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:
- Gwain To Feäir by William Barnes
- Resurgam
- To A May Baby by Winifred Mary Letts
- Dialogue Between a Sovereign and a One-Pound Note by Thomas Moore
- As At Thy Portals Also Death. by Walt Whitman
- Refrigerator, 1957 by Thomas Lux
- 9 Types of Lovers – The Twisted Version
- A Day Dream by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- This Living Hand poem – John Keats poems
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 54. Oh, yet we Trust that somehow Goo poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Джон Донн – Ворожба над портретом
- Labyrinth by Sera Jacob
- The Fairies by William Allingham
- Couplet 7 poem – Amir Khusro poems | Poems and Poetry
- O What Is That Sound by W H Auden
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
- Colonus’ Praise by William Butler Yeats
- Colonel Martin by William Butler Yeats
- Closing by William Butler Yeats
- Church And State by William Butler Yeats
- Chosen by William Butler Yeats
- Man And The Echo by William Butler Yeats
- Mad As The Mist And Snow by William Butler Yeats
- Lullaby by William Butler Yeats
- Long-Legged Fly by William Butler Yeats
- Lines Written In Dejection by William Butler Yeats
- Leda And The Swan by William Butler Yeats
- Lapis Lazuli by William Butler Yeats
- King And No King by William Butler Yeats
- John Kinsella’s Lament For Mrs. Mary Moore by William Butler Yeats
- Into The Twilight by William Butler Yeats
- In The Seven Woods by William Butler Yeats
- In Tara’s Halls by William Butler Yeats
- In Memory Of Major Robert Gregory by William Butler Yeats
- In Memory Of Eva Gore-Booth And Con Markiewicz by William Butler Yeats
- In Memory Of Alfred Pollexfen by William Butler Yeats
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.