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:
- Thrones In Heaven by Victoria Rose
- The Cosmic Eggs
- I will Take an Egg Out of the Robin’s Nest. by Walt Whitman
- Exiles by Marilyn Hacker
- Аля Кудряшева – Ну что я могу ответить
- Freedom poem – by Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- A Rhyme About an Electrical Advertising Sign by Vachel Lindsay
- The Lent Lily by A. E. Housman
- The Thousandth Man by Rudyard Kipling
- Blank Dreams
- Grace before and after Meat by Robert Burns
- Family Caregivers Have Promises to Keep
- Song of the Open Road. by Walt Whitman
- A Melody By Scarlatti poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- Robert Burns: The Lament: Occasioned by the unfortunate issue of a Friend’s Amour.
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 Princess And The Goblins by Sylvia Plath
- The Other by Sylvia Plath
- The Other Two by Sylvia Plath
- The Night Dances by Sylvia Plath
- The Net-Menders by Sylvia Plath
- The Munich Mannequins by Sylvia Plath
- The Moon And The Yew Tree by Sylvia Plath
- The Manor Garden by Sylvia Plath
- The Lady And The Earthenware Head by Sylvia Plath
- The Jailer by Sylvia Plath
- The Hermit At Outermost House by Sylvia Plath
- The Hanging Man by Sylvia Plath
- The Great Carbuncle by Sylvia Plath
- The Goring by Sylvia Plath
- The Glutton by Sylvia Plath
- The Ghost’s Leavetaking by Sylvia Plath
- The Fearful by Sylvia Plath
- The Eye-Mote by Sylvia Plath
- The Everlasting Monday by Sylvia Plath
- The Dream by Sylvia Plath
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.