Mirage

Is it a will-o’-the-wisp, or is dawn breaking,

That our horizon wears so strange a hue?

Is it but one more dream, or are we waking

To find that dreams, at last, are coming true?

Aye, surely, in that golden glimmer streaking

The cloudy sky-line of the life of man

We see the blessed day he has been seeking

In all directions since the world began.

Sign to each struggling and exhausted nation

Of hope fulfilled, redemption and release;

Sign of the end of needless tribulation,

And the beginning of the reign of Peace.

Country with country, brother with his brother,

Content to share, and not to grab and steal;

Ceasing the wild-beast battle, each with other,

To work in concert for the common weal.

No class-strife more, neighbour with differing neighbour;

No waste or want, to breed the plague or crime;

No soul-debasing pomp and sordid labour,

No wars, no famines, in the coming time!

But swords of slaughter-valour and brains and money-

Turned into ploughshares for the lands redeemed,

To fill men’s homes, as full as hives of honey,

With wealth unknown and happiness undreamed.

Great Art no more the plaything of the idle,

But nurse and minister to every need;

Nature no longer cowed with bit and bridle;

Conscience enfranchised and Religion freed.

All round our darksome isle the tide encroaches,

Distant and dim as yet, but spreading fast.

The reign of Love and Liberty approaches!

The heirs are coming to their own at last!

Hark! What was that? The vanquished devil howling,

With guns and bombs, for brother devil’s blood?

The primal savage out again-befouling

All this fair promise with his primal mud?

Alas! So soon to see our lovely morning

Back in the hopeless night whence it arose,

And have no time to wait another dawning!

O Lord, how long-how long . . . . . . . .

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 

• Николай Заболоцкий – Генеральская дача by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Футбол by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Это было давно by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Движение by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Дождь by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Детство by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Цирк by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Читайте, деревья, стихи Гезиода by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Человек в воде by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Царица мух by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Болезнь by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Битва с предками by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Бетховен by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Бегство в Египет by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Заболоцкий – Баллада Жуковского by Николай Заболоцкий
• Николай Языков – Жизни баловень счастливый by Николай Языков
• Николай Языков – Землетрясенье by Николай Языков
• Николай Языков – Записки А. С. Дириной by Николай Языков
• Николай Языков – Я. П. Полонскому (Благодарю тебя за твой подарок милой…) by Николай Языков
• Николай Языков – Вторая присяга by Николай Языков

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