A poem by Alcaeus of Mytilene (c. 625/620 – c. 580 BC)
What constitutes a State?
Not high-raised battlement, or labored mound,
Thick wall or moated gate;
Not cities fair, with spires and turrets crown’d;
No:–Men, high-minded men,
With powers as far above dull brutes endued
In forest, brake or den,
As beasts excel cold rocks and brambles rude:–
Men who their duties know,
But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain;
Prevent the long-aimed blow,
And crush the tyrant, while they rend the chain.
A few random poems:
- The End of the Argument by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Untitled XXIV by Yunus Emre
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 06 – part 03 by Torquato Tasso
- Free Fantasia On Japanese Themes poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Broken Men by Rudyard Kipling
- Гавриил Державин – Подражание псалму (Терпел я, уповал на Бога)
- Lover’s Gifts XIX: It Is Written in the Book by Rabindranath Tagore
- Владимир Маяковский – По городам Союза
- Огюст Барбье – Кола ди Риенци
- The Riddle by W H Auden
- In The Month When Sings The Cuckoo poem – Alfred Austin
- Алексей Толстой – Пустой дом
- Balmoral Castle by William Topaz McGonagall
- To A Young Friend, On His Arriving At Cambridge Wet, When No Rain Had Fallen There by William Cowper
- Омар Хайям – О мудрец, если тот или этот дурак
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
- Epigram—The Keekin Glass by Robert Burns
- Epigram—Thanks for a National Victory by Robert Burns
- Epigram pinned to Mrs. Riddell’s carriage by Robert Burns
- Epigram on the same Laird’s Country Seat by Robert Burns
- Epigram on the said Occasion by Robert Burns
- Epigram on the Laird of Laggan by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Rough Roads by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Politics by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Parting with a kind Host in the Highlands by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Mr. James Gracie by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Miss Fontenelle by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Jessy Staig’s recovery by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Francis Grose the Antiquary by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Dr. Babington’s looks by Robert Burns
- Epigram on Andrew Turner by Robert Burns
- Epigram on an Innkeeper (“The Marquis”) by Robert Burns
- Epigram on a Swearing Coxcomb by Robert Burns
- Epigram on a Suicide by Robert Burns
- Epigram on a Country Laird (Cardoness) by Robert Burns
- Epigram—Kirk and State Excisemen 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

Alcaeus of Mytilene ( c. 625/620 – c. 580 Before Christ) ] was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in the canonical list of nine lyric poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria.