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:
- At This Very Moment by Mary TallMountain
- Idylls of the King: The Marriage of Geraint poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Lord when the wise men came from farr by Sidney Godolphin
- Off Mesolongi poem – Alfred Austin
- Thinking For Berky by William Stafford
- Mother Nature by Walter William Safar
- Chorus of Athenians poem – Alexander Pope
- Владимир Британишский – Как турмалин, что субстанцию сланца
- Westward on the High-Hilled Plains poem – A. E. Housman
- Bridge-Guard in the Karroo by Rudyard Kipling
- After Schiller by Thomas Hardy
- Give Me Back My Rags #11 by Vasko Popa
- The Blind Man by Théophile Gautier
- Man In Black by Sylvia Plath
- Grandmother’s Teaching poem – Alfred Austin
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
- Before Summer Rain by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Fire’s Reflection by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Black Cat by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Duino Elegies: The First Elegy by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Archaic Torso Of Apollo by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Childhood by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Falling Stars by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Autumn Day by Rainer Maria Rilke
- from The Tenth Elegy by Rainer Maria Rilke
- For Hans Carossa by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Evening Love Song by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Evening by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Death by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Blank Joy by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Along The Sun-Drenched Roadside by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Again And Again, However We Know The Landscape Of Love by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Adam by Rainer Maria Rilke
- A Walk by Rainer Maria Rilke
- “Wonkavite…” by Roald Dahl
- Violet Beauregarde… by Roald Dahl
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.