A poem by Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000)
by Alec Derwent Hope
Reading the menu at the morning service:
– Iced Venusberg perhaps, or buttered bum;
Orders the usual sex-ersatz, and, nervous,
Glances around; Will she or won’t she come?
The congregation dissected into pews
Gulping their strip teas in the luminous cavern
Agape’s sacamental berry stews;
The nickel-plated light and clatter of heaven
Receive him, temporary Tantalus
Into the Lookingglassland’s firescape.
Suckled on Jungfraumilch his eyes discuss,
The werwolf twins, their mock Sabellian rape.
This is their time to reap the standing scorn,
Blonde Rumina’s crop. Beneath her leafless tree
Ripe-rumped she lolls and clasps the plenteous horn.
Cool customers who defy his Trinity
Feel none the less, and thrill, ur-vater Fear
Caged in the son. For, though this ghost behave
Experienced daughters recognize King Leer:
Lot also had his daughters in a cave.
Full sail the proud three-decker sandwiches
With the eye-fumbled priestesses repass;
On their swan lake the enchanted icecreams freeze,
The amorous fountain prickles in the glass
And at the introit of this mass emotion
She comes, she comes, a balanced pillar of blood,
Guides through the desert, divides the sterile ocean,
Brings sceptic Didymus his berserk food,
Sits deftly, folding elegant thighs, and takes
Her time. She skins her little leather hands,
Conscious that wavering towards her like tame snakes
The polyp eyes converge…. The prophet stands
Dreading the answer from her burning bush:
This unconsuming flame, the outlaw’s blow,
Plague, exodus, Sinai, ruptured stones that gush,
God’s telegram: Dare Now! Let this people go!
A few random poems:
- Владимир Маяковский – Свидетельствую
- Hurting Dive by Satish Verma
- He’s on the porch by Yosa Buson
- Beguiling by Roger McGough
- Lover’s Gifts XLVIII: I Travelled the Old Road by Rabindranath Tagore
- Cut Grass by Philip Larkin
- The Thorns In The Geäte by William Barnes
- Tell me not here, it needs not saying poem – Alfred Edward Housman
- The Little Box by Vasko Popa
- Sonnet 34: Why didst thou promise such a beauteous day by William Shakespeare
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 04 – part 03 by Torquato Tasso
- Late Evening Song by Weldon Kees
- Олег Григорьев – Яма
- The Princess: A Medley: As thro’ the land poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Song. Written On A Blank Page In Beaumont And Fletcher’s Works poem – John Keats 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
- An Afternoon by Raymond Carver
- Watching the Bird Watcher by Richard Schiffman
- Virtual Impressions by Renu Ayyar
- Two Wings by Ricardo Sternberg
- They won’t Know by Rifat Ilgaz
- The Laws of God, The Laws of Man by A. E. Housman
- The Invention of Honey by Ricardo Sternberg
- Swallows by Richard Schiffman
- Supply=Demand by Ricardo Sternberg
- Skyscrapers by Rifat Ilgaz
- Silence by Riju Dave
- Rainbow by Ria De Torres
- Only If I Know by Rifat Ilgaz
- My Search by Renu Ayyar
- My Partner in Crime by Rennu Ayyar
- My Last Poem by Rifat Ilgaz
- Man Versus Satan by Shahida Latif
- Lovers in Cafe by Aiyah De Torres
- LET Go.. by Renu Ayyar
- In Poetry by Rifat Ilgaz
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

Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000) was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic.