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:
- Runagate Runagate by Robert Hayden
- The Immortal Part poem – A. E. Housman
- Sonnet 142: Love is my sin, and thy dear virtue hate by William Shakespeare
- Федор Сологуб – Зальдивши тайный зной страстей, Валерий
- Buying leeks by Yosa Buson
- Music poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Telescopes In The Square by Graham Rowlands
- Learn Numbers With Fun Counting Rhymes For Kids
- Tell Me a Story by Robert Penn Warren
- In Christ there is No East Or West by John Oxenham
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 44. She Is Far From the Land. Томас Мур.
- I Just Wanna Be Your Number One by Miraj Patel
- Fragment
- Folk Singer’s Blues by Shel Silverstein
- Sometimes by Vinko Kalinić
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 – Дедушка воспитывает папу
- Олег Бундур – Дедушка
- Олег Бундур – Что будет, если
- Олег Бундур – Чем пахнет мама
- Олег Бундур – Чайковский
- Олег Бундур – Быстро расту
- Олег Бундур – Будильник
- Олег Бундур – Босиком
- Олег Бундур – Ближе к снегу
- Олег Бундур – Без меня
- Олег Бундур – Бесконечность
- Олег Бундур – Барашки
- Олег Бундур – Бабушка под зонтиком
- Олег Бундур – Август
- Олег Бундур – Аппетит
- Олег Бундур – А мне-то ничего
- Олег Бундур – 1 сентября
- Ок Мельникова – Заповедь номер одиннадцать
- Ок Мельникова – Всё будет
- Ок Мельникова – Вечные ценности
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