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:
- The Three Monuments by William Butler Yeats
- The Seven Sages by William Butler Yeats
- Sonnet 53: What is your substance, whereof are you made by William Shakespeare
- Her Story poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
- Spring In War Time by Sara Teasdale
- The Scratch by Raymond Carver
- Entranced by Satish Verma
- Владимир Луговской – Алайский рынок
- The Bridge of Sighs by Thomas Hood
- Николай Огарев – С полуночи ветер холодный подул
- Владимир Степанов – Енот (Буква Е)
- By Garpal Stream by Stanley Wilkin
- Robert Burns: Epigram At Brownhill Inn:
- Владимир Гиляровский – Владимирка – большая дорога
- Shillin’ a Day by Rudyard Kipling
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 Milk-Maid O’ The Farm by William Barnes
- The Mead A-Mow’d by William Barnes
- The Meäd In June by William Barnes
- The May-Tree by William Barnes
- The Maid Vor My Bride by William Barnes
- The Maid O’ Newton by William Barnes
- The Lovely Maïd Ov Elwell Meäd by William Barnes
- The Love Child by William Barnes
- The Little Worold by William Barnes
- The Linden On The Lawn by William Barnes
- The Lilac by William Barnes
- The Lew O’ The Rick by William Barnes
- The Leäne by William Barnes
- The Leädy’s Tower by William Barnes
- The Lark by William Barnes
- The Ivy by William Barnes
- The Hwomestead A-Vell Into Hand by William Barnes
- The Humstrum by William Barnes
- The Homestead by William Barnes
- The Hollow Woak by William Barnes
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