A poem by Alan Dugan
As an American traveler I have
to remember not to get actionably mad
about the way things are around here.
Tomorrow I’ll be a thousand miles away
from the way it is around here. I will
keep my temper, I will not kill the dog
next door, nor will I kill the next-door wife,
both of whom are crazy and aggressive
and think they live at the center of culture
like everyone else in this college town.
This is because I’m leaving, I’m taking off
by car, by light plane, by jet, by taxicab,
for some place else a thousand miles away,
so I caution myself: control your rage,
even if it causes a slight heart attack.
Stay out of jail tonight before you leave,
and don’t get obstreperous in transit tomorrow
so as to stay out of jail on arrival tomorrow night.
Think: the new handcuffs are sharp inside
and meant to cut the wrists. You’re not too old
to be raped in their filthy overcrowded jails
and you’ll lose your glasses and false teeth.
How would you eat, study and be
a traveling lecturer if you got out alive and sane?
So remember to leave this place peacefully,
it’s only Asshole State University at Nowheresville,
and remember to get to the next place peacefully,
it’s only Nowhere State University at Assholesville
and you must travel from place to place for food and shelter.
A few random poems:
- Three Portraits Of Prince Charles poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Music poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Николай Заболоцкий – Обводной канал
- Валерий Брюсов – После ночи бессонной
- The Survivor by Primo Levi
- By The Fire poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- Зинаида Александрова – Мы оделись раньше всех
- The Superannuated Lover by William Somervile
- Юнна Мориц – Букет котов
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XXXI poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- In Abeyance by Satish Verma
- Олег Бундур – Я не плачу
- An Image From A Past Life by William Butler Yeats
- In Memoriam 3: O Sorrow, Cruel Fellowship poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Ольга Берггольц – Здравствуй
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
- Failure by Rupert Brooke
- Dust by Rupert Brooke
- Doubts by Rupert Brooke
- Dining-Room Tea by Rupert Brooke
- Desertion by Rupert Brooke
- Dead Men’s Love by Rupert Brooke
- Day That I Have Loved by Rupert Brooke
- Day And Night by Rupert Brooke
- Dawn by Rupert Brooke
- Clouds by Rupert Brooke
- Choriambics — II by Rupert Brooke
- Choriambics — I by Rupert Brooke
- Charm, The by Rupert Brooke
- Busy Heart, The by Rupert Brooke
- Blue Evening by Rupert Brooke
- Beauty and Beauty by Rupert Brooke
- Ante Aram by Rupert Brooke
- And love has changed to kindliness by Rupert Brooke
- A Memory by Rupert Brooke
- A Letter to a Live Poet by Rupert Brooke
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
Alan Dugan (1923 – 2003) an American poet, a contemporary classic of American poetry.