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.

A few random poems:
- Far Pitched Tents: Poems of War by Michael Nikoletseas
- Владимир Маяковский – Да или нет
- My life – “An ambiguous journey” by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- Life by Sarojini Naidu
- The Voice of Woman by Shahida Latif
- Starlight
- Who is at my door? by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
- Elegy to the Old Man Hokuju by Yosa Buson
- William Cullen Bryant – William Cullen Bryant
- Владимир Корнилов – Халабуда
- On A World Of Imaginary & Freedom Dwell by Nithin Purple
- Respect her by Vinaya Kumar Hanumanthappa
- Омар Хайям – Когда ветер у розы подол разорвет
- Hira Singhs Farewell To Burmah
- Владимир Маяковский – Не пей сырой воды! (Главполитпросвет №230)
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
- From Milton: And did those feet by William Blake
- Blind Man’s Buff by William Blake
- XVI: Some Verses: Of Conquerouris by William Alexander
- XV: Some Verses: Ciprian’s Smyling by William Alexander
- XIV: Some Verses: To Mr. Edward Allane by William Alexander
- XIII: Some Verses: On A Report On The Death Of The Author by William Alexander
- A Slumber did my Spirit Seal by William Wordsworth
- A Sketch by William Wordsworth
- A Poet’s Epitaph by William Wordsworth
- A Poet! He Hath Put His Heart To School by William Wordsworth
- A Parsonage In Oxfordshire by William Wordsworth
- A Morning Exercise by William Wordsworth
- A Jewish Family In A Small Valley Opposite St. Goar, Upon The Rhine by William Wordsworth
- A Gravestone Upon The Floor In The Cloisters Of Worcester Cathedral by William Wordsworth
- A Fact, And An Imagination, Or, Canute And Alfred, On The Seashore by William Wordsworth
- A Complaint by William Wordsworth
- XII: Some Verses: Sonnet, To The Authour by William Alexander
- XI: Some Verses: To His Worthy Friend Master Walter Quin by William Alexander
- X: Some Verses: To His Most Affectionate Friend Mr. Lithgow by William Alexander
- VII: Some Verses: On The Death of John Murray by William Alexander
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