Poetry

. Three Small Tabs Upon the men’s room wall at church, A flyer’s there for men who search For healing after an abortion Served to them, their awful portion. I glanced and saw in that display That three small tabs were ripped away. Three grieving fathers, pain untold For children...

. The Winner and Runner-ups are listed HERE. WHO Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate, if not involved in judging the contest. The winner, if not...

. Centaury The clear night sky spreads wide a tapestry of beauty in the stars that shimmer all throughout the cosmic exhibition hall. In every age mankind has looked to see and wonder at the might  and mystery to be discovered there. Wrapped in the thrall of such majestic beauty,...

. The Psychopath Addresses the Ladies Auxiliary of the Mental Ward "When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate."  —C.G. Jung "Physician, heal thyself."  —Luke 4:23 1. Ladies, cease your mindless chatter Lest I take a club and shatter Your thick skulls and leave you...

. Cat Contentment The cat begins his yawn by curling out His pinkest tongue tip as his lips begin To part.  His faith in comfort is devout. Disturbing his furred sleepiness is sin. At least that seems to be the message of His silent tongue which furls up towards God....

. Evensong “It’s your Church, Lord, I’m going to bed.” ---Evening Prayer of Pope St. John XXIII I know you’re there, so don’t pretend You’re off somewhere, removed, remote, Preoccupied with greater needs And folks who’ve done far greater deeds Than I might ever hope to float Your way as...

. . If You Want to Get Someone’s Attention If you want to get someone's attention, then whisperor commit a mistake that continues the momentfor a little bit longer---a smudge on the glisteris the proof that the moment was golden; you know,__if you want to get someone's attention... be resourceful,...

. Questions of Legacy First the things we remember—Grandma’s laugh shaking a tablecloth, fixing blue eyes __on children next to steaming pies, or Grandpa’s smothering hug, his rumbling cough before a solemn speech, his ripsaw snore; or lengthening hall light flooding the bedspread as a door widened, a stooped shadow’s...

. Washington Departs from Mount Vernon from Legends of Liberty, Volume 3 “Wouldn’t you rather stay?” Watching her doveOf sixteen summers, Martha’s hazels, tearingAway from patriarchal pupils, doveBelow to scan the roses. Turning, tearingUp, she observed the clear Potomac wind.Pale bluish grays, so often hard as lead,Had softened, tracking her...

. A Heroic Crown of Sonnets in Honor of the Ever Virgin . ---1st Mystery: The Prophecy of Isaiah . The Timeless Song The timeless song of her virginity, Intoned by holy angels, signifies The consecration to the Trinity Of her who godly grandeur glorifies. As font of Christian being...

. Festal Flourish ---on a country festival, by Roman poet Tibullus (55-19 BC), translated by Margaret Coats All here may help to cleanse these fruits and fields! The rite transmits our wise grandparents’ lore. Sweet Bacchus, dangle grapes from horns and hills; Dear Ceres, gird your brows and plains with...

. The “La Vache Qui Rit” Candidate Here she comes smiling a big toothy grin at us Laughing and cackling her candidate talk— Does she make sense? No, she isn’t quite good at that; All she can manage is chitchat and squawk. She’s the Vice President, smug and unflappable, Certain...

. Men Sail Out The waves they come--- A timeless thing, The earth their home--- Adventures bring. Men sail out On wooden ships, Embolden hearts, Prayers on their lips. They do it for Their daily bread. They do it then To get ahead. They do it for Their families true....

. Summertime The summer solstice, when it finally comes, Begins the ebbing of the sunlit hours, Which daily add up to decreasing sums As passing days dim fair Apollo’s powers Yet even so, the season’s temperatures (as read in Celsius or Fahrenheit) go up, which as my garden crop matures...

. The Maze Her little game of make believe has turned into a nightmare maze. Her tears have spilled upon her sleeve while empty eyes have lost their gaze. Her maze is very hard to beat; The mice go round and round and round. Not one of them admits defeat...

. Well-Armed Lamb “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” ---Benjamin Franklin Two wolves and one lone lamb sat down __to vote upon their lunch. That’s when the lamb began to frown __because he had...

. It’s All Her Fault ---with a nod to Eleanor Brown's "Bitcherel" Why write in meter when penning a poem, __You ask me, so here’s my reply: When I drop the rapturous roll of a rhythm __My muse fades away with a sigh. Some muses are fans of haphazard eruptions---...

. What Is Grief?  When we are plagued by grief, We only think of sorrow— The loss of a dear loved one Whom we won't see tomorrow. Tears haunt our swollen faces That burst and bare our souls. Nice words like “Rest in Peace” Can’t plug the empty holes. What...

. July The sounds of Nature presage__And brilliantly exudeAn all-compelling message__Of carefree attitude. The raven in the garden__That's cawing aw-aw-awAnd throaty-chirping martin__We’re in July! they call. It’s Summer! Ditch the guilt trip __And bleak work-ethic trap.It’s time to loll or take a stroll,__Eat barbecue and nap. Forget the dietary rules;__Today we’ll not complyBut eat...

. Endurance Endurance! A three-masted barquentine has lain a century beneath the ice. In frigid-climed Antarctica she’s been athwart the ocean floor. She paid the price for Man’s relentless struggle to compete with elements that Nature brings to bear. For months she’d creaked and groaned as ice floes beat against her...

