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:
- On Miranda’s Leaving the Country by William Somervile
- The Countess Cathleen In Paradise by William Butler Yeats
- For Him I Sing. by Walt Whitman
- The Passing of Stumpy Shore by Mervyn John Webster
- All in June by William Henry Davies
- A Lost Friend, I Never Had by Renu Ayyar
- Shancoduff by Patrick Kavanagh
- The Mirror by Robert Creeley
- Not Goo Hwome To-Night by William Barnes
- Зинаида Александрова – Баиньки
- The Winds Out of the West Land Blow poem – A. E. Housman
- Seaside Golf poem – John Betjeman poems
- Robert Burns: This Is No My Ain Lassie:
- On Seeing the Ladies Crux-Easton Walk in the Woods by the Grotto. poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- Константин Бальмонт – Морское дно
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
- Hobbinol; or The Rural Games – Canto 2 by William Somervile
- Hare-hunting by William Somervile
- Fortune-Hunter, The – Canto 5 by William Somervile
- Fortune-Hunter, The – Canto 3 by William Somervile
- Fortune-Hunter, The – Canto 1 by William Somervile
- For the Lute by William Somervile
- First let the kennel be the huntsman’s care by William Somervile
- Field Sports by William Somervile
- Epistle from Mr. Somerville, An by William Somervile
- Chase, The – Book 1 by William Somervile
- All-Accomplished Rover by William Somervile
- Advice to the Ladies by William Somervile
- Address to His Elbow-Chair, New Cloath’d, An by William Somervile
- A Padlock for the Mouth by William Somervile
- “Young England–What Is Then Become Of Old” by William Wordsworth
- Yew-Trees by William Wordsworth
- “Yes! Thou Art Fair, Yet Be Not Moved” by William Wordsworth
- Yes, It Was The Mountain Echo by William Wordsworth
- Yarrow Visited by William Wordsworth
- Yarrow Unvisited by William Wordsworth
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
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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.