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:
- Astigmatism poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Endymion: Book IV poem – John Keats poems
- The Waggon A-Stooded by William Barnes
- Princess: A Medley: The splendour falls on castle walls poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Владимир Вишневский – Кто-то тянется к водному поло
- Николай Языков – Дева ночи
- 1926 by Weldon Kees
- The Twa Sisters poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Tell me not here, it needs not saying poem – Alfred Edward Housman
- Николай Заболоцкий – Сон
- One Viceroy Resigns by Rudyard Kipling
- Николай Заболоцкий – Цирк
- Whatif by Shel Silverstein
- Robert Burns: Why, Why Tell The Lover: Fragment,
- Омар Хайям – Красой затмила ты Китая дочерей
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
- Love Sonnet X poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet LX poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet LVIII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Girl-Gladness poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Fortune poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Elegy On An Australian Schoolboy poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Books poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XLV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems | Poetry Monster
- Love Sonnet XXV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems | Poetry Monster
- Love Sonnet LIV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems | Poetry Monster
- You’re The Only One poem – Ygor Noblott poems | Poetry Monster
- Victims poem – Yaseen Anwer poems | Poetry Monster
- The Senses of Art poem – Ygor Noblott poems | Poetry Monster
- The Details Are poem – Zhivka Baltadzhieva poems | Poetry Monster
- The 9th Inning poem – Ygor Noblott poems | Poetry Monster
- Songs of Depression poem – Yang Wan-Li poems | Poetry Monster
- Someone left a pen… poem – Yuyutsu Sharma poems | Poetry Monster
- Some Singers And Their Traits poem – Ygor Noblott poems | Poetry Monster
- Sin poem – Yao Ying poems | Poetry Monster
- Sabbath, My Love poem – Yehudah ha-Levi poems | Poetry Monster
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