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:
- The Reef poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- The Saint And The Hunchback by William Butler Yeats
- Николай Гумилев – Живала Ниагара
- Sonnet 08
- They Tell Of The Warsaw Uprising by Nijole Miliauskaite
- Алексей Толстой – Темнота и туман застилают мне путь
- Power Of Love by Valentine Mbagu
- Владимир Набоков – Безумец
- birch_tree.html
- Magnolia Shoals by Sylvia Plath
- Vacant Lot With Pokeweed poem – Amy Clampitt poems | Poems and Poetry
- Song Of Unquiet Spirit by Satish Verma
- Apollo the great by Neelam Shah
- Федор Сологуб – Во мне мечты мои цветут
- AN HYMN TO THE MUSES by Robert Herrick
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 Набоков – Стансы (Ничем не смоешь подписи косой)
- Владимир Набоков – Спроси у хрустальной луны
- Владимир Набоков – Скитальцы
- Владимир Набоков – Шахматный конь
- Владимир Набоков – Санкт-Петербург
- Владимир Набоков – Расстрел
- Владимир Набоков – Путь
- Владимир Набоков – Пускай все горестней и глуше
- Владимир Набоков – Простая песня, грусть простая
- Владимир Набоков – Поэт
- Владимир Набоков – Памяти друга
- Владимир Набоков – Осень
- Владимир Набоков – О, любовь, ты светла и крылата
- Владимир Набоков – О чем я думаю
- Владимир Набоков – На сельском кладбище
- Владимир Набоков – Мечтал я о тебе так часто
- Владимир Набоков – Лыжный прыжок
- Владимир Набоков – Кубы
- Владимир Набоков – Кинематораф
- Владимир Набоков – Какое сделал я дурное дело
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