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:
- Poem65
- Erin, Oh Erin by Thomas Moore
- The Beach by Weldon Kees
- Against A Sickness To The Female Double Principle God
- The Triumph by Siegfried Sassoon
- Алексей Толстой – Ты жертва жизненных тревог
- Николай Некрасов – Великодушный поступок
- Eclogue IV by Virgil
- Карина, ты моя любимая
- Dans les filets de midi by Martine Morillon-Carreau
- The Merman poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- let’s love the lawn by Raj Arumugam
- Song in the Manner of Housman poem – Ezra Pound poems
- The Haymakers Song
- Ольга Седакова – Луг, юго-западный ветер
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 Reformers by Rudyard Kipling
- The Recall by Rudyard Kipling
- The Rabbi’s Song by Rudyard Kipling
- The Quesion by Rudyard Kipling
- The Queen’s Men by Rudyard Kipling
- The Puzzler by Rudyard Kipling
- The Prodigal Son by Rudyard Kipling
- The Pro-Consuls by Rudyard Kipling
- The Prayer of Miriam Cohen by Rudyard Kipling
- The Law of the Jungle by Rudyard Kipling
- The Last Rhyme of True Thomas by Rudyard Kipling
- The Last of the Light Brigade by Rudyard Kipling
- The Last Department by Rudyard Kipling
- The Land by Rudyard Kipling
- The Lament of the Border Cattle Thief by Rudyard Kipling
- The Ladies by Rudyard Kipling
- The Kingdom by Rudyard Kipling
- The Jester by Rudyard Kipling
- The Jacket by Rudyard Kipling
- THE IRISH GUARDS by Rudyard Kipling
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.