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:
- Daryl, My Son by Ronald G. Auguste
- Epitaph On Mrs. M. Higgins, Of Weston by William Cowper
- Summer Enclosed In A Semi-Dark Cup by Nijole Miliauskaite
- Sonnet Viii
- The Congo: A Study of the Negro Race by Vachel Lindsay
- Insensibility by Wilfred Owen
- Михаил Кузмин – Врач мудрый нам открыл секрет природы
- Омар Хайям – Друзей поменьше
- The Riddle by W H Auden
- Covenent by Rudyard Kipling
- Verses Printed By Himself On A Flood At Olney by William Cowper
- Жан де Лафонтен – Ласочка в амбаре
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песня Лягушонка
- A Man Young And Old: IX. The Secrets Of The Old by William Butler Yeats
- Lines On Seeing A Lock Of Milton’s Hair poem – John Keats poems
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
- Валерий Брюсов – Где-то
- Валерий Брюсов – Газели
- Валерий Брюсов – Г.Г. Бахману (Вся красота тебе доступна)
- Валерий Брюсов – Фонарики
- Валерий Брюсов – Фламандцам
- Валерий Брюсов – Филлида
- Валерий Брюсов – Февраль
- Валерий Брюсов – Фаэтон
- Валерий Брюсов – Фабричная
- Валерий Брюсов – Её колени
- Валерий Брюсов – Еврейским девушкам
- Валерий Брюсов – Эту ночь я дышал тишиной
- Валерий Брюсов – Это я
- Валерий Брюсов – Это – не надежда и не вера
- Валерий Брюсов – Это матовым вечером мая
- Валерий Брюсов – Это было? Неужели?
- Валерий Брюсов – Есть поразительная белость
- Валерий Брюсов – Есть что-то позорное в мощи природы
- Валерий Брюсов – Италия
- Валерий Брюсов – Исполненное обещание романтическая поэма
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.