• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Saturday, July 18, 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 Culture

‘Three Philosophical Quatrains’ by Ian Allaby

July 13, 2025
in Culture, Humor, Poetry
A A
5
poems 'Three Philosophical Quatrains' by Ian Allaby

.

Myths

_I mined the Grecian myths
_and wrung from them this gem:
The gods amuse themselves with us
and we amuse ourselves with them.

.

.

Chuang Tzu

We steal all our lives,
was Chuang Tzu’s belief,
to gather up booty
for some greater thief.

.

.

O Lethe

__O Lethe sweet Lethe,
_What deserts I leave in the dust.
Wash away the bitter taste
Of little love and endless lust.

.

.

Ian Allaby is a Toronto resident, former editor of the Spadina Literary Review, and author/translator of Selected Verse of Émile Nelligan, a 19th-century master of lyrical fixed-form poetry.

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

RandomPoems

‘One and Only’ by Edythe Haendel Schwartz
Poetry

‘One and Only’ by Edythe Haendel Schwartz

December 30, 2015

October 29, 2015: China renounces its 35 year old one-child policy, but strict controls continue despite the change.   The...

‘Sumo’s Winning Ways’ by Margaret Coats
Beauty

‘Sumo’s Winning Ways’ by Margaret Coats

July 15, 2022

. Sumo's Winning Ways Fierce frontal impact clenches victory In less time than an untrained eye can blink, But connoisseurs...

Next Post
‘Lasting Karma’: A Poem by Thomas Beckman

'Lasting Karma': A Poem by Thomas Beckman

‘Bats at Sunset’ and Other Poetry by Maxim D. Shrayer

'Vesper' and Other Poetry by Martin Briggs

‘Of a Feather’ and Other Poems by C.B. Anderson

'Of a Feather' and Other Poems by C.B. Anderson

Comments 5

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson says:
    1 year ago

    Ian, those are three really great concise lessons that are memorable. I can ponder them over and over again! Such powerful meanings and super rhymes.

    Reply
  2. Aaron Nydegger says:
    1 year ago

    Well done. It’s so important to keep ancient wisdom alive by refreshing it in clever ways as you have done here.

    Reply
  3. Adrian Fillion says:
    1 year ago

    Clever, enjoyable and memorable. Thank you, Ian.

    Reply
  4. Paul A. Freeman says:
    1 year ago

    I especially enjoyed ‘Myths’, particularly since in the not too distant past taking myself and the kids to films such as ‘Clash’ and ‘Wrath of the Titans’, and the ‘Percy Jackson’ series of films.

    Thanks for the reads, Ian.

    Reply
  5. C.B. Anderson says:
    11 months ago

    It’s hard not to like these toothsome nuggets.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

  1. Jan Mennite on National Poetry Month Limerick ChallengeJuly 18, 2026

    Cass There once was a teacher named Cass who expelled much malodorous gas. One day after starting, she couldn't stop…

  2. Susan Jarvis Bryant on ‘My Pyjamas!’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis BryantJuly 18, 2026

    Adam, thank you very much for your appreciative and encouraging words. I hope your children enjoyed "My Pyjamas." I believe…

  3. Theresa Werba on ‘American Dreams’: A Poem by Adam SediaJuly 18, 2026

    Congrats on your Finalist win Adam, such an excellently-wrought and powerful poem!

  4. Theresa Werba on ‘The 51st State’: A Poem by James SaleJuly 18, 2026

    Congrats James on your Finalist win!!!

  5. Brian Yapko on ‘Americans Cross the Rubicon’: A July 4th Poem by Brian YapkoJuly 18, 2026

    Thank you very much indeed, Adam. The Civil War and Pearl Harbor were decisive enough. I wanted a full range…

Subscribe to Daily Poems

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

Join 1,594 other subscribers

Recent Poems

  • Winners and Rankings of The Great American Poetry Competition
  • ‘The Gold Star Mother’: A Poem by Gerard Maritato
  • ‘An American Dash’: A Poem by Linda Ellis
  • ‘The Anonymous Soldier’: A Poem by Lucy Lind
  • ‘For Those We Never Meet’: A Poem by Aneesh Agarwal
  • ‘Ben Franklin’s Copper Fugio Cent’: A Poem by Geoffrey Smagacz
  • Three Brief Poems by Luxorius, Translated by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘The American Spirit’: A Poem by Dusty Grein
  • ‘The Ballad of Zebulon Pike’: A Poem by M.D. Skeen
  • ‘We Are the Ones’ and Other Poetry by Cheryl Corey
  • ‘My Pyjamas!’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant
  • ‘A Snowy Egret’: A Poem by Bruce Dale Wise
  • ‘The Swearing-in of Calvin Coolidge’: A Sonnet by Robert W. Crawford
  • ‘Ballad of the Sequoia’: A Poem by Lauren V. Leon
  • ‘The 51st State’: A Poem by James Sale
  • ‘La Uva’ (The Grape): A Poem by Michael Pietrack
  • ‘There’s Blood that Flows Within the Stripes’: A Poem by Lauren V. Leon
  • ‘Birdsong’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann
  • ‘The Melody That Lingers On’ and Other Poetry by John McPherson
  • ‘American Dreams’: A Poem by Adam Sedia
  • ‘An American Fabius’: A Poem by John Hernandez
  • ‘Vernal Clinic’ and Other Poetry by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘Omaha Beach’ and Other Poetry by Bradford Skow
  • ‘Music to Part the Veil’: A Poem by T.M. Moore
  • ‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Losing a War’ and Other Poetry by Arnon Peterson
  • ‘Black Shuck’: A Poem by Martin Briggs
  • ‘When the Last World War II Veteran Passes Away’: A Poem by N.S. Boone
  • ‘A Fallow Year at Worthy Farm’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘Outstanding in Afghanistan’: A Poem by Jared S. Chang
  • ‘250 More’: A Poem by Miguel Moreno

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.