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:
- Olney Hymn 3: Jehovah-Rophi: I Am the Lord That Healeth Thee by William Cowper
- Dionysus poem – Aleister Crowley poems | Poetry Monster
- Lilian poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Houses Of Dreams by Sara Teasdale
- Of Old Sat Freedom on the Heights poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Decalogue poem – by Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- Love’s Wisdom poem – Alfred Austin
- News For The Delphic Oracle by William Butler Yeats
- A Choka Is A Littoral Drift
- Sonnet, an encyclopedic definition
- Inversnaid poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Lord Gregory: A Ballad by Robert Burns
- After Reading a Child’s Guide to Modern Physics by W. H. Auden
- On Seeing the Ladies Crux-Easton Walk in the Woods by the Grotto. poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- Константин Батюшков – На смерть И.П. Пнина
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
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песня Кэрролла
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песня Алисы
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песенка про ребёнка-поросёнка
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песенка-представление орлёнком Эдом Атаки Гризли
- Владимир Высоцкий – В плен, приказ, не сдаваться
- Владимир Высоцкий – В младенчестве нас матери пугали
- Владимир Высоцкий – В куски разлетелася корона
- Владимир Высоцкий – В этом доме большом раньше пьянка была
- Владимир Высоцкий – В далёком созвездии Тау Кита
- Владимир Высоцкий – В белье плотной вязки
- Владимир Высоцкий – Утренняя гимнастика
- Владимир Высоцкий – Упрямо я стремлюсь ко дну
- Владимир Высоцкий – Ублажаю ли душу романсом
- Владимир Высоцкий – У профессиональных игроков
- Владимир Высоцкий – У нас вчера с позавчера
- Владимир Высоцкий – У Наполеона Ватерлоо есть хотя б
- Владимир Высоцкий – У меня было сорок фамилий
- Владимир Высоцкий – У Доски, где почётные граждане
- Владимир Высоцкий – Тюменская нефть
- Владимир Высоцкий – Тот, кто раньше с нею был
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.