May I never be afraid
especially of myself
but
Muhammed Ali are you telling
the truth?
Well you’re being true aren’t you and
you talk so wonderfully in your body
that protects you with physique of voice
raps within dance
May I never be afraid
rocked and quaked
the mantilla is lace
whose black is oak
But if I’m dark I’m strong
as my own darkness
my strength the universe
whose blackness is air
only starry
lace
But if I’m alive I’m strong
as life
Strong as the violets
in Marlon Brando’s fist
his dissemblance flourished into truth
She
took them
I’d take me too
I do
and my Ali I see you
a hard bright speck of me
the savage formalist
authentic deed of gossip
a kind body.
Copyright ©:
Alice Notley

A few random poems:
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 7. Dark house, by which once more I s poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Guy Faux’s Night by William Barnes
- Inscription For A Stone Erected At The Sowing Of A Grove Of Oaks At Chillington, Anno 1790 by William Cowper
- Robert Burns: Jockey’s Taen The Parting Kiss:
- Christmas Trees by Robert Frost
- Жан де Лафонтен – Садовод и Помещик
- Polly Be-en Upzides Wi’ Tom by William Barnes
- Sunk Lyonesse by Walter de la Mare
- Валерий Брюсов – К.Д. Бальмонту (Вечно вольный, вечно юный)
- Ольга Берггольц – Письмо из Ленинграда
- Жан Расин – Британик
- Far Within Us #5 by Vasko Popa
- Lodged by Robert Frost
- Shame
- A Library Of Skulls by Thomas Lux
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- A Song by Thomas Carew
- A prayer to the Wind by Thomas Carew
- A Divine Mistress by Thomas Carew
- A Cruel Mistress. by Thomas Carew
- Specula by Thomas Edward Brown
- Salve! by Thomas Edward Brown
- Risus Dei by Thomas Edward Brown
- Pain by Thomas Edward Brown
- Opifex by Thomas Edward Brown
- My Garden by Thomas Edward Brown
- Land, Ho! by Thomas Edward Brown
- Jessie by Thomas Edward Brown
- If Thou Could’st Empty All Thyself Of Self by Thomas Edward Brown
- Ibant Obscur? by Thomas Edward Brown
- I bended unto me a Bough by Thomas Edward Brown
- Dora by Thomas Edward Brown
- Disguises by Thomas Edward Brown
- Time of Roses by Thomas Hood
- Tim Turpin by Thomas Hood
- The World is with Me by Thomas Hood
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works