• Submit Poetry
  • Support SCP
  • About Us
  • Members
  • Join
Wednesday, October 21, 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

‘Grauballe Man’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley
Beauty

‘Grauballe Man’ and Other Poetry by Peter Hartley

February 21, 2021

.. Grauballe Man He lies exposed to view in this glass case Exactly as he lay three hundred years Before...

‘Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant
Covid-19

‘Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty’ by Susan Jarvis Bryant

November 16, 2022

. Unmasked Musings on the Plea for Pandemic Amnesty upon reading this Atlantic article Today I hear a murmur of...

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:
    1 year 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. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    Yael, such amazing comments. Thank you.

  2. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    Thank you, Paul, for your kind words.

  3. Cynthia L Erlandson on ‘Again Autumnal’: A Poem by K.J. SalzmannOctober 21, 2026

    Wow, I really love this one, K.J.! Somehow, autumn seems to evoke the word "again", more than the other seasons…

  4. Yael on ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. PetersonOctober 21, 2026

    This is a lovely poem which deserves to be printed out, framed, and displayed prominently somewhere people can benefit from…

  5. Roy Eugene Peterson on ‘Again Autumnal’: A Poem by K.J. SalzmannOctober 21, 2026

    Excellent alliteration (especially p, s, and b).

Subscribe to Daily Poems

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

Join 1,661 other subscribers
No Result
View All Result

Resources

       1. A Guide to Writing Poetry

      2. The Best Poems of 2020      

      3. Poetry and Writing Contests

      4. Journals Accepting Formal Verse

Recent Poems

  • ‘Again Autumnal’: A Poem by K.J. Salzmann
  • ‘Life Is Conflictual’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • ‘The Siege on Castle Hill’: A Poem by Apollo Clark Co
  • ‘Every New Pantheon’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘Biblical? Emblematic?’: A Poem by Stephen DiLauro
  • ‘The Valley’: A Poem by Briana Reavis
  • The Blobfish—‘Mr Blobby’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘Nature’s Family’: A Poem by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The River & The Sea’: A Poem by Rohini Sunderam
  • Poems by Derzhavin, Akhmatova, and Tyutchev, Translated by Kevin Rainbow
  • ‘After-Action Report’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi
  • ‘The Walking Wounded’: A Poem by Jeffrey Essmann
  • ‘Their Words, My Fault’ and Other Poems by Russel Winick
  • ‘Lazarus I’: A Poem by Jason Hunt
  • Poetry Challenge: Dictionary Delights
  • ‘In Defense of Rhyme’: An Essay by Euphrates Moss
  • ‘Gun Control’: A Poem by Kevin Ahern
  • ‘Power of a Pen’: A Poem by Janice Stanley
  • The Best Haiku of 2026
  • ‘One Night in Bangkok’ and Other Poetry by Brian Yapko
  • ‘Invocation’: A Poem by D.R. Rainbolt
  • ‘Enjoy the Peace, Prepare for War’: A Poem by Roy E. Peterson
  • Faust Part Two, Act One: ‘A Pleasant Landscape’ by Goethe, Translated by Josh Olson
  • A Song Inspired by Robert Frost’s ‘The Road Not Taken’, by Gunny Markefka
  • ‘Reappraisals of Mortality’: A Poem by C.B. Anderson
  • ‘What Is the Measure of My Days?’: A Poem by Peter Venable
  • ‘Polar Coordinates’: A Poem by Adam Sedia
  • ‘It Never Lies!’: A Poem by Paul A. Freeman
  • ‘The Mahjong Flowers’: A Set of Sonnets by Margaret Coats
  • ‘The Martyrdom of Saint Cassian’: A Poem by Joseph S. Salemi

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.