In This Cul De Sac

To make sure

You have not said:

“I love you,”

They smell your breath.

They even smell your heart

Trying times are these, my darling.

They flog love

Tied to the post of the cul-de-sac

We must hide love in the closet.

In this serpentine maze

This crooked cold corner

They feed the fire

With poems and songs

Thinking, too, is risky.

Those who, late at night, knock on the door,

Are there to kill the lamp.

We must hide the light in the closet.

Then there are the butchers

Stationed at all cross-roads,

Armed with a block and a bloody cleaver.

Trying times these are, my darling.

Surgically,

They plant smiles on lips,

And songs in the mouths.

We must hide joy in the closet.

On lilies and lilacs,

They roast the canaries.

Trying times these are, my darling.

Drunk with victory, the Devil,

Celebrates our wake.

We must hide God in the closet.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

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 Merry Guide poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Lent Lily poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Laws of God, The Laws of Man poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Lads in Their Hundreds poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Lads in Their Hundreds poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Isle Of Portland poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Immortal Part poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Immortal Part poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Grizzly Bear poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Fairies Break Their Dances poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• The Chestnut Casts His Flambeaux poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Tell me not here, it needs not saying poem – Alfred Edward Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Tell me not here, it needs not saying poem – Alfred Edward Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending? poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending? poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Say, Lad, Have You Things to Do? poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Say, Lad, Have You Things to Do? poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Reveille poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Others, I Am Not the First poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman
• Others, I Am Not the First poem – A. E. Housman by Alfred Edward Houseman

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

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

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works