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:
- Кондратий Рылеев – К Надежде
- Ольга Берггольц – Дорога на фронт
- Наум Коржавин – О Господи! Как я хочу умереть
- Song—A Rose-bud by my Early Walk by Robert Burns
- Wolves by Mary Bone
- Obscurity, the Essay and Poems on Obscurity by Abraham Cowley
- A New Psalm for the Chapel of Kilmarnock by Robert Burns
- Teenager by Patrick Connors
- To A Young Writer by Yvor Winters
- An Aquarium poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Lines Written In The Highlands After A Visit To Burns’s Country poem – John Keats poems
- Lover’s Gifts XLII: Are You a Mere Picture by Rabindranath Tagore
- Георгий Иванов – Теперь тебя не уничтожат
- Poems from Makiwane poem – Amitabh Mitra poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Voice of Woman by Shahida Latif
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
- Sunflowers by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Morning by Mark R Slaughter
- Speaking the Language of Deer by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Mending Socks by Martin Willitts Jr.
- Some Say by Mark Miller
- So You Say by Mark Strand
- Manure by Mark R Slaughter
- Slag by Mark Base
- Mammary Tunes by Mark R Slaughter
- She and Drugs by Mark R Slaughter
- Sculpture of Debris on the Waterfront by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Lines For Winter by Mark Strand
- Life, wait for me by Martin Zakovski
- Question mark remarks by Mark Miller
- Life by Marvin Bell
- Postures by Martina Reisz Newberry
- My Father’s Hats by Mark Irwin
- Let Him Free by Mary Etta Metcalf
- Keeping Things Whole by Mark Strand
- Please Don’t Judas Me by Mark Miller
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.