A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Semichorus.
Oh Tyrant Love! hast thou possest
The prudent, learn’d, and virtuous breast?
Wisdom and wit in vain reclaim,
And Arts but soften us to feel thy flame.
Love, soft intruder, enters here,
But ent’ring learns to be sincere.
Marcus with blushes owns he loves,
And Brutus tenderly reproves.
Why, Virtue, dost thou blame desire,
Which Nature has imprest?
Why, Nature, dost thou soonest fire
The mild and gen’rous breast?
Chorus.
Love’s purer flames the Gods approve;
The Gods and Brutus bent to love:
Brutus for absent Portia sighs,
And sterner Cassius melts at Junia’s eyes.
What is loose love? a transient gust,
Spent in a sudden storm of lust,
A vapour fed from wild desire,
A wand’ring, self-consuming fire,
But Hymen’s kinder flames unite;
And burn for ever one;
Chaste as cold Cynthia’s virgin light,
Productive as the Sun.
Semichorus.
Oh source of ev’ry social tie,
United wish, and mutual joy!
What various joys on one attend,
As son, as father, brother husband, friend?
Whether his hoary sire he spies,
While thousand grateful thoughts arise;
Or meets his spouse’s fonder eye;
Or views his smiling progeny;
What tender passions take their turns,
What home-felt raptures move?
His heart now melts, now leaps, now burns,
With rev’rence, hope, and love.
Chorus.
Hence guilty joys, distastes, surmises,
Hence false tears, deceits, disguises,
Dangers, doubts, delays, surprises;
Fires that scorch, yet dare not shine
Purest love’s unwasting treasure,
Constant faith, fair hope, long leisure,
Days of ease, and nights of pleasure;
Sacred Hymen! these are thine.

A few random poems:
- Robert Burns: Lines To Mr. John Kennedy:
- General William Booth Enters into Heaven by Vachel Lindsay
- Ольга Седакова – Памяти одной старухи
- I Remembered by Sara Teasdale
- Стефан Малларме – Устав от горького бездействия и лени
- Robert Burns: The Young Highland Rover:
- The Aquittal Of Phryne poem – Alfred Austin
- Федор Сологуб – Я люблю мою темную землю
- On A World Of Imaginary & Freedom Dwell by Nithin Purple
- Down in the valley by Marcin Malek
- The Survivor by Primo Levi
- Couplets on Wit poem – Alexander Pope
- Владимир Маяковский – Небылицы в лицах
- Владимир Маяковский – Дешевая распродажа
- Федор Тютчев – Как дымный столп светлеет в вышине
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
- Bertie the Goldfish by Ross D Tyler
- Bagua by Rose Mry Boehm
- A turn of events by Ross D Tyler
- A Schoolyard Shame by Ryan Isaacson
- 600 Kilos of Muscle and Bone by Rose Mary Boehm
- Words Of Advice by Ronald G. Auguste
- Who is the Bogeyman? by Ross D Tyler
- Wherever You Go, There You Are by Ryssel Guzman
- We Miss You So Much by Ronald G. Auguste
- Trial by Ruth Padel
- To A Wife, On Mother’s Day by Ronald G. Auguste
- Tiger Drinking at Forest Pool by Ruth Padel
- Threads of Gold by Ronald G. Auguste
- Thoughts by Ronald G. Auguste
- The useless counsellor by Ross D Tyler
- The tragic tale of Bobby Magee by Ross D Tyler
- The Scarecrow by Ross D Tyler
- The (REAL) Tale of the Tortoise and the Hare by Ross D Tyler
- The missing pen by Ross D Tyler
- The Appointment by Ruth Padel
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