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:
- Eclogue VIII by Virgil
- Dance To It by Shel Silverstein
- Валерий Брюсов – Игорю Северянину (Строя струны лиры клирной)
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись 1 к статуе Петра Великого
- Юрий Галансков – Рванулось пламя из ствола
- I Once Knew A Woman by Shel Silverstein
- Ode to Wine
- My Sad Self poem – Allen Ginsberg
- Insolent Storm Strikes At The Skull by Sylvia Plath
- Николай Гумилев – Неоромантическая сказка
- Sonet 47 by William Alexander
- Владимир Маяковский – За женщиной
- Зинаида Александрова – Песня моряков
- The Common A-Took In by William Barnes
- Олег Григорьев – С длинным батоном под мышкой
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
- Sunt Leones by Stevie Smith
- Pad, Pad by Stevie Smith
- Our Bog Is Dood by Stevie Smith
- Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith
- Nor We Of Her To Him by Stevie Smith
- Never Again by Stevie Smith
- My Heart Was Full by Stevie Smith
- My Heart Goes Out by Stevie Smith
- Mother, Among The Dustbins by Stevie Smith
- Infelice by Stevie Smith
- In The Night by Stevie Smith
- I Remember by Stevie Smith
- I Do Not Speak by Stevie Smith
- Happiness by Stevie Smith
- Freddy by Stevie Smith
- Exeat by Stevie Smith
- Edmonton, thy cemetery by Stevie Smith
- Drugs Made Pauline Vague by Stevie Smith
- Deeply Morbid by Stevie Smith
- Conviction (iv) by Stevie Smith
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.