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:
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 44. She Is Far From the Land. Томас Мур.
- Epitaph On Johnson by William Cowper
- On A Mistake In His Translation Of Homer by William Cowper
- Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie Smith
- Rich or Poor by William Henry Davies
- Николай Гумилев – Мореплаватель Павзаний
- Listening To Rwanda Genocide by Satish Verma
- Dawn
- Николай Глазков – Дождь
- Death of the Legend by Timileyin Gabriel Olajuwon
- In Thoughtless Mind by Satish Verma
- Modern Nature poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
- Many Inventions by Rudyard Kipling
- Алексей Толстой – Прогулка с подругой жизни
- Robert Burns: On Politics:
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
- The Garden by Abraham Cowley
- A Paraphrase on an Ode in Horace’s Third Book, beginning thus:— “Inclusam Danaen turris ahenea.” by Abraham Cowley
- O fortunatus nimium, etc., a translation out of Virgil by Abraham Cowley
- The Essay on Agriculture by Abraham Cowley
- Obscurity, the Essay and Poems on Obscurity by Abraham Cowley
- The Death Of A Fly by Russell Edson
- The Changeling by Russell Edson
- The Breast by Russell Edson
- The Autopsy by Russell Edson
- The Alfresco Moment by Russell Edson
- A Performance At Hog Theater by Russell Edson
- Erasing Amyloo by Russell Edson
- On The Eating Of Mice by Russell Edson
- The Closet by Russell Edson
- Soup Song by Russell Edson
- The Bridge by Russell Edson
- Mr. Brain by Russell Edson
- One Lonely Afternoon by Russell Edson
- Ape And Coffee by Russell Edson
- Accidents by Russell Edson
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.