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:
- On The Bus poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- Helen all Alone by Rudyard Kipling
- Dog racing
- Владимир Маяковский – Современный Козьма Прутков
- Юрий Коринец – Дедовский подарок
- Владимир Маяковский – Служака
- Elegy on Captain Matthew Henderson by Robert Burns
- Низами Гянджеви – Газелеокая
- On A May Glory-A Welcome Song poem – Nithin Purple poems | Poetry Monster
- Владимир Маяковский – Небылицы в лицах
- To His Worthy Friend Doctor Witty Upon His Translation Of The Popular Errors poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- In Token Of The Love You Gave by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- IX: Some Verses: This Day Design’d To Spoil The World of Peace by William Alexander
- Aux Imagistes by William Carlos Williams
- The Undeniable Pressure of Existence by Patricia Fargnoli
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
- Imitated From The Japanese by William Butler Yeats
- I Am Of Ireland by William Butler Yeats
- Hound Voice by William Butler Yeats
- His Phoenix by William Butler Yeats
- His Dream by William Butler Yeats
- His Confidence by William Butler Yeats
- His Bargain by William Butler Yeats
- High Talk by William Butler Yeats
- Her Vision In The Wood by William Butler Yeats
- Her Triumph by William Butler Yeats
- Her Praise by William Butler Yeats
- Her Dream by William Butler Yeats
- Her Anxiety by William Butler Yeats
- He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead by William Butler Yeats
- He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven by William Butler Yeats
- He Thinks Of Those Who Have Spoken Evil Of His Beloved by William Butler Yeats
- He Tells Of The Perfect Beauty by William Butler Yeats
- He Tells Of A Valley Full Of Lovers by William Butler Yeats
- The Cat And The Moon by William Butler Yeats
- The Cap And Bells by William Butler Yeats
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.