The British
by A. S. J. Tessimond
We are a people living in shells and moving
Crablike; reticent, awkward, deeply suspicious;
Watching the world from a corner of half-closed eyelids,
Afraid lest someone show that he hates or loves us,
Afraid lest someone weep in the railway train.
We are coiled and clenched like a foetus clad in armour.
We hold our hearts for fear they fly like eagles.
We grasp our tongues for fear they cry like trumpets.
We listen to our own footsteps. We look both ways
Before we cross the silent empty road.
We are a people easily made uneasy,
Especially wary of praise, of passion, of scarlet
Cloaks, of gesturing hands, of the smiling stranger
In the alien hat who talks to all or the other
In the unfamiliar coat who talks to none.
We are afraid of too-cold thought or too-hot
Blood, of the opening of long-shut shafts or cupboards,
Of light in caves, of X-rays, probes, unclothing
Of emotion, intolerable revelation
Of lust in the light, of love in the palm of the hand.
We are afraid of, one day on a sunny morning,
Meeting ourselves or another without the usual
Outer sheath, the comfortable conversation,
And saying all, all, all we did not mean to,
All, all, all we did not know we meant.

A few random poems:
- Johnnie Armstrang poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Robin Hood And The Butcher poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Balloons by Sylvia Plath
- Missing
- Robert Burns: The Laddie’s Dear Sel’:
- Sonnet 13 poem – John Milton poems
- Владимир Маяковский – Победой увенчав Октябрьский бой… (Главполитпросвет №364)
- Наум Коржавин – Иль впрямь я разлюбил свою страну?
- Николай Заболоцкий – Свадьба
- Latino Author and Educator Provides Tools for College and Life Success
- Владимир Маяковский – Старый мотив (РОСТА №137)
- Evarra And His Gods by Rudyard Kipling
- Maktoob
- Forty Years Later by Martin Willitts, Jr
- English Poetry. Madison Julius Cawein. He Who Loves. Мэдисон Джулиус Кавейн.
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
- After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost
- Acquainted With the Night by Robert Frost
- Acceptance by Robert Frost
- A Winter Eden by Robert Frost
- A Time to Talk by Robert Frost
- A Star in a Stoneboat by Robert Frost
- A Soldier by Robert Frost
- A Servant to Servants by Robert Frost
- A Question by Robert Frost
- A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost
- A Peck of Gold by Robert Frost
- A Patch of Old Snow by Robert Frost
- A Passing Glimpse by Robert Frost
- A Minor Bird by Robert Frost
- A Late Walk by Robert Frost
- A Hundred Collars by Robert Frost
- A Hillside Thaw by Robert Frost
- A Girl’s Garden by Robert Frost
- A Fountain, a Bottle, a Donkey’s Ears, and Some Books by Robert Frost
- A Dream Pang by Robert Frost
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