Poetry

  In China now are shadows forged from fire, a DNA pre-history. They cloud troubled villages, rice fields, goldfish ponds. Stones form, creating outlines with moving corners of such mild movements of peace. Finest threads link, form love that birth-screams, sucks air from smoke. This China has two hues, crimson...

  The journey back to your own true self Is not paved by comfort and untold wealth, But by finding the universe’s Great Law, Looking inside, and clearing what you saw!   Eddie Aitken is a director and trustee of Zhen Shan Ren Arts (UK), a UK registered charity showing the...

The Great The great are often shunned by their own age, While even the noble dead are sometimes mocked, And eras are damned when none who sees is shocked By scads of scorn spat on a sacred page. Today the sneering cynic’s deemed a sage. The door to love and...

Ode to a Soldier’s Wife I can see your tears are streaming, in the lamp light they are gleaming; How I wish that I were dreaming, and that duty hadn’t called. Through the wretched bars we’re kissing, as the steam train begins hissing And of all the things worth missing,...

Igor at the Kitchen Sink By Alecsei Durbew I saw him washing dishes at the sink. He stood against the smooth, white countertop, and tan, wood cabinet below his pink thick, stalwart legs—bull in a china shop. O, he was not Prince Hamlet at the court, but rather more Prince...

Counterfeit Martyrdom Evil terrorists 'round the world Reject God's law, "Thou shalt not kill." Minds indoctrinated, furled up in a cold and savage will! Real martyrs are the brave who die adhering to their faith and creed. Suicide is murder high in cowardice, which marks this breed. Vile murders indiscriminate...

Choice Now to change; rise to rearrange; fix buckled tracks; iron out the cracked strange. Time to take off the human make- up, look within and see beyond the fake: catch and count seeds in the air; mount heaven’s stairs; stay aware; stay calm; pipe fount- ains from seas; drop...

Riverside Sun rays glisten Reflect the river I stand and listen Can’t help but shiver Restless fish swim Graceful, majestic Watching sunlight dim Thoughts are monolithic Nature’s beauty endless Never ceases to amaze I stand still, breathless Caught up in a daze   Persecution of the Wiser I believe in...

  Valentine The name of Spring is ever fresh and fair;     Her sound is ever gentle, ever true; The Spring is like the songbird of the air     Who sweetly choruses the good, the new. And we, my dear, have often seen the Spring     Arrive with promise, blossom, fade and go...

Models for Configuring Friendship A knight for whom the Grail is wholly you; the one who greets you sans your power, might; who never counts the favors that accrue; adheres to you whatever is your plight. An audience for fear, for woe, for laugh; an egger on, abettor of your...

  The lit brush burns oil on the canvas; Ancient word breathes stories of Atlantis; The silent stone speaks more than us all; Mortal mysteries that hold us in thrall. Throughout the ages, man has done and seen Terrible and beautiful—wondrous—things. But who are we to judge the weary hands...

Xerxes My power does lie In hue of the sky In the refined folds of God’s estate My throne I have carved Of sapphire hard And I crowned it with God’s ark of Jade My hosts of legions Number in millions Like a cloak o’er the land are they spread...

by Reid McGrath I forewarn you that these are the 10 greatest English Sonnets addressed to or concerning other poets and are not even the 10 greatest short poems concerning other poets. There are innumerable other short poems addressed to other poets which are wonderful and remarkable, from Ezra Pound’s...

So many lasers stroked the night, the sky simply purred and burst apart. We held our breaths, but not from fright - the fireworks had launched their start. like mad housewives and activists, the missiles screamed their courses out. And yet we were amazed and pleased when globe-sized dandelions shout...

Squinters The curious the contemplators the ones who concentrate on the littlest details. The most beautiful thing about them is how they space out and their attention is unattainable. While the others dismiss things as useless activities the squinters wish to figure out the world and how we revolve around...

  We left the Port of Joy so long ago, And ebbed so much the while and knew no flow, But still another strait we headed to. Whatever we did, wherever we steered All things led to one place, to that placed veered, As if forever condemned to be there....

Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who participated. There were many hundreds of submitted poems and many good works and poets who had to be left out. Thank you! ***Winners should email their mailing addresses to submissions@classicalpoets.org to receive their prizes.   First Prize ($500): Ron L. Hodges, Garden...

Sedona (A Rhupunt) Deep shadows fade Red rock cascade To purpled jade— Sun sparks ignite. Stone sentries stare Sightless through air At treadless stair Spanning the height. No mortals dare Enter the lair Or linger where Spirit meets sprite. This shrine of stone And bleached white bone Hides secrets shown...

The Gathering Upon the 400th anniversary of the founding of the town of Virginia in Ireland Oh town of the Virgin Queen I hear you call me back To your ancient Way of Woods following Vikings track Your castle is long gone But your market house still stands Four hundred...

By James Sale Frederick Glaysher claims to be an epic poet, and furthermore to have written an epic poem, The Parliament of Poets. This is a huge claim and an astonishing ambition. Is he? Has he? Before responding to these two important questions by reviewing his book, let me outline...

