Internal Migration On Being On Tour

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.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

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 English Flag by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Egg-Shell by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The ‘eathen by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Dove of Dacca by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Destroyers by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Derelict by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Deep-Sea Cables by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Declaration of London by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Dead King by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Day’s Work by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Craftsman by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Conundrum of the Workshops by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Comforters by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Coastwise Lights by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Children’s Song by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Captive by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Burial by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Broken Men by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Betrothed by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling
• The Benefactors by Rudyard Kipling by Rudyard Kipling

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

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

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works