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:
- Freedom poem – by Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- Алишер Навои – Кипарис подобен розе увлажненной
- Dust of Snow by Robert Frost
- you witness my dying by Raj Arumugam
- From One Who Stays poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- My Mother’s Body by Marge Piercy
- Юнна Мориц – В серебряном столбе
- What We Leave Behind by Robert Saltzman
- Upon The Hills Of Georgia poem – Alexander Pushkin
- Robert Burns: A Red, Red Rose: [Hear Red, Red Rose]
- Only If I Know by Rifat Ilgaz
- The Handsome Heart poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- To Joanna by William Wordsworth
- Breather by Vishü Rita Krocha
- Такахама Кёси – Кончик трости моей
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
- Post coitum omne animal triste est sive gallus et mulier by T. Wignesan.
- Plaidoirie for a “Prince” of Jaffna by T. Wignesan
- Petrarchan Sonnet: If no one else breathed in this wide, wide world by T. Wignesan
- Paris, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s poem: Paris by T. Wignesan.
- Nevermore, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s sonnet: Nevermore by T. Wignesan
- Master Valluvan, the long-misunderstood Tamil Mentor by T. Wignesan
- Limerick: Once a Great Leader with empty pockets by T. Wignesan
- Criss-Cross Acrostic*: Ai My Eye ! by T. Wignesan
- Copla Suelta: The One and the Same Dream by T. Wignesan
- Ballade: In favour of those called Decadents and Symbolists, Translation of Paul Verlaine’s Ballade: En faveur des dénommés Déca by T Wignesan
- Am I the Assassin or the Undertaker by T. Wignesan
- Whispers of Immortality by T. S. Eliot
- The Song Of The Jellicles by T. S. Eliot
- The Rum Tum Tugger by T. S. Eliot
- The Old Gumbie Cat by T. S. Eliot
- The Naming Of Cats by T. S. Eliot
- The Hollow Men by T. S. Eliot
- The Boston Evening Transcript by T. S. Eliot
- The Ad-Dressing Of Cats by T. S. Eliot
- Sweeney Erect by T. S. Eliot
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.