by Joseph S. Salemi The poetic effusions of some people are so incompetent that they cross the line into unexpected...

a villanelle We came together with an open mind No crass intolerance or blinkered view Is it too much to...

Winner and Runners-up of The Society of Classical Poets 2020 Haiku Competition Judged by Mike Bryant and Susan Jarvis Bryant...

  A Ditty What happened to the human race? It vanished, friend, without a trace. And what, pray tell, of...

  dedicated to all those braving injustice in Hong Kong with nobility of spirit Muffled voices, anguished cries, Trampled freedom,...

  Hero of Her Heart On February 9, 2007 Sgt. James J. Regan of the 3rd Battalion 75th U.S. Ranger...

  Due to a recent government edict, approximately 5 million Australians must wear masks whenever they leave the house. We...

  Cotton candy is, yes, is angel hair spun out while merry-go-rounds whirl full-speed with satisfaction fully guaranteed in the...

All poems by Bruce Dale Wise The Prisoners in Manacles by Lu “Reed ABCs” Wei The prisoners in manacles in...

  Oh, When I Think Back Oh, when I think back to those halcyon days, When I believed the possibility...

  Taj Mahal Built to commemorate a love that died Four hundred years ago, how sad to say She never...

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, by Joseph Lange (1783? / 1789?); as viewed by a Philistine Consider Lange’s well-known portrait Of...

  Full Lives, Empty Souls after Ecclesiastes 6 There is an evil I have seen in those who live beneath...

by James A. Tweedie On my most recent visit to England in 2017, I paused to record a number of...

  Laocoön To prophesy is not a gift to those So gifted, who can see in subtle signs What is...

translated by Alan Steinle. Introduction and translation copyright ©2020 by Alan Steinle. Skip Introduction and go to poem.   Introduction...

  Rueing Tattoos When young she was drawn to that skin-art taboo of embellishing flesh with a tattoo or two....

  On Consecrated Ground Moses on the Mount; Exodus 3-4 Moshe, a Hebrew truant from His resident Egyptian land Committed...

  Tomoko When the Enola Gay dropped ‘Little Boy’, Tomoko---just a little girl herself--- Was robbed of any hope of...

"During the war, the Indian Army evicted Pakistani intruders and succeeded in recapturing Tiger Hill and other posts as a...

Golden Gloves My father fought in Golden Gloves. Back then The ring was where you slugged your way to hopes....

  A Proposal---July 28, 2020 Upon this date in 1794, The French Revolution concluded in gore, As Robespierre’s head hit...

All of the below poems were read on May 31, 2020 at The Society of Classical Poets Symposium, which was...

  How Monkeys Came to Be adapted from a Palestinian folktale Monkeys and people once were one. For monkeys had...

  The Gardener at War Throughout our lives we hustle and we slave __To turn our gardens into magic places...

"One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish...

  Vera A fine and sunny Summer’s day And now our Vera’s slipped away. Auf Wiedersehen, we’ll meet again; We...

  Alike a trusted hand that comes to rest On harried shoulders to relieve the stress, This allemande fulfills its...

  No Epitaph The lies lie heavy on his chest, Striped red, striped white, now tattered vest And soon to...

  How wild become the eyes! How fine it is to learn! That the beauty in the sky's Cold torch...

  You had to act, because you heard the voices Within your head. Saint Michael came to you, Saints Catherine...

  With Sorrow Do I Leave It is with sadness that I write to tell you that I am resigning...

  Enrobed in blue—enthroned and crowned—her Son, __With proffered blessing, safely in her hands— __The Queen of Heaven reigns on...

on the 21st anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party's launching the persecution of the peaceful practice of Falun Gong on...

  There’s beauty in the ordinary things like challenges and joys each season brings, the world of work and school,...

  I Make My Way by Joe Tessitore These times, indeed, have tried my soul. With lightening speed, I’ve lost...

  It's easier to not exist And yet existence does persist. Although I cannot fathom why, I cannot rest unless...

  An old friend called on me today, past indiscretions to relive. Long decades passed since we had spoke; he...

  Coming Home “Thank you for letting me come home,” she said To me the night she died, and I,...

  Lockdown Leisure with apologies to W.H. Davies In lockdown life, should I but dare To take more time to...