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:
- Николай Заболоцкий – Прощание
- Yell of Pain by Maria Ivana Trevisani Bach
- A Jewish Family In A Small Valley Opposite St. Goar, Upon The Rhine by William Wordsworth
- The Melancholy of Birth
- Need by Robert Lloyd Jaffe
- “I Know The Stars” by Sara Teasdale
- Angel Of Christmas Love Shining Bright
- FREEDOM by Mac McGovern
- Николай Рубцов – Возвращение из рейса
- Ribbons & Pearls by Timothy Cole
- This Evening Also by Paul Celan
- Psalm 88 poem – John Milton poems
- Twice Shy by Seamus Heaney
- Prisoner by Rabindranath Tagore
- Seven Watchmen by Rudyard Kipling
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
- Hear the Voice by William Blake
- Introduction to the Songs of Innocence by William Blake
- French Revolution, The (excerpt) by William Blake
- I Saw a Chapel by William Blake
- I Heard an Angel by William Blake
- Broken Love by William Blake
- Eternity by William Blake
- Holy Thursday (Innocence) by William Blake
- Ah! Sun-Flower by William Blake
- A Cradle Song by William Blake
- Earth’s Answer by William Blake
- A Dream by William Blake
- Infant Joy by William Blake
- Evening Star by William Blake
- Auguries Of Innocence by William Blake
- And Did Those Feet In Ancient Time by William Blake
- Infant Sorrow by William Blake
- If It Is True What the Prophets Write by William Blake
- How Sweet I Roam’d by William Blake
- Holy Thursday (Experience) by William Blake
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.