Over the smooth lawns, broider’d with violets,
Over the hedges of snow-white thorn,
Over the billowy, pink apple-blossoms,
The musical coo of the cushat is borne.
In the still depths of the dim old plantations,
Where the sweet whispering night-wind stirs
The delicate scent from the dew-sprinkled flowers,
It sings by its nest in the tall green firs.
So peaceful, so pure, so divinely contented,
The world out of sight and its true love nigh
Their little grey wings softly folded together,-
What dreams I have set to that melody!
I listen at dawn, and I listen at even;
I hear the notes bubbling all day long
Through the woodpecker’s laugh and the chirp of the titmouse,-
Little dove, yours is the sweetest song!
‘Tis not a sad song, though it sets me a-crying-
But gladness too deep to be spoken aloud;
Nor forlorn, though ’tis sung in the loneliest places-
But only too sacred to sing to a crowd.
I envy you, though you’re so small and so humble;
I wish I were like you, you shy little dove-
So far from the world and so free from its passion,
Yet sure of your white eggs and sure of your love.
I wish I were pure from low earthly ambitions,
As quiet and calm and contented as you;
I wish my heart held such a well-spring of music,
That I were as gentle and trustful and true.
Little dove, you were worthy to carry the olive
Over the waters to Noah’s host,
To die for the mother of Christ in the Temple,
To be chosen for shrine of the Holy Ghost.
And now you have only to live and be happy,
To rear up your young ones and teach them to coo;
O sing on, and teach me the heavenly lessons,
To be faithful and worthy of God’s work too.
Teach me so humbly to take what He gives me,
The manifold duties, the great and the small;
Teach me so simply to do what He bids me,
Loving and trustful, and thankful for all

A few random poems:
- Superficially by Ndue Ukaj
- Prelude: The Troops by Siegfried Sassoon
- 我爱我的老鼠
- What am I, After All? by Walt Whitman
- City Dead-House, The. by Walt Whitman
- Ольга Берггольц – Не знаю, не знаю, живу
- Shattered Dreams. Broken Promises. by Russell James
- SURVIVAL by Satish Verma
- The Miller’s Daughter poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Thanksgiving Day by Will McKendree Carleton
- Hymn by Sidney Godolphin
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песня автомобилиста
- The Declaration of London by Rudyard Kipling
- Владимир Маяковский – Нападали белогвардейцы на Донецкий бассейн… (РОСТА №611)
- The Furies by Weldon Kees
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
- Владимир Высоцкий – Вот и настал этот час опять
- Владимир Высоцкий – Вот, главный вход
- Владимир Высоцкий – Войны и голодухи натерпелися мы всласть
- Владимир Высоцкий – Водой наполненные горсти
- Владимир Высоцкий – Веселая покойницкая
- Владимир Высоцкий – Побег на рывок
- Владимир Высоцкий – В холода, в холода
- Владимир Высоцкий – В тюрьме Таганской нас стало мало
- Владимир Высоцкий – В тайгу
- Владимир Высоцкий – В Средней Азии безобразие
- Владислав Ходасевич – Опять во тьме. У наших ног
- Владислав Ходасевич – Окна во двор
- Владислав Ходасевич – Обо всем в одних стихах не скажешь
- Владислав Ходасевич – О, если б в этот час желанного покоя
- Владислав Ходасевич – Новый год
- Владислав Ходасевич – Ночь
- Владислав Ходасевич – Ни розового сада
- Владислав Ходасевич – Нет, не шотландской королевой
- Владислав Ходасевич – Нет, молодость, ты мне была верна
- Яков Полонский – Диссонанс
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
Ada Cambridge (1844 – 1926), also known as Ada Cross, was an English-born Australian author and poetess. She wrote more than 25 works of fiction, three volumes of poetry and two autobiographical works.