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:
- Ярослав Смеляков – Русский язык
- Prisoners poem – Yusef Komunyakaa poems | Poetry Monster
- Electra On Azalea Path by Sylvia Plath
- Wind on the Hill by AA Milne
- Marks Of Disrespect by Graham Rowlands
- Наум Коржавин – Нелепые ваши затеи
- February by Thomas Chatterton
- Shit List; Or, Omnium-gatherum Of Diversity Into Unity poem – A. R. Ammons poems | Poetry Monster
- The Lamentation Of The Old Pensioner by William Butler Yeats
- Иннокентий Анненский – Еврипид. Ион (перевод)
- Extempore in the Court of Session by Robert Burns
- Иван Коневской – Воскресение
- Юрий Левитанский – Что я знаю про стороны света
- The Angel Of The Church by William Gilmore Simms
- Николай Языков – Песни (Мы любим шумные пиры)
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
- Some Clouds by Steve Kowit
- Resolute by Stephenie Tucker
- Purple Heart Liz (My Girl At Woodstock) by Steve Sant
- Numb by Stephenie Tucker
- Notice by Steve Kowit
- Must Work by Steve Downes
- Lifetime Of Death by Steve Sant
- In The Chapel Of Rest by Steve Sant
- A Warrior’s Truth by Stephenie Tucker
- A Soldier’s Song by Stephenie Tucker
- YOU ARE CHRISTMAS EVERYDAY by Steve Troyanovich
- tomorrow is already past… by Steve Troyanovich
- still the leaves fall… and dream by Steve Troyanovich
- softly… in wingless dream by Steve Troyanovich
- Snowfall by Steve Troyanovich
- shivering wind by Steve Troyanovich
- NOCTURNAL EMBERS AND LOST LIPS by Steve Troyanovich
- MY BEST PAL by Steve Troyanovich
- forever blue by Steve Troyanovich
- dreams the wind by Steve Troyanovich
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.