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:
- Robert Burns: I Murder Hate:
- Verdad Innegable by Victoria Luisa Mora Paoli
- Art Therapy and Loss
- A Little Song poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Joker of the Pack by Shekhar Srinivasan
- Why?
- Crossing the Frontier
- English Poetry. Madison Julius Cawein. Hymn to Spiritual Desire. Мэдисон Джулиус Кавейн.
- What Happened by Rudyard Kipling
- To Sr Henry Vane The Younger poem – John Milton poems
- Paradise Lost: Book 11 poem – John Milton poems
- Mary Morison by Robert Burns
- Sonnet LXV by William Shakespeare
- Кондратий Рылеев – Любовь к отчизне
- Io v’amo sol perche (I Love You Simply Because) by Torquato Tasso
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
- Sonnet 76: Why is my verse so barren of new pride? by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet 75: So are you to my thoughts as food to life by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CVIII by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CVII: Not Mine Own Fears, Nor the Prophetic Soul by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CVII by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CVI by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CV by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CLIV by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CLIII by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CLII by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CLI by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CL by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CIX by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CIV by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CIII by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CII by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet CI by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet C by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet 9: Is it for fear to wet a widow’s eye by William Shakespeare
- Sonnet 98: From you have I been absent in the spring by William Shakespeare
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.