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:
- Damayante To Nala In The Hour Of Exile by Sarojini Naidu
- Василий Жуковский – Бедный певец
- Leave Me, O Love Which Reachest But To Dust by Sir Philip Sidney
- The Changeling by Russell Edson
- Translated From A Sonnet Of Ronsard poem – John Keats poems
- The Night
- Upon Julia’s Breast by Marie Starr
- Niobe in Distress by Phillis Wheatley
- As He Walks Away by Mahmoud Darwish
- Rimer poem – by Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- Death & Co. by Sylvia Plath
- Илья Эренбург – Я помню, давно уже я уловил
- The Aegean by Maria Luisa Spaziani
- Supply=Demand by Ricardo Sternberg
- Владимир Маяковский – Заносы не дают железным дорогам жить… (РОСТА №838)
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
- Наум Коржавин – Генерал
- Наум Коржавин – Гамлет
- Наум Коржавин – Еж и Заяц
- Наум Коржавин – Есть у тех, кому нету места
- Наум Коржавин – Еще в мальчишеские годы
- Наум Коржавин – Двадцатые годы
- Наум Коржавин – Друзьям
- Наталья Хрущева – Дождик и художник
- Наталья Хрущева – Большой и маленький
- Наталья Хрущева – Бабушка рыцаря
- Наталья Шевченко – Самолёт
- Наталья Шевченко – Прости прости Меня Отец
- Наталья Шевченко – Привилегия
- Наталья Шевченко – Он не в себе
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись на иллюминацию, представленную ее императорскому Величеству от их императорских высочеств в Ораниенбауме 1750 года июля 31 дня
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись на иллюминацию 1747 года перед зимним домом
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись на день восшествия на престол Ее Величества 1753 года
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись на день рождения Ее Величества
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись благоверному и Великому князю Александру Невскому
- Михаил Ломоносов – Надпись 5 к статуе Петра Великого
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.