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:
- Sonet 5 by William Alexander
- Sonnet 47: Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took by William Shakespeare
- Robert Burns: Ode For General Washington’s Birthday :
- City Times and Other Poems
- Robert Burns: Bonie Jean-A Ballad:
- The Fifth Ode Of Horace. Lib. I poem – John Milton poems
- The Realists by William Butler Yeats
- Wisdom by William Butler Yeats
- Poetic Dilemma by Pawan Kumar
- Love and Law by Vachel Lindsay
- The Bean Vield by William Barnes
- A Fairy Song by William Shakespeare
- Яков Полонский – Братья
- Nijole Miliauskaite – Nijole Miliauskaite
- Complaint Of A Poet Manqué poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
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 – Крепостная интеллигенция
- Владимир Британишский – Красный конь
- Владимир Британишский – Край Земли
- Владимир Британишский – Космонавты
- Владимир Британишский – Коптилки многолетний свет
- Владимир Британишский – Континенты
- Владимир Британишский – Композитор
- Владимир Британишский – Когда потянет нас на компромисс
- Владимир Британишский – Клейнмихель
- Владимир Британишский – Кипренский. Портрет С.С. Уварова 1816 год
- Владимир Британишский – Картина
- Владимир Британишский – Письмо
- Владимир Британишский – Петербургский горожанин
- Владимир Британишский – Первая послевоенная осень
- Владимир Британишский – Переписка
- Владимир Британишский – Перед самой войной
- Владимир Британишский – Перед дверью
- Владимир Британишский – Пароход пришел
- Владимир Британишский – Памятник
- Владимир Британишский – Паллас
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