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:
- Георгий Иванов – Теперь, когда быстрее лавы
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Что шумишь
- Robert Burns: Complimentary Versicles To Jessie Lewars: Jessie’s illness
- Lost poem – Alfred Austin
- O You by Satish Verma
- Валерий Брюсов – Петербург (Здесь снов не ваял Сансовино)
- Ruth by William Wordsworth
- Potions poem – Yusef Komunyakaa poems | Poetry Monster
- Apollo And The Graces poem – John Keats poems
- If Only by Mary Etta Metcalf
- Welcome To My World © by Shannen Wrass
- Ah, Are You Digging On My Grave? by Thomas Hardy
- Crazy Jane On God by William Butler Yeats
- The Sleepers by Walt Whitman
- A Poet by Thomas Hardy
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
- A Wasted Illness by Thomas Hardy
- A Thunderstorm In Town by Thomas Hardy
- A Jog-Trot Pair by Thomas Hardy
- A Dream Or No by Thomas Hardy
- Ye Mariners of England by Thomas Campbell
- To the Evening Star by Thomas Campbell
- The Last Man by Thomas Campbell
- The Dirge of Wallace by Thomas Campbell
- The Battle of the Baltic by Thomas Campbell
- Song to the Evening Star by Thomas Campbell
- Ode to Winter by Thomas Campbell
- Ode to the Memory of Burns by Thomas Campbell
- Love And Madness by Thomas Campbell
- Lord Ullin’s Daughter by Thomas Campbell
- Hohenlinden by Thomas Campbell
- Gertrude of Wyoming by Thomas Campbell
- Freedom And Love by Thomas Campbell
- Benlomond by Thomas Campbell
- Adelgitha by Thomas Campbell
- The Resignation by Thomas Chatterton
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.