A poem by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)
The clouds and the stars didn’t wage this war
the brooks gave no information
if the mountain spewed stones of fire into the river
it was not taking sides
the raindrop faintly swaying under the leaf
had no political opinions
and if here or there a house
filled with backed-up raw sewage
or poisoned those who lived there
with slow fumes, over years
the houses were not at war
nor did the tinned-up buildings
intend to refuse shelter
to homeless old women and roaming children
they had no policy to keep them roaming
or dying, no, the cities were not the problem
the bridges were non-partisan
the freeways burned, but not with hatred
Even the miles of barbed-wire
stretched around crouching temporary huts
designed to keep the unwanted
at a safe distance, out of sight
even the boards that had to absorb
year upon year, so many human sounds
so many depths of vomit, tears
slow-soaking blood
had not offered themselves for this
The trees didn’t volunteer to be cut into boards
nor the thorns for tearing flesh
Look around at all of it
and ask whose signature
is stamped on the orders, traced
in the corner of the building plans
Ask where the illiterate, big-bellied
women were, the drunks and crazies,
the ones you fear most of all: ask where you were.
A few random poems:
- Николай Огарев – Я сорвал ветку кипариса
- I Chide Not At The Seasons poem – Alfred Austin
- Владимир Высоцкий – В младенчестве нас матери пугали
- Владимир Маяковский – Рабочий корреспондент
- Анатолий Жигулин – Калина
- Snapshots Of A Daughter In Law
- mark.html
- Patience, Hard Thing! The Hard Thing But To Pray poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- I Can Feel The Same by Miraj Patel
- Robert Burns: O For Ane An’ Twenty, Tam :
- Валерий Брюсов – Из Александрийской антологии. К Сапфо
- Яков Полонский – Не жди
- Wind by Mac McGovern
- A Young Soul
- Михаил Ломоносов – Богиня, дщерь божеств, науки основавших
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
- Epigram—The Keekin Glass by Robert Burns
- Epigram—Thanks for a National Victory by Robert Burns
- Epigram pinned to Mrs. Riddell’s carriage by Robert Burns
- Epigram on the same Laird’s Country Seat by Robert Burns
- Epigram on the said Occasion by Robert Burns
- Epigram on the Laird of Laggan by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Rough Roads by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Politics by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Parting with a kind Host in the Highlands by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Mr. James Gracie by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Miss Fontenelle by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Jessy Staig’s recovery by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Francis Grose the Antiquary by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Dr. Babington’s looks by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Andrew Turner by Robert Burns
- Epigram on an Innkeeper (“The Marquis”) by Robert Burns
- Epigram on a Swearing Coxcomb by Robert Burns
- Epigram on a Suicide by Robert Burns
- Epigram on a Country Laird (Cardoness) by Robert Burns
- Epigram—Kirk and State Excisemen by Robert Burns
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
Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012) was an American poet, essayist, and feminist.