Poetry

  The Otherhood of Man “He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.“ ---Jewish folk saying You think your words bless others. Wrong. They curse. But you’re so pledged to liberal ideals You’re blind to their casuistry and cracks. Such questions that you ask!...

  Reverie I genuflected, claimed a pew. _The nave was silent-dim. Polychrome glimmers, stained glass threw: _a stagy shark’s-tooth scrim. I shivered in the frigid air _dampened by walls of stone, bowing my head, attempting prayer. _But faith, I could find none. The church's statues seemed to be _quaint artifacts...

  Directions to a Cup-Maker by Anacreon (573-495 B.C.) translated from the Greek by Joseph S. Salemi Skillful craftsman, make this thing: A cup to hold the gifts of spring. Duplicate, in silver chasing, Spring’s first rosebuds, whose fine tracing Renders drink a pure delight. I implore you, get it...

On the Ruins of the Ancient City Cumae by Jacopo Sannazaro (1458–1530), translated from Latin by Margaret Coats Here the far-famed walls of ancient Cumae rose, _Prime glory of the clear Tyrrhenian Sea. Here awestruck questioners came rushing evermore _To hear your oracle, O great Apollo. Here energetic sailors found...

  Extracted from a recent article in American Essence by Marlena Figge:   Among the many interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln—that he was the only president to hold a patent (for a device for lifting boats over shoals), that he was an accomplished wrestler and was honored in the Wrestling...

    The Villa in Durrës The villa lies in shambles, a woman ravaged, spent, stripped of beauty, usefulness, abandoned to lament. Her pink veneer is peeling, her tiles cracked and scratched. Her floors by waters damaged, her pergolas unthatched. Her curves are caving in now, her arches dipping down....

  250 Years of the "Invisible Hand" We should all want to shake the invisible hand, since it knows how to balance supply and demand which creates a free market, so everyone knows their decisions will optimize capital flows. As the hand guides producers, they fiercely compete, then each buyer...

  Bombing Iran How sad that war provokes such controversy. Why can’t we just get on with it without A bunch of angry nay-sayers? Lord-a-mercy! “Give Peace a Chance!” “Make Love, Not War!” they shout As if they think it’s 1969 Again. Same anti-war conspiracy Except that now, instead of...

  Nature's Release Her mind would not surrender; The night kept dragging on. Concerns and obligations--- She struggled towards the dawn. When finally came the sunrise, She took a drive from town To venture into landscape Where Nature wears a crown. The stillness of the morning, A lake, serene and...

  The Willow Guard Beneath a willow weeps a girl, All hidden by green fronds that furl And stretch and wave and fondly curl __Upon the stream. The tree's her oyster; she the pearl __Cannot be seen. Amongst the water, leaves and birds She whispers woe and wistful words. Between...

  The Number 86: A Humean Tragedy "For my part, when I enter most intimately into what I call myself, I always stumble on some perception or other, of heat or cold, light or shade, love or hatred, pain or pleasure. I never can catch myself at any time without...

  Who Wrote Shakespeare?   It could not be the glover’s son; _it had to be the Earl. To know how courts and kingdoms run _is far beyond a churl. The poet knew Verona well, _the politics of Rome. How could a Stratford merchant tell _of things so far from...

  Leave your endless odes at the door please! Sometimes all it takes is a couplet to hit the spot. Post your witty or clever couplet of rhymed verse in the comments section below. Here are some examples from the challenge initiator Roy E. Peterson:   Our Christmas Party Our...

  Hidden Harmonies “In all chaos there is cosmos. In all disorder a secret order.” ---Carl Jung   I. Slaying Chaos ---a pantoum I’m searching for a meaning in this mess. I’m wading through a shady lake of murk To find a shred of sense in senselessness. I’m trawling where...

Extracted from a recent Epoch Times article by Tiffany Brannan:   In 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. In 1776, the 13 colonies declared their independence from England. This year, we’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of this momentous event. Between those dates, countless generations, families, and individuals lived, loved,...

  How Fast __How fast can AI do Theology? How quick can it descry _The infinite, sort somehow through _The web of Being, figure out _A fact it can’t objectify? Can a machine slow down enough to doubt? __Can algorithms mix And match at record speed until at last _Upon...

Last September, when the Society of Classical Poets, a non-profit organization, held a Poetry Symposium in the Chicago area, it requested a space for a public reading from the Poetry Foundation more than a month in advance and never received any acknowledgement of the request. This may be part of...

  Spring Storm A stirring in the pine, a tomblike pause, and then a rhythmic misty harmony is tapping on the leaves, as if applause were heralding some heavenly esprit for boughs awakened by the breeze. A veil of steamy gloom obscures the forestland, and droplets in neurotic fits impale...

  In this episode of Classical Poets Live, Andrew Benson Brown sits down with the illustration of the new SCP edition of Homer's Odyssey, Aedan Kennedy. https://youtu.be/cxz2PpEmAxE   Andrew Benson Brown's epic-in-progress, Legends of Liberty, chronicles the major events of the American Revolution. He writes history articles for American Essence magazine...

  Undone Decisions made in haste are doubts deferred. The need to come off confident, to seem As though in charge, is really quite absurd When self-control remains a bootless dream. Those sudden unexpected bouts of rage Belie the promises you whispered in A semblance of remorse and turn the...

