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 60: Abuse Of The Gospel by William Cowper
- Владимир Вишневский – На исходе двадцатого века
- Владимир Луговской – Повелитель бумаги
- Василий Казин – Каменщик
- Владимир Степанов – Осы
- Robert Burns: Holy Willie’s Prayer: “And send the godly in a pet to pray.” – Pope.
- Among The Rice Fields
- Epilogue poem – Ezra Pound poems
- The New World by Philip Levine
- The Human Tragedy ACT III poem – Alfred Austin
- Untitled XXIII by Yunus Emre
- Олег Бундур – В саду
- I saw Old General at Bay. by Walt Whitman
- Aftermath by Sylvia Plath
- Water Strider by Aaron Baker
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 a Midnight Breaks in Storm by Rudyard Kipling
- Beast and Man in India by Rudyard Kipling
- As the Bell Clinks by Rudyard Kipling
- Army Headquarters by Rudyard Kipling
- Arithmetic on the Frontier by Rudyard Kipling
- Anchor Song by Rudyard Kipling
- An Old Song by Rudyard Kipling
- An Imperial Rescript by Rudyard Kipling
- An Astrologer’s Song by Rudyard Kipling
- An American by Rudyard Kipling
- A Truthful Song by Rudyard Kipling
- A Tree Song by Rudyard Kipling
- A Three-Part Song by Rudyard Kipling
- A Tale of Two Cities by Rudyard Kipling
- A Song of Travel by Rudyard Kipling
- A Song of the White Men by Rudyard Kipling
- A Song of the English by Rudyard Kipling
- A Song of Kabir by Rudyard Kipling
- A Song In Storm by Rudyard Kipling
- A Song at Cock-Crow by Rudyard Kipling
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.