A poem by Alan Dugan
Who knows whether the sea heals or corrodes?
The wading, wintered pack-beasts of the feet
slough off, in spring, the dead rind of the shoes’
leather detention, the big toe’s yellow horn
shines with a natural polish, and the whole
person seems to profit. The opposite appears
when dead sharks wash up along the beach
for no known reason. What is more built
for winning than the swept-back teeth,
water-finished fins, and pure bad eyes
these old, efficient forms of appetite
are dressed in? Yet it looks as if the sea
digested what it wished of them with viral ease
and threw up what was left to stink and dry.
If this shows how the sea approaches life
in its propensity to feed as animal entire,
then sharks are comforts, feet are terrified,
but they vacation in the mystery and why not?
Who knows whether the sea heals or corrodes?:
what the sun burns up of it, the moon puts back.

A few random poems:
- What Peace Is Like
- Rain Falls
- Владимир Высоцкий – Нынче он закончил вехи
- In an Effort to Translate Solitude poem – Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson poems | Poems and Poetry
- Такахама Кёси – Кончик трости моей
- Аля Кудряшева – М. и П.
- M. Degas Teaches Art & Science At Durfee Intermediate School–Detroit, 1942 by Philip Levine
- Sonnet 28: How can I then return in happy plight by William Shakespeare
- The Snowman on the Moor by Sylvia Plath
- The Homeless Man by Mary TallMountain
- The Echo by William Barnes
- The Triumph by Siegfried Sassoon
- The Song Maker by Sara Teasdale
- Валерий Брюсов – Город женщин
- Ruth by William Wordsworth
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
- Commemoration of Rodney’s Victory by Robert Burns
- Coming Through The Rye by Robert Burns
- Caledonia: A Ballad by Robert Burns
- Burlesque Lament fo Wm. Creech’s Absence by Robert Burns
- Bonnie Lesley by Robert Burns
- Bonie Jean: A Ballad by Robert Burns
- Boat Song—Hey, Ca’ Thro’ by Robert Burns
- Birthday Ode for 31st December, 1787 by Robert Burns
- Ballad on the American War by Robert Burns
- Ballad on Mr. Heron’s Election—No. 4 by Robert Burns
- Ballad on Mr. Heron’s Election—No. 3 by Robert Burns
- Ballad on Mr. Heron’s Election—No. 2 by Robert Burns
- Ballad on Mr. Heron’s Election—No. 1 by Robert Burns
- Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns
- Apology to Mr. Syme for not dining with him by Robert Burns
- Another on the said Occasion by Robert Burns
- Ah, woe is me, my Mother dear by Robert Burns
- Ae Fond Kiss, And Then We Sever by Robert Burns
- Address to Wm. Tytler, Esq., of Woodhouselee by Robert Burns
- Address to the Unco Guid by Robert Burns
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.