A poem by Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000)
by Alec Derwent Hope
What pleasures have great princes? These: to know
Themselves reputed mad with pride or power;
To speak few words — few words and short bring low
This ancient house, that city with flame devour;
To make old men, their father’s enemies,
Drunk on the vintage of the former age;
To have great painters show their mistresses
Naked to the succeeding time; engage
The cunning of able, treacherous ministers
To serve, despite themselves, the cause they hate,
And leave a prosperous kingdom to their heirs
Nursed by the caterpillars of the state;
To keep their spies in good men’s hearts; to read
The malice of the wise, and act betimes;
To hear the Grand Remonstrances of greed
Led by the pure; cheat justice of her crimes;
To beget worthless sons and, being old,
By starlight climb the battlements, and while
The pacing sentry hugs himself for cold,
Keep vigil like a lover, muse and smile,
And think, to see from the grim castle steep
The midnight city below rejoice and shine:
“There my great demon grumbles in his sleep
And dreams of his destruction, and of mine.”

A few random poems:
- In Memoriam A. H. H. Obiit MDCCCXXXIII: 3. O Sorrow, cruel poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Омар Хайям – Если ты не впадаешь в молитвенный раж
- Taylor Swift
- Владимир Корнилов – Лермонтов
- Огюст Барбье – Идол
- A Winter’s Tale by Sylvia Plath
- To Eva Descending The Stair by Sylvia Plath
- Birds heavenly by Sunil Sharma
- Олег Бундур – Лагуна
- Валерий Брюсов – Дворец любви
- Soul by Malkia Charlee NoCry
- Buddha’s Laugh by Sonya Ki Tomlinson
- life begins tomorrow by Raj Arumugam
- Neglecting the Word of God: A Foundational Cause of Lukewarmness
- Федор Сваровский – Слава стране моей
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
- Tip-Toe-ing by Mahak Raithatha S
- They Would Love To See Me Dead by Mahmoud Darwish
- These nights by Manushya Puthiran
- The Sound Of Your Breathing by Mac McGovern
- The Pigeons Fly by Mahmoud Darwish
- The Mouse by Mac McGovern
- The Most Exquisite Creature Of My Dreams by Mac McGovern
- The Husband’s Black Hands by Mallika Sengupta
- The Frivolity of Dreaming by Mahi Chauhan
- The Eve of Saint Agnes by Malcolm Massiah
- The end by Mahak Raithatha S
- The cake by Mahak Raithatha S
- Thanksgiving by Mac Hammond
- State of Siege by Mahmoud Darwish
- Southern Song by Margaret Walker
- Soul by Malkia Charlee NoCry
- Sonnet V by Mahmoud Darwish
- She’s Flawless by Mandy Williams
- She Looks by Mac McGovern
- She got her wings by Mahak Raithatha S
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
Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000) was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic.