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:
- Peaceful Battles by Shekhar Srinivasan
- The Times Are Tidy by Sylvia Plath
- Number 1 by Raj Arumugam
- Hush’d be the Camps To-day. by Walt Whitman
- Владимир Высоцкий – Тоска немая гложет иногда
- The Rum Tum Tugger by T. S. Eliot
- Ольга Седакова – С нежностью и глубиной
- The Song of Death by Robert Burns
- Анатолий Жигулин – Ночная смена
- A Song Of Eternity In Time by Sidney Lanier
- Нина Воронель – Не слишком ли ты многого
- Living in my Bliss by Nina Gabriel
- Moonrise by Sylvia Plath
- Николай Некрасов – Не рыдай так безумно над ним
- Book Leaf by Shaunna Harper
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
- Culver Dell And The Squire by William Barnes
- Corn A-Turnen Yollow by William Barnes
- Chris’mas Invitation by William Barnes
- Children’s Children by William Barnes
- Childhood by William Barnes
- Changes by William Barnes
- Brookwell by William Barnes
- Bringen Woone Gwaïn O’ Zundays by William Barnes
- Bob The Fiddler by William Barnes
- Blessens A-Left by William Barnes
- Bleäke’s House In Blackmwore by William Barnes
- Blackmwore Maidens by William Barnes
- The Blackbird by William Barnes
- Bishop’s Caundle by William Barnes
- Bees A-Zwarmen by William Barnes
- Beauty Undecked by William Barnes
- Be’mi’ster by William Barnes
- Bad News by William Barnes
- Aunt’s Tantrums by William Barnes
- Angels By The Door by William Barnes
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.