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:
- Олег Бундур – Не ходите ночью
- Nestling by Mark R Slaughter
- Владимир Маяковский – Бруклинский мост
- Владимир Маяковский – Протекция
- Epitaph for William Nicol, High School, Edinburgh by Robert Burns
- A Song of Kabir by Rudyard Kipling
- Asleep by Wilfred Owen
- Prayers by Rainbow Reed
- The Rose Tree by William Butler Yeats
- Юлиан Анисимов – Из Рильке
- Elegy on Stella by Robert Burns
- Николай Заболоцкий – Ночь в лесу
- To E. poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- Purdah by Sylvia Plath
- A Great Time by William Henry Davies
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
- Song. A Beautiful Mistress. by Thomas Carew
- Song by Thomas Carew
- Secrecy Protested. by Thomas Carew
- Persuasions to Joy, a Song by Thomas Carew
- My Mistress Commanding Me to Return Her Letters. by Thomas Carew
- Mediocrity in Love Rejected by Thomas Carew
- Lips and Eyes. by Thomas Carew
- Know, Celia, Since Thou Art So Proud by Thomas Carew
- Ingrateful Beauty Threatened by Thomas Carew
- I Do Not Love Thee For That Fair by Thomas Carew
- He That Loves A Rosy Cheek by Thomas Carew
- Epitaph On the Lady Mary Villiers by Thomas Carew
- Epitaph for Maria Wentworth by Thomas Carew
- Disdain Returned by Thomas Carew
- Celia Beeding, To the Surgeon by Thomas Carew
- Boldness in Love by Thomas Carew
- Ask Me No More by Thomas Carew
- Another by Thomas Carew
- An Elegy upon the Death of the Dean of St. Paul’s, Dr. John by Thomas Carew
- A Song: When June is Past, the Fading Rose by Thomas Carew
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.