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:
- Pure call of the wilderness by Vinko Kalinic
- Ольга Берггольц – Ответ
- By A Norfolk Broad
- Ancient Music poem – Ezra Pound poems
- Erin! The Tear and the Smile in Thine Eyes by Thomas Moore
- An Antheme by William Strode
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 103. The Mountain Spite. Томас Мур.
- Robert Burns: Nature’s Law – A Poem: Humbly inscribed to Gavin Hamilton, Esq.
- Atmosphere by Robert Frost
- a_city_one_wish.html
- Approach Of Summer by William Lisle Bowles
- Николай Гумилев – О, если я весь мир постиг
- The Mountain Tomb by William Butler Yeats
- Town Planning Agencies by Tilottama Chatterjee
- An Old Man’s Winter Night by Robert Frost
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 Tame Bird Was In A Cage by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Sun Of The First Day by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Portrait — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Music Of The Rains – English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Merchant by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Lost Star — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Last Bargain by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Kiss by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Kiss — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Home by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Hero — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Golden Boat by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXVII: Trust Love by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXVI: What Comes From Your Willing Hands by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XXIX: Speak To Me My Love by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener XI: Come As You Are by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener LXXIX: I Often Wonder by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener LVII: I Plucked Your Flower by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Gardener LV: It Was Mid-Day by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Call Of The Far — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
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.