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:
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мне каждый вечер зажигают свечи
- Sonnet 28: How can I then return in happy plight by William Shakespeare
- Memoirs Of A Spinach-Picker by Sylvia Plath
- Олег Чупров – Шаньги
- Book1 Prologue by Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi
- The house where I was born (06) by Yves Bonnefoy
- Vocation by Rabindranath Tagore
- Английская поэзия. Редьярд Киплинг. «Расходы и поступления». (1919-1926). 9. Джейн выходит замуж. Rudyard Kipling. «Debits and Credits». (1919-1926). 9. Jane’s Marriage
- Russia To The Pacifists by Rudyard Kipling
- Robert Burns: Lady Mary Ann:
- Николай Языков – Сомнение
- Inscription for the Headstone of Fergusson the Poet by Robert Burns
- Logos poem – Aleister Crowley poems | Poetry Monster
- Владимир Маяковский – Работникам стиха и прозы, на лето едущим в колхозы
- A Piece Of The Storm by Mark Strand
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
- Closed Path by Rabindranath Tagore
- Chain Of Pearls by Rabindranath Tagore
- Brink Of Eternity by Rabindranath Tagore
- Benediction by Rabindranath Tagore
- Beggarly Heart by Rabindranath Tagore
- Baby’s World by Rabindranath Tagore
- Baby’s Way by Rabindranath Tagore
- Authorship by Rabindranath Tagore
- A Moments Indulgence by Rabindranath Tagore
- Who Is This? by Rabindranath Tagore
- Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore
- When The Two Sisters Go To Fetch Water by Rabindranath Tagore
- When I Go Alone At Night by Rabindranath Tagore
- When I Go Alone At Night by Rabindranath Tagore
- We Are To Play The Game Of Death by Rabindranath Tagore
- We Are To Play The Game Of Death by Rabindranath Tagore
- Waiting by Rabindranath Tagore
- Waiting For The Beloved — English Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- Tumi Sandhyar Meghamala – You Are A Cluster Of Clouds – Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- This Dog by Rabindranath Tagore
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.