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:
- Love is Reckless by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
- haiku
- Song—Behold the Hour, the Boat, arrive by Robert Burns
- The Lame Guy by Rob Leatherman Sr.
- Prologue, spoken by Mr. Woods at Edinburgh by Robert Burns
- Омар Хайям – Был бы я благочестьем прославиться рад
- Fragment of Song—The Night was Still by Robert Burns
- The Paper Windmill poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Fog poem – Amy Clampitt poems | Poems and Poetry
- Sonnet # 6 by Luis A. Estable
- Владимир Маяковский – Профсоюзы – производства рычаг… (Главполитпросвет №10)
- To Sir George Howland Beaumont, Bart From the South-West Coast Or Cumberland 1811 by William Wordsworth
- On Passing The New Menin Gate by Siegfried Sassoon
- You’re by Sylvia Plath
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 99. ’Twas One of Those Dreams. Томас Мур.
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
- Владимир Британишский – Чернышев переулок и мост Чернышев
- Владимир Британишский – Чай
- Владимир Британишский – Царство – одно, но России-то – две
- Владимир Британишский – Быт
- Владимир Британишский – Буссоль
- Владимир Британишский – Будто катаясь на коньках
- Владимир Британишский – Богаевский
- Владимир Британишский – Били в армии, в школе, в столице, в селе
- Владимир Британишский – Баня Быстрицкого
- Владимир Британишский – Багульник, ельник, изволоки, взгорья
- Владимир Британишский – Автопортрет Давида
- Владимир Британишский – Архитектор Юрий Фельтен
- Владимир Британишский – Аркадия
- Владимир Британишский – Античник Альтман
- Владимир Британишский – Аэрогеофизик
- Владимир Британишский – A за Уралом – сгустки городов
- Владимир Британишский – А весна наступает все же
- Владимир Британишский – А Новый год мы встретили в лесу
- Владимир Британишский – 1942 год
- Владимир Британишский – 1848 год в Зимнем дворце
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