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 Cap And Bells by William Butler Yeats
- different lovers by Raj Arumugam
- Dream Landing by Satish Verma
- Зинаида Александрова – Раз – два – три – четыре – пять
- Vaulting by Satish Verma
- Song Of The Peri
- Жан де Лафонтен – Городская и полевая Крысы
- Владимир Маяковский – В авто
- To England poem – Alfred Austin
- The Bayadere
- Омар Хайям – Если есть у тебя для жилья закуток
- Зинаида Александрова – Молодой месяц
- Олег Григорьев – Как вы думаете, где лучше тонуть
- Rain by Reena Ribalow
- The Fall by Satish Verma
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
- William Gilmore Simms – William Gilmore Simms
- Ode–Shell The Old City! Shell! by William Gilmore Simms
- Morris Island by William Gilmore Simms
- Hast Thou A Song For A Flower by William Gilmore Simms
- Flight To Nature by William Gilmore Simms
- Blessings On Children by William Gilmore Simms
- Hymn To Woden by William Lisle Bowles
- Hope, An Allegorical Sketch by William Lisle Bowles
- Epitaph On H. Walmsley, Esq., by William Lisle Bowles
- Elegy Written At Hotwells, Bristol by William Lisle Bowles
- Distant View Of England From The Sea by William Lisle Bowles
- Death Of Captain Cooke, by William Lisle Bowles
- Battle Of Corruna by William Lisle Bowles
- Avenue In Savernake Forest by William Lisle Bowles
- At Tynemouth Priory by William Lisle Bowles
- At Oxford by William Lisle Bowles
- At Malvern by William Lisle Bowles
- At Dover by William Lisle Bowles
- Approach Of Summer by William Lisle Bowles
- Abba Thule’s Lament For His Son Prince Le Boo by William Lisle Bowles
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.