The Motto

Tentanda via est, etc.

What shall I do to be forever known,

And make the age to come my own?

I shall like beasts or common people die,

Unless you write my elegy;

Whilst others great by being born are grown,

Their mothers’ labor, not their own.

In this scale gold, in th’other fame does lie,

The weight of that mounts this so high.

These men are fortune’s jewels, molded bright,

Brought forth with their own fire and light;

If I her vulgar stone, for either look,

Out of myself it must be strook.

Yet I must on : what sound is’t strikes mine ear?

Sure I Fame’s trumpet hear;

It sounds like the last trumpet, for it can

Raise up the buried man.

Unpassed Alps stop me, but I’ll cut through all,

And march, the Muses’ Hannibal.

Hence, all the flattering vanities that lay

Nets of roses in the way;

Hence, the desire of honors or estate

And all that is not above fate;

Hence, Love himself, the tyrant of my days,

Which intercepts my coming praise.

Come, my best friends, my books, and lead me on:

‘Tis time that I were gone.

Welcome, great Stagirite, and teach me now

All I was born to know;

Thy scholar’s vict’ries thou dost far outdo,

He conquered th’earth, the whole world you.

Welcome, learn’d Cicero, whose blest tongue and wit

Preserve Rome’s greatness yet:

Thou art the first of orators; only he

Who best can praise thee, next must be.

Welcome the Mantuan swan, Vergil the wise,

Whose verse walks highest, but not flies;

Who brought green poesy to her perfect age,

And made that art which was a rage.

Tell me, ye mighty three, what shall I do

To be like one of you?

But you have climbed the mountain’s top, there sit

On the calm flour’shing head of it,

And whilst with wearied steps we upward go,

See us and clouds below.

Poetry Monster – Home

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 

• Graydigger’s Home by William Stafford by William Stafford
• For My Young Friends Who Are Afraid by William Stafford by William Stafford
• Atavism by William Stafford by William Stafford
• Ask Me by William Stafford by William Stafford
• Allegiances by William Stafford by William Stafford
• Across Kansas by William Stafford by William Stafford
• A Ritual To Read To Each Other by William Stafford by William Stafford
• Sonnet 127: In the old age black was not counted fair by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 126: O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 125: Were’t aught to me I bore the canopy by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 124: If my dear love were but the child of state by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 123: No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 122: Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 121: Tis better to be vile than vile esteemed by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 120: That you were once unkind befriends me now by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 11: As fast as thou shalt wane, so fast thou grow’st by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 119: What potions have I drunk of Siren tears by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 118: Like as to make our appetite more keen by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 117: Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
• Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

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.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works