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:
- The General Public by Stephen Vincent Benet
- dawned_again.html
- Acon and Rhodope by Walter Savage Landor
- I Went Down into the Desert by Vachel Lindsay
- Epigram—The Keekin Glass by Robert Burns
- Primitive by Sharon Olds
- Long Long Ago by Robert Desnos
- Though All The World poem – Alfred Austin
- The Stage Coach by William Barnes
- In Snow by William Allingham
- A View of the Han River by Wang Wei
- Orlando Furioso Canto 5 by Ludovico Ariosto
- Inter-religion Wedding by Nisha Gopalakrishnan
- May Morning by Stephen Vincent Benet
- Николай Заболоцкий – Когда вдали угаснет свет дневной
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 Song Of Wandering Aengus by William Butler Yeats
- The Song Of The Old Mother by William Butler Yeats
- The Shadowy Waters: The Harp of Aengus by William Butler Yeats
- The Seven Sages by William Butler Yeats
- The Secret Rose by William Butler Yeats
- The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats
- The Scholars by William Butler Yeats
- The Saint And The Hunchback by William Butler Yeats
- The Sad Shepherd by William Butler Yeats
- The Rose Tree by William Butler Yeats
- The Rose Of The World by William Butler Yeats
- The Rose Of Peace by William Butler Yeats
- The Rose Of Battle by William Butler Yeats
- The Results Of Thought by William Butler Yeats
- The Realists by William Butler Yeats
- The Poet Pleads With The Elemental Powers by William Butler Yeats
- The Pity Of Love by William Butler Yeats
- The Pilgrim by William Butler Yeats
- The Phases Of The Moon by William Butler Yeats
- The People by William Butler Yeats
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.