Poetry

. When Helen Keller Met Mark Twain ---a poem about America Date: November 2, 1934, Place: New York City: Madison Square Garden after Helen Keller delivers a speech honoring the Salvation Army. An old reporter recognizes one of the attendees. You flatter me! It’s rare I’m asked to speak. I’m...

Roses Are Read Roses are red violets are blue I hope that this works Because I love you.  

. La Vie en Rose  I came across that daft old ditty “Tiptoe Through the Tulips”And wondered why its lyrics didn’t rhyme “tulips” with “true lips.”I’ve learned, you see, that botany brings great linguistic power---Like formulating works which vaunt the lilac and sunflower!Now, had that song been mine I would...

. Surviving the Cultural Revolution Why should this tourist want to take my picture? I’m just a woman who is very old--- He photographs me as I sweep the streets And gather trash to justify my rice. What could I tell this foolish, shallow man Whose camera records but cannot...

. To the Ancient Mariner “O Wedding-Guest! This soul hath beenAlone on a wide wide sea;So lonely ‘twas, that God himselfScarce seeméd there to be.” ---Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner O, Mariner! What pain you felt---The sea would neither freeze nor melt,_As you abjured the Cross!Twixt...

. Attention Deficit Disorder I once had a friend like Midas.All he touched would turn to gold;but after he would touch itthe thing would soon get old. He’d focus for a while.He’d train and run and race.His talent was uncanny.He’d leave without a trace. We’d wonder where he’d went to.We’d...

. Autism Sonnet The lights are much too light and sounds too loud; And thoughts are only thought in black and white; Try to tolerate a middling crowd And talk so small, so pointless, so polite. To hyper-focus is the narrow way That leads to life, that few will ever...

. Spotlights and Shadows . I. To a Limelight Leech O swankpot of the swish-and-swagger ilk Basking in your braggadocio glow, __You stoop so long and low To lap up flattery as slick as silk That spills from ovine swine of kiss-arse lip. __This eely spiel Propels your ego on...

. Mourning Doves Hear the soft coo—a coo that faithful love imparts; Mourning doves, they share as one, two beating hearts. On summer’s eaves of pine, they build their lofty nests; Tender eggs are tucked beneath warm nurturing breasts. Oval-shaped, snowy white, hatched alive, Fledglings find their downy wings—learn to...

. Artificial “Intelligence” Versus Real Intelligence Chat GPT “confuses” metaphors and similes. It also “struggles” to correctly classify milled themes. It does not “understand” the difference of proper nouns and neologisms that it has “found.” It’s not “pro-found.” It’s lacking “knowledge” and much “cultural significance.” Without “emotional nuance,” it “dwells”...

. Supreme Showdown “Justice Jackson skips over that part because analyzing the governing statute involves boring legalese.” —Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the June 27, 2025, majority opinion in Trump v. CASA. Within her new opinion, Justice Barrett deeply probedthe mind of Justice Jackson, who she totally disrobed,exposing an...

. Readings of original poems by the poets from the Society of Classical Poets online Poetry Symposium on June 28, 2025: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_bcm-EFb5iQ?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sv1LmOFTYM4?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wFdJ60VnZ8A?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LVGPcZDR-tE?feature=share Videos created by Andrew Benson Brown.

. Life on This Boat Here in this lifeboat we hopelessly wait, No one rows now, we are all but deadweight, Minding our manners, and now the first mate, Starting to smell like the raw fish we ate. What can we do in our unguided boat? Helping each other’s how...

. Silent Movies As silent movies play inside your head, Their scattered shadows, faint and far away, You try to understand what's being said, As silent movies play inside your head— Remembrance of a life that you once led. The memories are left in disarray, As silent movies play inside...

. Legion Hello there friend, our name is Legion We are those same 6000 demons Who long ago in Gerasenes Became a man’s mental disease. We took a normal happy child And turned him feral, naked, wild, Drove him to live amongst the tombs With open sores, infected wounds, Covered...

. The Power I’ve noticed more and more of late My power to infuriate Is stronger than it’s ever been. I exercise it even when I try to be both dull and sweet And humble, willing, incomplete. Infuriation fills the air; I feel it in each icy stare, The phone...

. Absalom, Absalom "Then David sent out one third of the people… And the king said to the people, 'I also will surely go out with you myself.' But the people answered, 'You shall not go out! … You are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now...

. Dear Blabby’s Advice for the Clueless _I want to write a column _Like Abigail Van Buren To give out my elite advice _It’s something that I’m good in. _I plan to title it, _“Dear Blabby,” if you please. They’ll think I’m being serious, _But I will shoot the breeze....

. The Gaza War The Gaza war goes on and on With death and ruin in its wake. A war hard fought but never won; Like sifting water from a lake. And yet a war that must be fought, War born from war from war from war, The price to...

. The Bristlecone Pine For centuries, the stalwart pine has stood __in this unwonted spot. Its shallow roots and resinous hard wood __shield it from drought and rot. __Thin soil, high winds, cold air: it thrives where other living things cannot. __Dear tree, please hear my prayer. __Lend me your...

