Oh, Masters, you who rule the world,
Will you not wait with me awhile,
When swords are sheathed and sails are furled,
And all the fields with harvest smile?
I would not waste your time for long,
I ask you but, when you are tired,
To read how by the weak, the strong
Are weighed and worshipped and desired.
When weary of the Mart, the Loom,
The Withering-house, the Riffle-blocks,
The Barrack-square, the Engine-room,
The pick-axe, ringing on the rocks,–
When tents are pitched and work is done,
While restful twilight broods above,
By fresh-lit lamp, or dying sun,
See in my songs how women love.
We shared your lonely watch by night,
We knew you faithful at the helm,
Our thoughts went with you through the fight,
That saved a soul,–or wrecked a realm
Ah, how our hearts leapt forth to you,
In pride and joy, when you prevailed,
And when you died, serene and true:
–We wept in silence when you failed!
Oh, brain that did not gain the gold!
Oh, arm, that could not wield the sword,
Here is the love, that is not sold,
Here are the hearts to hail you Lord!
You played and lost the game? What then?
The rules are harsh and hard we know,
You, still, Oh, brothers, are the men
Whom we in secret reverence so.
Your work was waste? Maybe your share
Lay in the hour you laughed and kissed;
Who knows but what your son shall wear
The laurels that his father missed?
Ay, you who win, and you who lose,
Whether you triumph,–or despair,–
When your returning footsteps choose
The homeward track, our love is there.
For, since the world is ordered thus,
To you the fame, the stress, the sword,
We can but wait, until to us
You give yourselves, for our reward.
To Whaler’s deck and Coral beach,
To lonely Ranch and Frontier-Fort,
Beyond the narrow bounds of speech
I lay the cable of my thought.
I fain would send my thanks to you,
(Though who am I, to give you praise?)
Since what you are, and work you do,
Are lessons for our easier ways.
‘Neath alien stars your camp-fires glow,
I know you not,–your tents are far.
My hope is but in song to show,
How honoured and dear you are.
A few random poems:
- After Parting by Sara Teasdale
- Stanzas Written In My Pocket Copy Of Thomson’s “Castle Of Indolence” by William Wordsworth
- On King Arthur’s Round Table at Winchester by Thomas Warton
- Olney Hymn 63: Not Of Works by William Cowper
- If by Rudyard Kipling
- The Commitment by Rob Leatherman Sr.
- Ego Dominus Tuus by William Butler Yeats
- The Crown Of Thorns
- Together by Siegfried Sassoon
- It’s the Wrong Address by peggy boone
- Integrity
- Ode On The Spring by Thomas Gray
- The Appointment by Ruth Padel
- Women’s Harvest Song poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Молкнущий вечер во мгле
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
- Robert Burns: Ca’ The Yowes To The Knowes: Second Version
- Robert Burns: On The Seas And Far Away:
- Robert Burns: Inscription To Miss Graham Of Fintry:
- Robert Burns: Ode For General Washington’s Birthday :
- Robert Burns: It Was A’ For Our Rightfu’ King:
- Robert Burns: The Highland Widow’s Lament :
- Robert Burns: The Highland Balou:
- Robert Burns: Bannocks O’ Bear Meal:
- Robert Burns: Charlie, He’s My Darling:
- Robert Burns: The Lovely Lass O’ Inverness:
- Robert Burns: Sonnet On The Death Of Robert Riddell: Of Glenriddell and Friars’ Carse.
- Robert Burns: On John Bushby, Esq., Tinwald Downs:
- Robert Burns: On Wm. Graham, Esq., Of Mossknowe:
- Robert Burns: On Capt. Lascelles:
- Robert Burns: Epitaph On A Noted Coxcomb: Capt. Wm. Roddirk, of Corbiston.
- Robert Burns: Epistle From Esopus To Maria :
- Robert Burns: Epitaph For Mr. Walter Riddell:
- Robert Burns: Pinned To Mrs. Walter Riddell’s Carriage:
- Robert Burns: The Epitaph:
- Robert Burns: Monody: On a lady famed for her Caprice.
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
Violet Nicolson ( 1865 – 1904); otherwise known as Adela Florence Nicolson (née Cory), was an English poetess who wrote under the pseudonym of Laurence Hope, however she became known as Violet Nicolson. In the early 1900s, she became a best-selling author. She committed suicide and is buried in Madras, now Chennai, India.