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 4: Jehovah-Nissi: The Lord My Banner by William Cowper
- Winter by Shaunna Harper
- Silent Steps by Rabindranath Tagore
- Аля Кудряшева – Вечер большого дня
- Владимир Набоков – Верба
- From Milton: And did those feet by William Blake
- An Invocation poem – Alexander Pushkin
- Night Song At Amalfi by Sara Teasdale
- Even if I don’t hear your voice, I know by Vinko Kalinic
- Less Than The Cloud To The Wind by Sara Teasdale
- Валерий Брюсов – Два мака
- Кондратий Рылеев – Луна
- My Government Frustrates Me by Olaniyi Beloved Abimbola
- On the Idle Hill of Summer by A. E. Housman
- Владимир Маяковский – Сказка о красной шапочке
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
- Conversation Among The Ruins by Sylvia Plath
- Circus In Three Rings by Sylvia Plath
- Child’s Park Stones by Sylvia Plath
- “Célibataire” by Sylvia Plath
- By Candlelight by Sylvia Plath
- Burning The Letters by Sylvia Plath
- Bluebeard by Sylvia Plath
- Blackberrying by Sylvia Plath
- Black Rook In Rainy Weather by Sylvia Plath
- Black Pine Tree In An Orange Light by Sylvia Plath
- Battle-Scene From the Comic Operatic Fantasy The Seafarer by Sylvia Plath
- Balloons by Sylvia Plath
- Ariel by Sylvia Plath
- Apprehensions by Sylvia Plath
- An Appearance by Sylvia Plath
- Amnesiac by Sylvia Plath
- All The Dead Dears by Sylvia Plath
- Aftermath by Sylvia Plath
- Admonition by Sylvia Plath
- Above The Oxbow by Sylvia Plath
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.