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:
- Spilt Milk by William Butler Yeats
- Алишер Навои – Чудесные свершения середины жизни
- Владимир Маяковский – Рабочие столицы, крестьяне окраины… (Роста №89)
- Николай Огарев – Тебе я счастья не давал довольно
- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 4. by William Cowper
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Южная ночь
- Convalescence poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Number 3 on the Docket poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- To The Royal Society
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Не надо
- Mugging (I) poem – Allen Ginsberg
- Inscription on a Grotto, the Work of Nine Ladies. poem – Alexander Pope
- Владимир Вишневский – На исходе двадцатого века
- Four Quartets 1: Burnt Norton by T. S. Eliot
- How to Make Money Online Writing and Selling eBooks
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
- Listening poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Listening poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Lead Soldiers poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Late September poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Late September poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- J–K. Huysmans poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- J–K. Huysmans poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Irony poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Irony poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- In Darkness poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- In Answer to a Request poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- In Answer to a Request poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- In a Garden poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- In a Castle poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Hora Stellatrix poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Hero-Worship poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Hero-Worship poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Happiness poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Happiness poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- From One Who Stays poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
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.