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:
- Анатолий Жигулин – Бросаю в воду хлеб
- Виктор Кирюшин – Небеса набухшей парусиною
- Олег Бундур – Когда я вернусь
- Robert Burns: Death and Doctor Hornbook : A True Story
- Xai Kou From Book Seeds Of Faith
- The Captive Trumpeter by William Somervile
- By Philemon by William Cowper
- in_between_the_strophes.html
- Edge by Sylvia Plath
- The Secret of the Machines by Rudyard Kipling
- My Mistress Commanding Me to Return Her Letters. by Thomas Carew
- Николай Заболоцкий – Приглашение на пир
- Иван Киуру – Песня моряка
- On A Dream poem – John Keats poems
- Robert Burns: My Eppie Adair:
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
- Waking In March by Philip Levine
- Told by Philip Levine
- They Feed They Lion by Philip Levine
- Then by Philip Levine
- The New World by Philip Levine
- The Helmet by Philip Levine
- The Distant Winter by Philip Levine
- Gangrene by Philip Levine
- Noon by Philip Levine
- Making Light Of It by Philip Levine
- Making It Work by Philip Levine
- Magpiety by Philip Levine
- Mad Day In March by Philip Levine
- M. Degas Teaches Art & Science At Durfee Intermediate School–Detroit, 1942 by Philip Levine
- Late Moon by Philip Levine
- Late Light by Philip Levine
- Last Words by Philip Levine
- Philip Levine – Philip Levine
- Philip Levine – Philip Levine
- Philip Levine – Philip Levine
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.