. The Troubadour Remembers A troubadour wayfaring town to town, Hamlet to homestead, dale to grassy down, While he his vagabond mandora strummed, Now with the bass, now with the treble hummed, Until the dancing echoes of the air, Cast on the seas of carefreeness and care, Lured from the...

. Conjugation: Tense with Mood ---a verbal disagreement between the indicative and the subjunctive If I were all that I could be, Perhaps I’d spend eternity Cavorting in a field of lilies With thoroughbred seductive fillies. But I am just a common man, Essentially no better than A frog that’s...

. Beneath the Blooms I search the hills for blooms to smell. The dew drops kiss my naked feet to wish me and my journey well but fade before the rising heat. Oh flowers, flowers everywhere I dance between the red and white. Oh flowers, flowers without care I hide...

. Most Conversations Near every grocery-line or petrol-pump, at every social-gathering or game, outside of every church or at the dump, the conversation’s usually the same. I’m hopefully only halfway through this life, and yet it feels I’ve been around the block enough to know, that even with my wife,...

. Autumn’s Fairy Tale ーan ode to Yugen The golden eve allures As autumn’s sun illumes, Gleaming in rose subdued. Replacing clouds that consume, The yonder storm forlorn. Upon the fairy leaves, And flora so pale and lone, Lie tears of dew in eve, Glistening still, divine. In the blessèd...

. The Point The Point, defined by geometry, substantiates a theory: position without magnitude. Lest the point be misconstrued consider how a politician, lacking substance, has position. . . Petition for Riddance of a TV Celebrity Disown her, Pheme, pity me and cleanse my screen of this red-carpet-bagging naught. Estrange...

. The Dance When Arsis and Thesis met on the dance floor, one bowed to the other, the other implored: “Let’s strike up the band now with haste and due speed. Why wait for the others? We’re all that we need!” Away they both flew over polished blond boards, the...

. Pushback The New Puritans run amok, remaking our society. Through countless forms of media, they assert their authority. Through threat and bluster they control those poor souls who’ll bend the knee, but lighting up my Dunhill pipe, I claw back some autonomy. . . David Greenwood is a lecturer...

. Whistling Woman "A whistling woman and a crowing hen will scare The Devil out of his den." ---English proverb ____I have whistled and I whistle still, ____gone my own way to my own sweet will. ____I’ve walked like a target when I knew the score, ____had a bellyful and...

. Radio New Zealand's Culture 101 sat down with SCP Editor Evan Mantyk to talk about the SCP's Haiku Competition, the SCP, and the history of the haiku. Listen here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/culture-101/audio/2018994399/the-art-and-history-of-the-haiku . Original Haiku Featured in the Interview: . The cold lake shimmers Softly lapping on the shore Fifty years...

. Of Cats and Cardinals ---for George Lionel (2005 – 2025) You left us at the hour of the owlWhen shameless moons are far too loud and bold__For one so still and cold---One shrouded in a freshly laundered towel,One lowered oh so softly in the earth---___Our whiskered gift,Our lifeless, purrless...

. The Gospel of Wives Wives everywhere possess the firm belief Of all their many roles, the one that’s chief Is sparing husbands from the sheer mayhem That would befall their lives, if not for them. . . Beneath the Bad Manners Her brother, on belief that she is loaded,...

. History’s Rondel Human history’s plot repeats In variations, with refrain Each time we purpose to regain Eden, fooled by the deceits That conquered Eve. Then Flood defeats And drowns our pride---but, yet again, It rises; history’s plot repeats Its variations, with refrain. Each Babel built on our conceits Collapses...

. Aubade at Seven AM The years have fled, and time so swiftly flees,since that brief hour when you and I first met;but how we loved I still remember yet;so purely did you live and love and please.You were a wonder then and still are now,a form of beauty and...

. Five Dappled Things A weave of twigs upon the ground; five eggs, cream white, flecked with gray. An ark dislodged —a callous jay or heartless wind— the nest set down. A slant of sun, an ark of twigs. a future vanishing. Five dappled things upon the ground. . ....

. Paradox of Tolerance "f tolerance is taken to the point where it tolerates the destruction of those same principles that made tolerance possible in the first place, it becomes intolerable." ---Gaetano Mosca (1858-1941), Italian political scientist  People touting their toleranceoften are thosewho are most prone to hollerwhile aiming their...

. Spoiled-Rotten Cat Instructs Visitors Don’t you dare try to sit in my spot! I’ll decide if you pet me or not. _I’m the star here you’ll see. _They all cater to me. They just like you; they LOVE me a lot. . . Ninety-Nine Candles Great Grandpa made this...

. The Old Man and the Mouse: A Sicilian Folktale An old man poured a glass of milk, and left it on the table. A small mouse came and drank it up, as much as he was able. The man returned, and when he saw the mouse right by the...

. Let Me Hold the Door I hold the door for you, and then you scoff. “He only wants to push old gender roles,” You think. Because you know you're strong enough, To get a door or dig some garden holes. But let me tell you in sincerity That I...

. Hairless Apes On the 100th Anniversary of the Scopes Monkey Trial . In nineteen hundred twenty-five, as Darwinists began to thrive, they wisely chose to hang their hopes upon a teacher named John Scopes who’d contravened the Butler Act by teaching children, it was fact that humans, not so...