The Last Leap
by Adam Lindsay Gordon
ALL is over! fleet career,
Dash of greyhound slipping thongs,
Flight of falcon, bound of deer,
Mad hoof-thunder in our rear,
Cold air rushing up our lungs,
Din of many tongues.
Once again, one struggle good,
One vain effort;—he must dwell
Near the shifted post, that stood
Where the splinters of the wood,
Lying in the torn tracks, tell
How he struck and fell.
Crest where cold drops beaded cling,
Small ear drooping, nostril full,
Glazing to a scarlet ring,
Flanks and haunches quivering,
Sinews stiffening, void and null,
Dumb eyes sorrowful.
Satin coat that seems to shine
Duller now, black braided tress
That a softer hand than mine
Far away was wont to twine,
That in meadows far from this
Softer lips might kiss.
All is over! this is death,
And I stand to watch thee die,
Brave old horse! with bated breath
Hardly drawn through tight-clenched teeth,
Lip indented deep, but eye
Only dull and dry.
Musing on the husk and chaff
Gathered where life’s tares are sown,
Thus I speak, and force a laugh,
That is half a sneer and half
An involuntary groan,
In a stifled tone—
‘Rest, old friend! thy day, though rife
With its toil, hath ended soon;
We have had our share of strife,
Tumblers in the masque of life,
In the pantomime of noon
Clown and pantaloon.
‘With a flash that ends thy pain,
Respite and oblivion blest
Come to greet thee. I in vain
Fall: I rise to fall again:
Thou hast fallen to thy rest—
And thy fall is best

A few random poems:
- Glory Of Women by Siegfried Sassoon
- Jessie by Thomas Edward Brown
- Как просто было в юности
- On His Eightieth Birthday by Walter Savage Landor
- A New Song by Thomas Chatterton
- Василий Курочкин – Мы всё смешное косим, косим
- The Other Side of Panic by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Lyfe by Stevens Cadet
- Оливер Голдсмит – Эпитафия Неду Пардону
- The Deep-Sea Cables by Rudyard Kipling
- Наум Коржавин – Осень в Караганде
- Audience With A Poet Written December 13 1976 For Robert E Hayden Ph D
- To Melancholy- Written On An intensely agitated Day by Nithin Purple
- The Dunciad: Book I. poem – Alexander Pope poems | Poetry Monster
- Memory by William Browne
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
- Mother’s Death 1981 by Michael S Wilson
- Money, for a Decent Human Life without You by Mike Yuan
- Migration of the Mind by Mike Yuan
- Mid-Autumn Moon by Mike Yuan
- Meeting with Te Rauparaha by Michael O’Leary
- Matrimony by Mike Yuan
- March on, Yes! by Miles
- Make Love and War by Michael O’Leary
- Ma Wonders by Miraj Patel
- Lullaby of the Onion by Miguel Hernandez
- Live With Me On Earth Under the Invisible Daylight Moon by Milton Acorn
- Life of Paradoxes by Mike Yuan
- Languaculture by Mike Yuan
- Key and Knife (Two Haiku) by Mike Yuan
- (Inner Tube) by Michael Ondaatje
- In the Forest of Life by Mike Yuan
- If You Ask Me by Miraj Patel
- If I Got You by Miraj Patel
- I Wish This Lovely Time Never Ends by Miraj Patel
- I sink as I sail magnificently by Michael Nikoletseas
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
Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833 – 1870) was an Australian or British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He is considered to be one of the first national Australian poets.