. A Ballade to Becoming .. I. Conceptio You may have fame, be well to do, And live beneath a constant sun; You may attain all you pursue And be a friend to everyone. But, without fail, a time will come When all your efforts come to naught And all...

. The Northern Classical Garden ---on the transformation of a vacant lot by students and faculty at Northern Academy of the Arts in Middletown, New York ---after Keats  Our youth whose lives lie in the balance, More so are lost inside a maze— No guiding voice, but only silence And...

. The Vision of George Washington based on the story by Wesley Bradshaw, published in 1880 . I. Message Disclosed What you have heard of Washington is true. At Valley Forge, in those dark winter days, Our freedom-fighting soldiers suffered so I’d see the tears course our commander’s face. He’d...

. . An Epistle of Sullivan Dear Gilbert---your libretto is delightful! A charming English-Japanese confection. I now concede my words last week were spiteful And truly earned your heated interjection. Apologies. Your umbrage was quite rightful. You’re guiding G&S to sheer perfection. . Japan’s Mikado! What a striking thought! And...

. Cyprus  July 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the invasion of part of Cyprus by Turkey Land of my birth you’re blessed with gifts divine Of loveliness and beauty hard to find, Where Aphrodite from your sea did rise To taste the nectar of your air sublime. Cyprus, where the...

. Candlelight Vigil the persecution of the peaceful meditation practice Falun Gong by the CCP began on July 20, 1999 A single candle burns tonight, a sacred memory, An ember for the price of truth, a noble destiny, The story of a humble man who's never known of fame, Whose...

. My Vacation Trip in Verse by James A. Tweedie One of the comments in response to the recent “On the Meeting of Poets” post read: “A diary in verse. It’s original and interesting. I’d like to see more.” Since I journaled in verse that recent trip my wife and...

. Desire "Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly." ---Langston Hughes, 'Dreams' To have, to HOLD what’s going FAST in longing TO capture my DREAMS, I’m looking FOR and wonder IF I’ll find these DREAMS before I DIE For such is...

. Second Chances Just know that you’ve been staked a second chance At any time the future’s looking muddy. Put on your shoes and socks, and join the dance. Don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth, askance, Pretending you can’t work for anybody Who thinks you’ve not been staked a...

. Colors by Kukai (空海) (774-835) translated by Joshua C. Frank Colors, fragrant like the flowers, Fade to ash in final hours, Extinguished, gone, returning never. No earthborn life can last forever. Depart today from your dependence, Across the summit of transcendence: Just quell your lusts and quit your schemes...

. The Small Commission When school yearbooks are thrust forth to be signed, We give out life advice. We speak our mind, And charge our classmates to keep some small vow: “Recall our good times!” “Stay as you are now!” As Christ did with his Great Commission bind His church...

. Freedom of Speech vs. the NBA The CCP has raged and seethed, oh joy! Daryl Morey was not playing coy, He spoke the truth, a gun then to his head: “Fawn now! Or else your hoop dreams are all dead!” Even Ted Cruz and AOC allied; When evil rises,...

. Brainwashed and Hopeless My old friend is a doctor---very bright, But he just said to me the GOP, Opposed equality and human rights, Here’s how such nonsense likely came to be. Conservatives must not be in his sphere, Or else it wasn’t politics they spoke. So everything he watches,...

. Dementing Torture of Benign           Drugs against Malignancy His life came to its End.  Smell of the medicine Departs chillingly.                                    ---Dakotsu The faint, faint fragrance of the cancer...

. Fire Lurks I recognize, while watching ghastly nightEncircle statesmanship revoltingly,Bright bursts of a spangled pyrotechnic star.America! No star, a land’s lost light.Companions, look and say if you can seeThe common faith that made us what we are. You patriots intrepid, rise and tryTo tell what blasts your households must...

. A Formalist Poet at the Open Mic Part V: Nose Blind by Daniel Kemper After a stressful day, because of issues with which you, dear reader need not concern yourself, I decided to swing by the Capital Gardens and rove over to the section of roses to de-stress a little....

. The Trail of Hate Amid the upbeat crowd a sudden blast Of noise arose like fireworks kissing skies. Fallacious musings struck then swiftly passed When crimson dripped before the saucer eyes Of those who saw the bullet-bitten ear Of Trump who dodged then dipped down to the ground As...

. Washington and the Cherry Tree from Legends of Liberty, Volume 3 Young George chopped down his father’s cherry tree, Not knowing that a woman lived inside. While playing with his hatchet, too carefree Out in the garden plot, he swung in wide And chipped a piece of bark from...

. Problem Child Barley and hops acquainted, meet, __And yeast completes the marriage. Soon happy news as something brews __With keg for baby carriage. Where he appears good cheer is found; __When gone, he's always missed. However with time and on the ground, __You’ll find him properly pissed. The loud...

. Storming the Bastille from eyewitness accounts July the twelfth, the City of Light was filled With brigands bought by dimes and dismal speech; How cheap to buy a riot in this heat— Yet hard to rouse Parisians so soft-willed. Louts rant of bread withheld, but within reach, Shout massacre...