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 Polar Koala Bear by Robby Charters
- When Smoke Stood Up From Ludlow poem – A. E. Housman
- Николай Некрасов – Взирает он на жизнь сурово, строго
- Life Brings Me to this Journey. by Stephen Sweitzer
- Николай Языков – Песня (Дороже почестей и злата)
- If Only by Mary Etta Metcalf
- To a friend by Vinko Kalinić
- Эмиль Верхарн – Завершение
- nursery_rhyme_for_a_twenty_first_birthday.html
- Владимир Маяковский – Врангель – фон… (РОСТА №472)
- The Homestead by William Barnes
- Владимир Корнилов – Место
- Какой чудесный, маленький комочек
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Молись в ночи без плача о заре
- The First Part: Sonnet 11 – Lamp of heaven’s crystal hall that brings the hours, by William Drummond
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
- Степан Щипачев – Потомкам
- Степан Щипачев – По дороге в совхоз
- Степан Щипачев – Опять тревожно, больно сердцу стало
- Степан Щипачев – Обращение к времени
- Степан Щипачев – Не громок, не бросок мой стих
- Степан Щипачев – Любовью дорожить умейте
- Степан Щипачев – Лил дождь осенний
- Степан Щипачев – Ладонь
- Степан Щипачев – Голос
- Степан Щипачев – День
- Степан Щипачев – Березка
- Степан Щипачев – Атака
- Стефан Малларме – Звенящий зимний день
- Стефан Малларме – Записка Уистлеру
- Стефан Малларме – Вздох
- Стефан Малларме – Весеннее обновление
- Стефан Малларме – В идоложертвенном ликующем костре
- Стефан Малларме – В альбом
- Стефан Малларме – Устав от горького бездействия и лени
- Стефан Малларме – Появление
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