The Innocent Ill

Though all thy gestures and discourses be

Coin’d and stamp’d by modesty;

Though from thy tongue ne’er slipp’d away

One word which nuns at th’ altar might not say;

Yet such a sweetness, such a grace,

In all thy speech appear,

That what to th’ eye a beauteous face,

That thy tongue is to th’ ear:

So cunningly it wounds the heart,

It strikes such heat through every part,

That thou a tempter worse than Satan art.

Though in thy thoughts scarce any tracks have been

So much as of original sin,

Such charms thy beauty wears as might

Desires in dying confess’d saints excite:

Thou, with strange adultery,

Dost in each breast a brothel keep;

Awake all men do lust for thee,

And some enjoy thee when they sleep.

Ne’er before did woman live,

Who to such multitudes did give

The root and cause of sin, but only Eve.

Though in thy breast so quick a pity be,

That a fly’s death ‘s a wound to thee;

Though savage and rock-hearted those

Appear, that weep not ev’n Romance’s woes;

Yet ne’er before was tyrant known,

Whose rage was of so large extent;

The ills thou dost are whole thine own;

Thou ‘rt principal and instrument:

In all the deaths that come from you,

You do the treble office do

Of judge, of torturer, and of weapon too.

Thou lovely instrument of angry Fate,

Which God did for our faults create!

Thou pleasant, universal ill,

Which, sweet as health, yet like a plague dost kill!

Thou kind, well-natur’d tyranny!

Thou chaste committer of a rape!

Thou voluntary destiny,

Which no man can, or would, escape!

So gentle, and so glad to spare,

So wondrous good, and wondrous fair,

(We know) ev’n the destroying-angels are.

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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 

• Rain After a Vaudeville Show by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Portrait of a Boy by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Portrait of a Baby by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Poor Devil! by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Nos Immortales by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Music by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• May Morning by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Love in Twilight by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Lonely Burial by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Going Back to School by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Ghosts of a Lunatic Asylum by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Elegy for an Enemy by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Dinner in a Quick Lunch Room by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Dedication by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Colors by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Before an Examination by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• Alexander VI Dines with the Cardinal of Capua by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• A Minor Poet by Stephen Vincent Benet by Stephen Vincent Benét
• The Grammar Lesson by Steve Kowit by Poetry In English
• The Convoy by Stephenie Tucker by Poetry In English

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.

 

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