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:
- Eden in Winter by Vachel Lindsay
- From ‘Samson Agonistes’ i poem – John Milton poems
- Life by Marvin Bell
- The Rain by Robert Creeley
- Николай Гербель – Меня преследует какой-то демон злой
- The Night Dances by Sylvia Plath
- To A Young Lady Who Sent Me A Laurel Crown poem – John Keats poems
- Ольга Седакова – Цивилизация
- Identity poem – A. R. Ammons poems | Poetry Monster
- By the Lake by Tu Fu
- Return From Business poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- At Bordj-an-Nus poem – Aleister Crowley poems | Poetry Monster
- Sonnet 10
- Eclogue:–Two Farms In Woone by William Barnes
- Reconciliation by William Butler Yeats
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
- The Mystic Isle by Rainbow Reed
- Spiritual Memories of Mother by Raj Napal
- Primrose Rose by Rainbow Reed
- Prayers by Rainbow Reed
- This by Ralph Angel
- Man in a Window by Ralph Angel
- Breaking and Entering by Ralph Angel
- Online Lover by Rainbow Reed
- One Day You Will Miss Me.. by Rahul S
- Of Love and All by Raja Mannar
- Mother Teresa by Raj Napal
- Mother by Sachin Yadav (Pen Name: Rahul Nachhiketa)
- Journey with God by Raj Napal
- It Takes a While to Disappear by Ralph Angel
- In Every Direction by Ralph Angel
- I Thank You, Mum by Raj Napal
- Hope for a New World by Raj Napal
- God Cut the Cord by Raj Napal
- Even Because by Ralph Angel
- Dinner Date by Rainbow Reed
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.