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:
- Unanswered
- Wind on the Hill by A. A. Milne
- Psyche by Samuel Coleridge
- The Host Of The Air by William Butler Yeats
- Blithe Dreams Arise To Greet Us by William Ernest Henley
- Less Time poem – Andre Breton poems
- Sergei Esenin (Serguei Yesenin, Sergueï Essénine) – Sounds of Sorrow
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 16. I Envy not in any Moods poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- In Salutation to the Eternal Peace by Sarojini Naidu
- Extemporaneous Effusion on being appointed to an Excise Division by Robert Burns
- Atavism by William Stafford
- eudaemonism_in_a_senryu_novel.html
- Family Caregivers Have Promises to Keep
- Владимир Высоцкий – Новые левые, мальчики бравые
- A Fixed Idea poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
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
- Федор Сваровский – Путешественники во времени — копенгаген 1969
- Федор Сваровский – Путешественники во времени 9
- Федор Сваровский – Путешественники во времени 7
- Федор Сваровский – Простая история
- Федор Сваровский – Пришельцы убили всех
- Федор Сваровский – Погребение мехоса
- Федор Сваровский – Пилот и Биби Хлотрос
- Федор Сваровский – Об удивительном
- Федор Сваровский – Небесный гость в четыре лепестка
- Федор Сваровский – Насрулло и Курбон
- Федор Сологуб – Золушка
- Федор Сологуб – Знаю знанием последним
- Федор Сологуб – Зальдивши тайный зной страстей, Валерий
- Федор Сологуб – Займитесь чтением в вагоне
- Федор Сологуб – Зачем жемчуг-роса в траве
- Федор Сологуб – Зачем, скажи
- Федор Сологуб – Забыв о счастьи, о весельи
- Федор Сологуб – Я люблю мою темную землю
- Федор Сологуб – Я иду путём опасным
- Федор Сологуб – Я иду от дома к дому
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