With steady hand,  he takes a scalpel, cutsthe body open.  Liver, spleen, the gutsextracted, packed in ice.  The Party manlooks...

One (1979) A policy is still in place Which subjugates each woman’s womb. Spin doctors cannot render grace When pregnancy...

From what I see of life’s disgust; The killings, rampant shooting sprees, I’m sure that no one not agrees There’s...

  Through sandy, muddy, rocky creek, Silted, crudded, hard to speak, My heart was heavy, worn, and cramped, I needed...

The First Day of Spring The first day of spring started rainy and cold, But new greens were sprouting, defiant...

The Lumberman by Bud "Weasel" Rice I saw him resting up against a giant gray-brown stump, the lumberman was pausing...

Burrowed down in leaves of brown piled by the garden wall, our Billy cat dreamed of a rat he’d chased...

  Lines Composed in the Adirondack Mountains THERE’S a little town nestled in the hills, with an old house I call by...

I. Anxiety and excitement, a strange mixture Saturated me as I attempted to picture Two days alone crossing China’s famous...

  Record the past and gift-wrap the future Explain the rules of classical culture Listen to the stories plaintively wrought...

"Orange Persimmons" is a Haiku. "Released" is an American Cinquain, and "Forever Wearing White" is a Tanka about how the...

Originally Featured in Woodland Poems Near a ridge where far recedes the frozen Forest into valleys wide, Scoouwa’s chin In...

As I was flying high and looking down    the lonely regent of my tiny crown in one-dimension’s cold and breath-thin...

  The Goddess I. Black breeze On white foam hands Held high, lifting freedom: Shinning fast Her people’s torch in...

In support of the national youth bike ride, Ride 2 Freedom. Ride to Freedom Riding, riding, riding fast, There can...

I dreamt I saw him in the queue, A friend I thought had long since died; But we embraced so...

  Salazar Sneed Salazar Sneed was a man of great need Who traded holey shoes for a pocket of beads....

Wanderer's Retreat I Across the dive bar floor strode a figure, Tall but slightly slouching, wearing a cloak. His facial...

  One Summer Day An allusion to Beethoven While walking through the woods one summer day, he glanced along a...

Chinese Cameo 13 Exacting Nazis whittled down The Jew – full name, gender, skill type, stamp, tattoo; segued ringlets, noses,...

We are proud to announce the publication of The Society of Classical Poets’ 2015 Poetry Journal! The best poetry of...

  The River Wye Your stroll beside the stream has stayed with me, Has left me in my loneliness with...

Goodbye, sweet fetal child— for you shall die, Because a mother’s love is also dead: The hallowed place of nurture...

  Hunger "Power grows out of the barrel of a gun" -Mao Zedong Power grows out of the plight of...

Thoughts after Samuel Palmer (1805-1881) By Bud "Weasel" Rice Everywhere curious, articulate, perfect and inimitable ... nature does ... leave...

  Fog in the Valley The fog flows down like a flock of pale gulls and the valley of my...

  Winter Storm Watch The sky is still; no flakes appear and yet we know that they will come. Held...

Observations both Literal and Inferred on The Course of Empire, 1833-36, by Thomas Cole   The Savage State THE foreground...

O Thou Fount of Joy, I Praise Thee In my dark night He brought His joy    by an ancient melody....

  Sonnet on the Death of a Friend Throughout our lives we have the love of some Our family, our...

They gathered softly in a field for many miles around to taste in haste the flowers before showers tumbled down...

A mysterious substance is ruling our lives. It flows through our oceans and floats in our skies. “It’s good for...

  For a girl with rosy cheeks I didn’t know when Valentine’s Day was, and didn’t need to. That day...

I saw a grand palace as sculpted by the Genie of the Lamp, adorned with lights so golden, as if...

for E.E. Club Saw Reid   I. Priam, Returning to the Ramparts He’d never say it to my face and...

  I Saw a Giant Train by Red Was Iceblue I saw a giant train come out of blue and...

Chinese Cameo 5 A glinty dental check-up’s made my day – some skiffs of plaque, no ominous decay … A...

  First Prize ($500): Reid McGrath Winning Poems: “Tares in the Wheat” “A Recurring Dream, Vanquished” “Retreating Snow” “Lamenting Our...

  The Shore Forever lost in the ocean the water seeps into my chest I’ve lost myself in the motion...

Though tear gas spiraled through receding light and wrung out tears and mangled up clear sight; and though the bitter...