rights, __Dissenting voices choked. With their decree Docs must agree, __Or licences revoked. But you can’t hide the great divide,...

. Canto 8: Covid-Priest from The English Cantos Volume 2: StairWell StairWell is the Poet’s Purgatory, and as in HellWard where we met with contemporary challenges such as Brexit, so here in StairWell the Poet, led on by his guides Dante and Virgil, runs into another---Covid.  …With Dante facing a...

. To an Eager Lover This isn’t an unreasonable demand: you have to learn my story with your hands. As a man, you naturally want to know a woman in the way you know the world: from start to finish, everything in a row. But knowledge isn’t wisdom; in my...

. Practical Philosophy The mind is meant to lead the body, And not the other way around. Permit no workmanship that’s shoddy, And build foundations plumb and sound. The godless, too, exalt their gods, Though often in the guise of science. Like little peas in brittle pods, Their order suffers...

. Life on the Farm Daddy’s gone. Is he sleeping? For only the shell remains. I hear the cries of cicadas. I listen to their pain. Momma, why are you weeping? Did Daddy push you away? Her tears rob the cicadas, And we live in silence today. Pain is the...

. The Land of Dreams written on the eve of India's Republic Day of India which is celebrated on Jan. 26 every year Some distance far away, the drumbeats sound __And echo victories now past; __Where clouds of slavery had cast Their shadows; every place a battle ground, And every...

. Look Up and See the Music Psalm 19:1 In winter, when the atmosphere is still And cold, and when the nighttime sky is clear, The stars and planets, fire and ice, blast chill- Blazed, hot-white light so bright as to seem near. No “Twinkle, twinkle little star,” for in...

. The Poetaster’s Plight Some think the poet’s work is ease: "Sit back and write it’s such a breeze;" But those that know will surely say They labor hard from day to day. They wrestle with each turn of phrase, Constructing forms in different ways. A quote, a comma, where...

. The Stonechat Listens at the Asylum Window I fear I might mistranslate what you said And lose the very essence of your words. May I record you as I do the birds: The warbler, shrike and wren, red’s wild-combed head Who can’t fly straight because his wings are strained...

. Burns Night is when Scotland's most important bard, Robert Burns (1759-1796), is celebrated, usually with the recitation of Burns' poems, the eating of haggis, and the drinking of whiskey. It occurs on January 25, Burns' birthday. Poet Jeff Eardley has composed a rendition of the song "Auld Lang Syne,"...

. Note: Burns Night is when Scotland’s most important bard, Robert Burns (1759-1796), is celebrated, usually with the recitation of Burns’ poems, the eating of haggis, and the drinking of whisky. It occurs on January 25, Burns’ birthday. . An English Sonnet for the Scottish Bard for Burns Night Tonight, I’m...

. The Problem of Good a Petrarchan sonnet If there’s (the armchair philosopher maintains) A God (most likely writing in his blog), Then why’s the world in such a dismal fog Of evil will and endless human pain? Each day the whole thing just gets more insane And sad. No...

. . On Alma Tadema’s Coign of Vantage Flora peeks over the marble parapet, a dizzying perch above the azure Aegean. The Roman fleet is returning. 'Tis the season to flirt, to catch a lover in her net. Julia and Livia stand close, her bosom friends. Tomorrow they’ll break their...

. Transgression, Fake and Genuine       by Joseph S. Salemi When Henry Harland and Aubrey Beardsley brought forth their groundbreaking periodical The Yellow Book in 1894, its very first issue contained the semi-facetious essay “In Defence of Cosmetics” by Max Beerbohm.  A delightful excursion into the resurgence of...

. WEF, Davos, ‘23—A Modern Reply after “Endless Pleasure, Endless Love”* Endless hooey, endless snow, We’re exposed to here below. Ever on their riches leaning, Our tormentors strew their lies; While their true intentions screening, They blow smoke into our eyes. . *from the libretto, for Handel’s oratorio Semele, by...

. On a Terrible Orchestral-chorale Concert Trapped here with vain musicians---what a fate! An echo chamber that I can't escape. Conductors lead, nude but for bandanas. On their right side, Carmina Burana With German horns, tubas, and slide trombones Blasts louder than an ocean’s worst cyclones. Countless accordions from metal...

. Ever Flowing Upon the rushing river’s bank I stand, deep water, ever flowing as it goes. The turbulence of my life it reflects as if my mortal pain, it truly knows. I close my eyes while cruel heartache builds and boils. It swirls and churns from deep within, akin...

. John Adams in Heaven John and Abigail Adams are being guided through heaven by John Milton. He takes them to a villa in the Elysian Fields, where they meet a famous Roman who shows them a vision of their political ancestors. Near spartan fields that nurtured simple roots, A...

. A Note on Iambic Barktameter I have an Australian Shepard named Sunny who loves poetry. I didn’t believe it at first, but she proved it to me. She showed me her copy of Poetry magazine and said, “Look how dog-eared it is.” Then she told me that her favorite...

. Bats at Sunset The monster is rotund, vile, enormous, three-muzzled, and barking ---Vasily Trediakovsky, after Virgil The woods are lovely, dark, and deep ---Robert Frost Last night the bats were flying so low that I could see their faces. Each of them looked like a Soviet relative of mine,...

. SCP Members and readers are invited by poet Michael Pietrack to his Virtual Launch Party on Saturday, January 21 at 12 Noon EST.  The book---Legacy: The Saga Begins---is a complete novel-length adventure told through the medium of traditional metered and rhyming poetry. Pietrack, as well as poets James Sale,...