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:
- Олег Чупров – В лесу просторно, тихо, ясно
- Robert Burns: A Grace After Dinner, Extempore:
- Off the Ground by Walter de la Mare
- Spirituality of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Gerard Manley Hopkins: a shepherd poet
- Central Park At Dusk by Sara Teasdale
- Lovers on Aran by Seamus Heaney
- What the People Said by Rudyard Kipling
- Lover’s Gifts XIII: Last Night in the Garden by Rabindranath Tagore
- of spiritual matters by Raj Arumugam
- The Virgin Martyr
- The Remains by Mark Strand
- In Neglect by Robert Frost
- The Poet And The Muse poem – Alfred Austin
- The Lament Of Yasmini The Dancing Girl
- Intruder
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
- Stepping Westward by William Wordsworth
- Star-Gazers by William Wordsworth
- Stanzas by William Wordsworth
- Stanzas Written In My Pocket Copy Of Thomson’s “Castle Of Indolence” by William Wordsworth
- Spanish Guerillas by William Wordsworth
- Sonnet: On seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams weep at a tale of distress by William Wordsworth
- Sonnet: “It is not to be thought of” by William Wordsworth
- Song Of The Wandering Jew by William Wordsworth
- Song Of The Spinning Wheel by William Wordsworth
- Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle by William Wordsworth
- Simon Lee: The Old Huntsman by William Wordsworth
- Siege Of Vienna Raised By Jihn Sobieski by William Wordsworth
- She Was A Phantom Of Delight by William Wordsworth
- September, 1819 by William Wordsworth
- September 1815 by William Wordsworth
- September 1, 1802 by William Wordsworth
- Scorn Not The Sonnet by William Wordsworth
- Say, What Is Honour?–‘Tis The Finest Sense by William Wordsworth
- Ruth by William Wordsworth
- Rural Architecture by William Wordsworth
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.