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:
- Sonnet 121: Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed by William Shakespeare
- Olney Hymn 30: The Light And Glory Of The Word by William Cowper
- Primrose Rose by Rainbow Reed
- Иван Киуру – Роща заалела
- The Death of the Flowers by William Cullen Bryant
- Sonnet 65: Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea by William Shakespeare
- They Did Not Expect This by Vernon Scannell
- Kyrenaikos
- Robert Burns: The Braw Wooer:
- Lover’s Gifts IV: She Is Near to My Heart by Rabindranath Tagore
- A Point Of Honour poem – Alfred Austin
- Your Dream
- Fancy In Nubibus, Or The Poet In The Clouds by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Вера Павлова – Утро вечера мудренее
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песенка про ребёнка-поросёнка
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
- Bathed in War’s Perfume. by Walt Whitman
- Base of all Metaphysics, The. by Walt Whitman
- at Weeping Face. by Walt Whitman
- Assurances. by Walt Whitman
- Ashes of Soldiers. by Walt Whitman
- As Toilsome I Wander’d. by Walt Whitman
- As the Time Draws Nigh. by Walt Whitman
- As if a Phantom Caress’d Me. by Walt Whitman
- As I Watch’d the Ploughman Ploughing. by Walt Whitman
- As I Walk These Broad, Majestic Days. by Walt Whitman
- As I Sat Alone by Blue Ontario’s Shores. by Walt Whitman
- As I Ponder’d in Silence. by Walt Whitman
- As I lay with Head in your Lap, Camerado. by Walt Whitman
- As Consequent, Etc. by Walt Whitman
- As At Thy Portals Also Death. by Walt Whitman
- As Adam, Early in the Morning. by Walt Whitman
- As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free. by Walt Whitman
- Artilleryman’s Vision, The. by Walt Whitman
- Apostroph. by Walt Whitman
- Ages and Ages, Returning at Intervals. by Walt Whitman
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.