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:
- “Here have I learnt the little that I know” poem – Alfred Austin
- To Some Ladies poem – John Keats poems
- I Call That True Love by Shel Silverstein
- Владимир Маяковский – Рабочий! (РОСТА №735)
- Song Unsung by Rabindranath Tagore
- Федор Сологуб – Я иду путём опасным
- Константин Батюшков – На книгу под названием «Смесь»
- Sonet 44 by William Alexander
- Ash-Boughs poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Огюст Барбье – Видимость
- Clouds by Rupert Brooke
- TRANSPARENCY by Satish Verma
- Freedom And Love by Thomas Campbell
- Eclogue VIII by Virgil
- The Day Is Gone, And All Its Sweets Are Gone poem – John Keats poems
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
- Олег Григорьев – Гений
- Олег Григорьев – Футбол
- Олег Григорьев – Если где-то кому-то плачется
- Олег Григорьев – Двустишия
- Олег Григорьев – Дружба
- Олег Григорьев – Драка
- Олег Григорьев – Дождь
- Олег Григорьев – Дети кидали друг в друга поленья
- Олег Григорьев – Дачник
- Олег Григорьев – Четверорукими ногами
- Олег Григорьев – Цель жизни
- Олег Григорьев – Был праздник с весельем и танцами
- Олег Григорьев – Благо
- Олег Григорьев – А меня уж везли зарывать
- Олег Чупров – Взлетев высоко и прекрасно
- Олег Чупров – Вечером поздним потянет к Печоре
- Олег Чупров – В лесу просторно, тихо, ясно
- Олег Чупров – Тают в сумраке лица
- Олег Чупров – Шаньги
- Олег Чупров – Путь к Благодати не напрасен
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.