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:
- Love Sonnet LVIII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- A Dream of Rodney King by Mary TallMountain
- Song—A Rose-bud by my Early Walk by Robert Burns
- Soliloquy In A Tub poem – Amy Cavanaugh poems | Poems and Poetry
- City of Ships. by Walt Whitman
- Sonnet 82: I grant thou wert not married to my Muse by William Shakespeare
- Back From Australia poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry
- On The Cliffs Newport
- Ways to Make Money Online Easily for Free – 4 Important Tips to Make Money Online
- Sporting Acquaintances by Siegfried Sassoon
- Николай Языков – А. Н. Татаринову (Здорово, брат! Поставь сюда две чаши)
- The Beggars by Sylvia Plath
- Sonnet 59: If there be nothing new, but that which is by William Shakespeare
- Иван Варавва – Раскинет объятия поле
- Яков Полонский – Чайка
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
- Николай Глазков – Дремота обрела права
- Николай Глазков – Дождь
- Николай Глазков – Должны мы все свой пай нести
- Николай Глазков – Девятое мая
- Николай Глазков – Давно хотел сложить стихи
- Николай Глазков – Чтоб улыбалось счастье
- Николай Глазков – Что ни год, идёт вперёд
- Николай Глазков – Чингисхан, Батый, Аттила
- Николай Глазков – Четыре времени года
- Николай Глазков – Бывают в нашей жизни величины
- Николай Глазков – Быть хочешь постоянно пьяным
- Николай Глазков – Была зима
- Николай Глазков – Богатырское распутье
- Николай Глазков – Без поражений нет побед
- Николай Глазков – Баллада о трактористе и ритуальном камне
- Николай Глазков – Бабье лето
- Николай Глазков – А минувшее все непонятнее ребусов
- Николай Глазков – 9-е мая
- Николай Гербель – Зной
- Николай Гербель – Введение к поэме
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.