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:
- Кариночка, любимая ты наша
- Алексей Толстой – Стасюлевич и Маркевич
- Юлия Друнина – Ты рядом
- Зинаида Александрова – Песня моряков
- Sonnet 113: Since I left you, mine eye is in my mind by William Shakespeare
- Prelude by Rudyard Kipling
- Николай Гумилев – За стенами старого аббатства
- Jessie by Thomas Edward Brown
- I Dream I M The Death Of Orpheus
- Robert Burns: Sylvander To Clarinda: Extempore Reply to Verses addressed to the Author by a Lady, under the signature of “Clarinda” and entitled, On Burns saying he ‘had nothing else to do.’
- An Ode in Time of Hesitation by William Vaughn Moody
- Олег Сердобольский – Угадай, в какой руке
- A Fixed Idea poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- “Young England–What Is Then Become Of Old” by William Wordsworth
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Комета
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
- Evenén in the Village by William Barnes
- Evenèn, An’ Maidens Out At Door by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–Two Farms In Woone by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Veäiries by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Times by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The ‘Lotments by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Common A-Took In by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Best Man In The Vield by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–Racketèn Joe by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–John, Jealous At Shroton Feäir by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–John An’ Thomas by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–Come And Zee Us In The Zummer by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–A Ghost by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–A Bit O’ Sly Coorten by William Barnes
- Early Risèn by William Barnes
- Early Pla Meäte by William Barnes
- Don’t Ceäre by William Barnes
- A Do’set Sale by William Barnes
- Day’s Work A-Done by William Barnes
- Daniel Dwithen, The Wise Chap by William Barnes
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.