  The Departure His soulful eyes did look on life, and sorely did he weep. He turned his head upon the gate. His heart hurt hard and deep. He saw the door from hinges torn. He had to take this trip, and leave behind the pegs, without a hawk’s or...

  Apologia We stand on others’ shoulders. That is why I sometimes speak a thought already spoken. It’s tradition. Truth endures unbroken and belongs to poets; others lie. So why disparage metre, form and rhyme as habits of a hidebound intellect? What pleased yesterday, today rejects; but canons and conventions...

  The Most Important Forgiveness Humiliating errors we’ve all made, And plagued ourselves by tending to relive, Would stand a better chance to be allayed, If we instead could learn to self-forgive.     Insensitive Kindness The wealthy man would always grab the checks, Which he deemed kind, but others...

  King Cyrus Issues an Edict “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all...

  Montaigne and Us He holed up in his tower of stone, alone, Sickened by what he saw had overcome All France: religious wars, the worst they’d known. Was Paris worth a mass grave? Yes, said some. His library well stocked, his pen in hand, His essays surveyed his own...

  A Song for the Survivors of Grooming Gangs Clutches of cowards stain once restful ways Where doors opened on twilight and sweet calm And families shared joy at close of days, In Oxford, Oldham, London, Rotherham, Cologne. The numbers of the wounded rise. No mercy stays Rogues’ bodies or...

  When Still Means Free ---upon watching the movie Melania When someone causes one to smile, With radiance mild, and without guile, And makes demonics far to flee, Amid such times when still means free, Without commotion, but with nerve, No fret or gust, yet still with verve, She’s cultivated...

  Sister Goddess and the Chimera “In Greek myth, a chimera is a creepy combination of lion, goat, dragon---in humans, chimeras are one person who contains two sets of DNA.” ---Susannah Cahalan Behold the sister goddess. Her very name is Gloria Deo—glory to God. Her blood has now been offered:...

  Divorce _We part our ways Like others part a sea; _You, Egypt, stay, While I, a Hebrew, flee. _We must decide What each of us will take: _I keep my tribes, You choose to keep your plagues. _I bid shalom To you, my not-so-dear, _And look for home Another...

  True Susanna Susanna, beauty faithful to young love, To marriage, and to parents’ righteous ways, But most to God, found only one defender Against two judges wasted by lewd gaze. Corrupted, with no power to look above Their loins, these lustful gaffers had aspired, Each one alone, to force...

  Seven Limericks of an Old Cynic Ataraxia (ἀταραξία) – accented on the penultimate vowel. Untroubled stillness, pure calm, impassiveness, the absence of turmoil and disturbance. My life has a firm, solid basis. Friends say I’m enslaved to cold stasis. But I gladly aver That in fact I prefer This...

  'The Real Star' of the 2026 World Economic Forum —inspired by quotes from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Gavin Newsom believes he’s the be-all and end-all, but he’s “Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken” doll. A psycho who does what those with savoir-faire do, a shell of a man...

  Olympic Gold _Eat the beauty and the beast. Ingest, digest until you’ve had your fill. _Sojourn till the west meets east And find your fortune sliding down a hill. _Future past, time out of mind To strike it rich, your long-sought mother lode. _Seek and you will surely find...

  Mice and Midges Please remove your shoes of leather During this inclement weather. Also boots with deepest ridges, Full of bits of mice and midges. Footwear wet with spew or spoor, Should not pass beyond this door. Running shoes appearing white, Underneath may harbor blight Or parasites or slimy...

  Reviewed Poetry Book: The Burning Word: A Poetic Pilgrimage through Suffering, Faith, and Divine Encounter, by James Sale, 2026 by Theresa Werba I have had the honor and privilege of knowing British poet James Sale personally and reading his poetry for over ten years. He remains one of the...

  A Hospital Drawing She sketched the world upon a sheet of white— A hospital with corridors of beds. Two nurses running, sleeves a blur of blue; A doctor in a coat too loose and long Walked on, his stethoscope hung dark against his coat, Towards a child whose stuffed...

  Garden Goddess   I. This humble plot of land is bogged in snow And ice, with twigs and brushy sweeps of pine; But soon, the giant marigolds will grow, Emerge from littered leaves and broken vine; For yonder’s where I sprinkled heads of seed In no specific order or...

  Old Bengal A Mystic Play ---for Shivani Muvva Shivani longs for old Bengal, _For palaces and kings, For servants at her beck and call _And all expensive things. Her father is the powerful raj; _Her mother is his queen, Surrounded by an entourage _No finer ever seen. And sometimes...

  Atomized The Great Stillness fell throughout the loud town. A quiet dust began to settle down. Where laughter once had echoed in the square, Now only silence lingered in the air. The cathedral doors stood closed and shut fast, No kneeling form to seek a rite long past. The...

  Baucis and Philemon A Poem for the Day After Valentine’s Day   Dank February’s leavened turf broods green stirrings, true, but now the glaze, steel-bright, sun sheeted on our frosted yard lured me outdoors past yesterday’s bouquet and card, your Valentine gift, poor compared with breathing roses our tight-trimmed...