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:
- Robert Burns: On John Bushby, Esq., Tinwald Downs:
- Юнна Мориц – Античная картина
- English Poetry. Mark Akenside. The Pleasures of Imagination. Марк Эйкенсайд.
- Зинаида Александрова – Четыре старушки
- Under The Blue Skies… poem – Alexander Pushkin
- In the Carpenter’s Shop by Sara Teasdale
- Jeane’s Wedden Day In Mornen by William Barnes
- Crazy Jane Talks With The Bishop by William Butler Yeats
- Blind Man’s Buff by William Blake
- Child by Sylvia Plath
- Михаил Лермонтов – Завещание
- Владимир Британишский – На конференции молодых геофизиков
- Beguiling by Roger McGough
- Алексей Жемчужников – Радостные куплеты
- The Commitment by Rob Leatherman Sr.
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
- Олег Бундур – Интересный вопрос
- Олег Бундур – Играю в школьном спектакле
- Олег Бундур – Идем мы с дедом
- Олег Бундур – И до моря 15 шагов
- Олег Бундур – Гроза
- Олег Бундур – Глухарь
- Олег Бундур – Где живут мысли
- Олег Бундур – Февраль
- Олег Бундур – Если вы придёте в лес
- Олег Бундур – Если умываться лень
- Олег Бундур – Эпидемия
- Олег Бундур – Друзья
- Олег Бундур – Дрова
- Олег Бундур – Дождь
- Олег Бундур – Дома
- Олег Бундур – Добрый день
- Олег Бундур – Доброта
- Олег Бундур – Дневник
- Олег Бундур – Для чего бывает день
- Олег Бундур – Деревенская история
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