A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744) , the greatest English poet of “Augustan” or Georgian period
Dear, damn’d distracting town, farewell!
Thy fools no more I’ll tease:
This year in peace, ye critics, dwell,
Ye harlots, sleep at ease!
Soft B– and rough C–s adieu,
Earl Warwick made your moan,
The lively H–k and you
May knock up whores alone.
To drink and droll be Rowe allow’d
Till the third watchman’s toll;
Let Jervas gratis paint, and Frowde
Save three-pence and his soul.
Farewell, Arbuthnot’s raillery
On every learned sot;
And Garth, the best good Christian he,
Although he knows it not.
Lintot, farewell! thy bard must go;
Farewell, unhappy Tonson!
Heaven gives thee for thy loss of Rowe,
Lean Philips, and fat Johnson.
Why should I stay? Both parties rage;
My vixen mistress squalls;
The wits in envious feuds engage:
And Homer (damn him!) calls.
The love of arts lies cold and dead
In Halifax’s urn:
And not one Muse of all he fed
Has yet the grace to mourn.
My friends, by turns, my friends confound,
Betray, and are betrayed:
Poor Y–r’s sold for fifty pound,
And B–ll is a jade.
Why make I friendships with the great,
When I no favour seek?
Or follow girls, seven hours in eight?
I us’d but once a week.
Still idle, with a busy air,
Deep whimsies to contrive;
The gayest valetudinaire,
Most thinking rake, alive.
Solicitous for others’ ends,
Though fond of dear repose;
Careless or drowsy with my friends,
And frolic with my foes.
Luxurious lobster-nights, farewell,
For sober, studious days!
And Burlington’s delicious meal,
For salads, tarts, and pease!
Adieu to all, but Gay alone,
Whose soul, sincere and free,
Loves all mankind, but flatters none,
And so may starve with me.
A few random poems:
- Юнна Мориц – Собственное небо
- The Linden On The Lawn by William Barnes
- Aboard at a Ship’s Helm. by Walt Whitman
- Михаил Кузмин – В легкой лени
- English Poetry. Philip James Bailey. Festus – 41. Филип Джеймс Бэйли.
- To Sea by Martin Zakovski
- Владимир Высоцкий – Всё с себя снимаю, слишком душно
- Unstitching by Satish Verma
- The Past is the Present by Marianne Moore
- A Te Deum poem – Alfred Austin
- Two sparrows and my heart by Nizar Sartawi
- A Letter To Doctor Ingelo, then With My Lord Whitlock, Amba poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- As if by Sara Herlihy
- Robert Burns: The Soldier’s Return:
- Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead by William Shakespeare
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
- Robert Burns: Extempore On Some Commemorations Of Thomson:
- Robert Burns: Epigram On Seeing Miss Fontenelle In A Favourite Character:
- Robert Burns: The Rights Of Woman: An Occasional Address. Spoken by Miss Fontenelle on her benefit night, November 26, 1792.
- Robert Burns: Auld Rob Morris:
- Robert Burns: Highland Mary:
- Robert Burns: My Wife’s A Winsome Wee Thing:
- Robert Burns: I’ll Meet Thee On The Lea Rig:
- Robert Burns: Fragment Of Song:
- Robert Burns: Saw Ye Bonie Lesley:
- Robert Burns: Love For Love:
- Robert Burns: Bessy And Her Spinnin’ Wheel:
- Robert Burns: The Country Lass:
- Robert Burns: The Deil’s Awa Wi’ The Exciseman:
- Robert Burns: The Deuks Dang O’er My Daddie:
- Robert Burns: O Can Ye Labour Lea?:
- Robert Burns: The Slave’s Lament:
- Robert Burns: Kellyburn Braes:
- Robert Burns: Lady Mary Ann:
- Robert Burns: Sic A Wife As Willie Had:
- Robert Burns: My Collier Laddie:
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

Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) was a a post-Restoration English poet and satirist. He is a poet of the (British) Augustan period and one of its greatest artistic exponents.