An Exile’s Farewell
by Adam Lindsay Gordon
The ocean heaves around us still
With long and measured swell,
The autumn gales our canvas fill,
Our ship rides smooth and well.
The broad Atlantic’s bed of foam
Still breaks against our prow;
I shed no tears at quitting home,
Nor will I shed them now!
Against the bulwarks on the poop
I lean, and watch the sun
Behind the red horizon stoop —
His race is nearly run.
Those waves will never quench his light,
O’er which they seem to close,
To-morrow he will rise as bright
As he this morning rose.
How brightly gleams the orb of day
Across the trackless sea!
How lightly dance the waves that play
Like dolphins in our lee!
The restless waters seem to say,
In smothered tones to me,
How many thousand miles away
My native land must be!
Speak, Ocean! is my Home the same
Now all is new to me? —
The tropic sky’s resplendent flame,
The vast expanse of sea?
Does all around her, yet unchanged,
The well-known aspect wear?
Oh! can the leagues that I have ranged
Have made no difference there?
How vivid Recollection’s hand
Recalls the scene once more!
I see the same tall poplars stand
Beside the garden door;
I see the bird-cage hanging still;
And where my sister set
The flowers in the window-sill —
Can they be living yet?
Let woman’s nature cherish grief,
I rarely heave a sigh
Before emotion takes relief
In listless apathy;
While from my pipe the vapours curl
Towards the evening sky,
And ‘neath my feet the billows whirl
In dull monotony!
The sky still wears the crimson streak
Of Sol’s departing ray,
Some briny drops are on my cheek,
‘Tis but the salt sea spray!
Then let our barque the ocean roam,
Our keel the billows plough;
I shed no tears at quitting home,
Nor will I shed them now!

A few random poems:
- Илья Эренбург – Я помню, давно уже я уловил
- Cradle Song by Sarojini Naidu
- The Last Meeting by Siegfried Sassoon
- Bones by Walter de la Mare
- Keepen Up O’ Chris’mas by William Barnes
- Apprehensions by Sylvia Plath
- Владимир Маяковский – Вегетарианцы
- Николай Языков – Песня (Пусть свободны и легки)
- The Copper Beech by Marie Howe
- The Kiss by Sara Teasdale
- From The Italian Of Michael Angelo by William Wordsworth
- Владимир Британишский – Утром 10 мая 1945 года
- His Mercy Endureth For Ever by John Oxenham
- Олег Бундур – Эпидемия
- Bathing River
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
- Astrophel and Stella: III by Sir Philip Sidney
- Astrophel and Stella: I by Sir Philip Sidney
- Astrophel And Stella-First Song by Sir Philip Sidney
- To The Honble Commodore Hood on His Pardoning a Deserter by Phillis Wheatley
- To Mrs. Leonard on The Death of Her Husband by Phillis Wheatley
- Phillis Wheatley – Phillis Wheatley
- On The Death of Mr. Snider Murder’d By Richardson by Phillis Wheatley
- On Messrs Hussey and Coffin by Phillis Wheatley
- On Friendship by Phillis Wheatley
- To The Honble Commodore Hood on His Pardoning a Deserter by Phillis Wheatley
- His Excellency General Washington by Phillis Wheatley
- On Friendship by Phillis Wheatley
- America by Phillis Wheatley
- To The University Of Cambridge, In New-England by Phillis Wheatley
- To The Right Honourable William, Earl Of Dartmouth, His Majesty’s Principal Secretary Of The State For North-America, by Phillis Wheatley
- To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory by Phillis Wheatley
- To The King’s Most Excellent Majesty by Phillis Wheatley
- To The Honourable T. H. Esq; On the Death Of His Daughter by Phillis Wheatley
- To S.M., A Young African Painter, On Seeing His Works by Phillis Wheatley
- To Mæcenas by Phillis Wheatley
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
Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833 – 1870) was an Australian or British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He is considered to be one of the first national Australian poets.