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:
- Олег Григорьев – Сказал я девушке кротко
- “`Were I a Poet, I would dwell” poem – Alfred Austin
- Владимир Маяковский – Власть канцелярии – вот слова “бюрократия” перевод… (РОСТА №655)
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Одиночество
- Patroling Barnegat. by Walt Whitman
- First let the kennel be the huntsman’s care by William Somervile
- Uncle Sammy by Will McKendree Carleton
- The Temple of Fame poem – Alexander Pope
- Robert Burns: Home.:
- Yet, Yet, Ye Downcast Hours. by Walt Whitman
- An Extempore poem – John Keats poems
- Алексей Ржевский – Долго ль прельщаться
- Love’s Divinest Power by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- There Came a Soul by Rita Dove
- Run to Death poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
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
- Taita Falcon above the Zambezi by Tom Mukasa
- Steeds of Autumn by Todd H. C. Fischer
- Sorry by Tom Mukasa
- Ribbons & Pearls by Timothy Cole
- Racial Memories of a Chickadee by Todd H. C. Fischer
- My Miracle Valentine by Tirtha Raj Baral (Sanu Punatare)
- Mother’s Day, 1993 by Todd H. C. Fischer
- Mother Earth; Her Beauty And Her Destruction by TMBedell
- Manifestations by Tom Shea
- Love’s Divinest Power by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- In Token Of The Love You Gave by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- Imbrium by Todd H. C. Fischer
- I Make My bed Of Roses by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- Gentle Heart, Indulge Thy Dreaming by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- Edgar Allan Poe by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- Cenotaph, Manitoulin Island by Todd H. C. Fischer
- Beyond The Veil by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- And Still to USA they get! by Tom Mukasa
- Walls at Drogheda by Tomás Ó Cárthaigh
- The Death of Knowledge by Tomás Ó Cárthaigh
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.