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:
- Юлия Жадовская – Ах, бабушкин сад
- Валерий Брюсов – К моей стране
- THE IRISH GUARDS by Rudyard Kipling
- Виктор Шамонин-Версенев – Заяц-врун
- Sir Philip Sidney; Astrophel and Stella: XXIII by Sir Philip Sidney
- Hugh Selwyn Mauberly (Part I) poem – Ezra Pound poems
- Ione, Dead the Long Year poem – Ezra Pound poems
- Gamajun, the Prophetic Bird poem – Aleksandr Blok poems | Poetry Monster
- Яков Полонский – Песня циганки
- Me’th Below The Tree by William Barnes
- Олег Бундур – Колыбельная для мамы
- Eco en la madrugada by Mara Romero Torres
- Epitaph on John Rankine by Robert Burns
- The Gardener XLVIII: Free Me by Rabindranath Tagore
- Last Poem by Ted Berrigan
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
- Will Remain Unseen by Vasil Slavov
- Vietnam Vet befriends an immigrant in Pittsburgh, Pa – ( let’s put it that way ) by Vasil Slavov
- To Somebody Out There by Vashti Trisawati Abhidana
- The Blessed Birth by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- Sweet Colonnade by Vasil Slavov
- Shadow Of Liberty by Vattacharja Chandan
- Sea of lavender ( 4 pre-summer poems ) by Vasil Slavov
- No LOVE by venkatesh.valusa
- My life – “An ambiguous journey” by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- Let Me Tide Over by Vattacharja Chandan
- Kite by Vattacharja Chandan
- Immortal Indian Legend by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- Had Something To Say by Vattacharja Chandan
- Deity of my dreams by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- Confession by Vasishta Sharma Gudi
- Bulgarian Lullaby by Vasil Slavov
- At the bottom by Vasil Slavov
- Wife Killer by Vernon Scannell
- Where Shall We Go? by Vernon Scannell
- Walking Wounded by Vernon Scannell
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.