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:
- I the People poem – Alice Notley
- Farewell by Wang Wei
- Sonnet 122: Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain by William Shakespeare
- Ольга Берггольц – Пахнет соснами, гарью, тленьем
- Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind by Stephen Crane
- Ольга Берггольц – Февральский дневник
- Nanny’s New Abode by William Barnes
- symphony_in_red.html
- Ode to Poetry by Walter William Safar
- Владимир Высоцкий – В Средней Азии безобразие
- Distributive Trade II – The Wholesaler
- Between the Dusk of a Summer Night by William Ernest Henley
- On a certain Lady at Court poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- Nomenclature
- Memorials of A Tour In Scotland, 1803 I. Departure From The Vale Of Grasmere, August 1803 by William Wordsworth
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
- The Merry Guide poem – A. E. Housman
- The Lent Lily poem – A. E. Housman
- The Laws of God, The Laws of Man poem – A. E. Housman
- The Lads in Their Hundreds poem – A. E. Housman
- The Lads in Their Hundreds poem – A. E. Housman
- The Isle Of Portland poem – A. E. Housman
- The Immortal Part poem – A. E. Housman
- The Immortal Part poem – A. E. Housman
- The Grizzly Bear poem – A. E. Housman
- The Fairies Break Their Dances poem – A. E. Housman
- The Chestnut Casts His Flambeaux poem – A. E. Housman
- Tell me not here, it needs not saying poem – Alfred Edward Housman
- Tell me not here, it needs not saying poem – Alfred Edward Housman
- Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending? poem – A. E. Housman
- Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending? poem – A. E. Housman
- Say, Lad, Have You Things to Do? poem – A. E. Housman
- Say, Lad, Have You Things to Do? poem – A. E. Housman
- Reveille poem – A. E. Housman
- Others, I Am Not the First poem – A. E. Housman
- Others, I Am Not the First poem – A. E. Housman
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.