Night vision: a process Of the unconscious mind That the poet uses In order to find An acceptable first line Still divested of meaning Wanting only to sing These words forward leaning More words stimulating Which then will define Whether the poet’s craft To make right choices By listening carefully...

Spread twig fingers. Shed your leaves. Those that linger: They may grieve When comes the winter But, come spring New buds splinter, New blooms bring That grow and swell Concentric bands That breathe and dwell Upon this land. Plumb the darkness. Glory light. Show us far less Than you might....

Father and Son I. The Modern Daedalus I want you to carry yourself with pride: Stand up straight, with your shoulders back; don’t slouch; and yet, also, don’t let hubris deride you. Be humble. Get off that cushy couch I only could afford by working hard, from the ground up....

Based on the real account of a doctor involved in the Chinese Communist Party’s harvesting of organs from innocent living Falun Gong practitioners   In a bloodstained room on the darkest night, Four ghastly men enter, draped in white, Though dripping with sweat their spirits are cold, Ready to feast...

ATLASUSA “Material of this sort is best read aloud.” – Frank Fortky The postal gurus are creative and clever. Our Massachusetts-Pennsylvania family Brought forth a Maine addition – MA & PA, and ME. Per partly pluperfect plus purely preposterous purpose, State names will be spelled with two letters forever. Of...

On the Perception of Human Beauty Can there be a myriad of flaws so bold As to boast their cracked imperfections? Could it out do our high expectations? Is there an art form so wrinkled and old From the stress of keeping a tight hold On the skirts of cultures...

  An autumn breeze blows swiftly through the air, And plucks the tree leaves from their humble roots. Amidst the cold a group stands in the square, Its people warmly dressed in hats and boots. Each face is filled with peace and harmony, As soothing music drifts throughout the sky....

Updated: April 26, 2024 10 Greatest Poems Ever Written An Ambitious "Best Poems" List Limited to Poems Originally Written in English and of 50 Lines or Less by Evan Mantyk What is poetry? What is great poetry? The poems below answer these questions. From least greatest (10) to greatest greatest...

The band struck up for the comical clowns! They all sported wigs, red noses, and frowns And from painted mouths uttered sad cries. Then the fools threw water and custard pies In riotous ribaldry: mad, bad, and bold! The laughter and fun began to unfold; The children giggled; a vast...

. . Blue and Gold Michigan, Michigan: Kings to go forth, Kerothen, Kerothen, songs to the North, Ice scattered pond with a trout flipping high, Geist of beau monde, with a shout to the sky. Out from the frozen of winter and wrought, Stout from the chosen, and rendered and...

Tender is the night shared in close caress With candied kiss and floral purr, no less. The pristine perfection of unclaimed time Drenches air with an ephemeral chime. Considering not money as pay off, The gift of work may be just a day off; Precious moments of leisure, free to...

October 29, 2015: China renounces its 35 year old one-child policy, but strict controls continue despite the change.   The Party rules our wombs, with Orwellian coercion– forced abortion, sterilization. Infant girls cry from tombs. What if a one and only were to suffer an untimely death? Shido shido shido-...

1 it shows many sides but usually 2 — can boil & bluster & end in a stew — can be clear as crystal & cut a sharp view — or narrow to nothing but be taken as true 2 it holds symbols & keys & opens up views —...

When Fairies Stop Hiding It's at the end of the day, but it's not over just yet- It's time for young fairies, to grow wings and get wet. Sneaking out to the sky, while the sun descends down- Creating color for rainbows-before the rains hit ground. Dusk is their favorite...

Hints from the Moon (Monday) Beginning with zero, hints from the moon Going through phases, ripe in the womb; Time out of nothing, pared in the night, Planet of sorrow tilting to light; Retrograde motion, surf pushed & pulled, Full moon to crescent, new moon to full… Lifting & lowering...

“Red Wall” by Kunlun Zhang: This painting records the personal experience and internal turmoil of the artist, Professor Kunlun Zhang. Professor Zhang was imprisoned in China for three months, during which time he experienced physical and mental torture, including brainwashing. The two white Chinese characters mean "persecution."   Cascading strokes...

Forested deep purity Dusted with a winter's glow; Crystalline perpetuity Takes its place in nature's show. Fresh sunlight plays with diamonds soft That glisten as they sing In silent awe that drifts aloft A peaceful offering. Great ice sheets yield to spring's sweet kiss And snow gives way to rain;...

Images of beheadings and men in orange jumpsuits Haunt me when I wake The black hooded vigilantes in the desert Push my heart into the bellows of despair I imagine my male cousins under the hoods Shazan, Farhan and Arshad Who came here in the eighties With taxi driver and...

Free me from wars? Make my debut? Oh, Mr. Handsome G.I. Joe— your face and a blanket won’t do. Sift flour from Mama’s ashes, melt glue from Papa’s bones. Knead them into dough— free of wars, rising for my debut. Am I marble pale and girlish thin enough for you—...

A news report here provides some background on China Radio Like Radio Free Europe, Which popped the wax Plugs from deafened Soviet ears, And warmed their sterile souls With tales of liberty, China Radio wafts as pleasant song Through the ears of benighted Europeans, Australians, Canadians, and Americans, Especially Americans...