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:
- Prayers by Rainbow Reed
- Bad News by William Barnes
- Mugging (I) poem – Allen Ginsberg
- You by Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Огюст Барбье – Роберт Эммет
- Song—O can ye Labour Lea? by Robert Burns
- Sporting Acquaintances by Siegfried Sassoon
- Нина Воронель – Маме
- He That Loves A Rosy Cheek by Thomas Carew
- Ellipsis by Shaunna Harper
- Такахама Кёси – Кончик трости моей
- Untitled XII by Yunus Emre
- Николай Языков – Песня (Я жду тебя, когда вечерней мглою)
- Toward Salvation
- Do not weep, maiden, for war is kind by Stephen Crane
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
- Spring Rain by Sara Teasdale
- Sleepless by Sara Teasdale
- On A March Day by Sara Teasdale
- Oh You Are Coming by Sara Teasdale
- My Heart Is Heavy by Sara Teasdale
- Love And Death by Sara Teasdale
- Longing by Sara Teasdale
- Like Barley Bending by Sara Teasdale
- Let It Be Forgotten by Sara Teasdale
- Jewels by Sara Teasdale
- It Will Not Change by Sara Teasdale
- It Is Not A Word by Sara Teasdale
- In The End by Sara Teasdale
- If Death Is Kind by Sara Teasdale
- I Thought Of You by Sara Teasdale
- I Remembered by Sara Teasdale
- I Have Loved Hours At Sea by Sara Teasdale
- Houses Of Dreams by Sara Teasdale
- Guenevere by Sara Teasdale
- Gray Eyes by Sara Teasdale
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