A poem by Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000)
by Alec Derwent Hope
What did I study in your School of Night?
When your mouth’s first unfathomable yes
Opened your body to be my book, I read
My answers there and learned the spell aright,
Yet, though I searched and searched, could never guess
What spirits it raised nor where their questions led.
Those others, familiar tenants of your sleep,
The whisperers, the grave somnambulists
Whose eyes turn in to scrutinize their woe,
The giant who broods above the nightmare steep,
That sleeping girl, shuddering, with clenched fists,
A vampire baby suckling at her toe,
They taught me most. The scholar held his pen
And watched his blood drip thickly on the page
To form a text in unknown characters
Which, as I scanned them, changed and changed again:
The lines grew bars, the bars a Delphic cage
And I the captive of his magic verse.

A few random poems:
- Владимир Набоков – Какое сделал я дурное дело
- A Florida Sunday. by Sidney Lanier
- Twins by Vinko Kalinić
- Николай Гумилев – Орел Синдбада
- Aquatic Nocturne by Sylvia Plath
- A Child Of God Longing To See Him Beloved by William Cowper
- Олег Григорьев – Иду я среди голодный
- Валерий Брюсов – Петербург (Здесь снов не ваял Сансовино)
- Matter For Gratitude poem – Ambrose Bierce poems | Poems and Poetry
- Олег Бундур – Яблоко
- Approach Of Winter by William Carlos Williams
- ASHA APARTMENTS, 416, S.V. ROAD by Santosh Kumar Panda
- The Torments Of Love by Sappho
- Goodbat Nightman by Roger McGough
- Анатолий Жигулин – О, Родина, в неярком блеске
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
- Olney Hymn 26: On Opening A Place For Social Prayer by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 24: Prayer For Children by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 23: Pleading For And With Youth by William Cowper
- Olney Hymn 22: Prayer For A Blessing In The Young by William Cowper
- Lines Addressed To Dr. Darwin, Author Of The ‘Botanic Garden.’ by William Cowper
- Joy In Martyrdom by William Cowper
- Invitation To The Redbreast by William Cowper
- Inscription For The Tomb Of Mr. Hamilton by William Cowper
- Inscription For A Stone Erected At The Sowing Of A Grove Of Oaks At Chillington, Anno 1791 by William Cowper
- Inscription For A Stone Erected At The Sowing Of A Grove Of Oaks At Chillington, Anno 1790 by William Cowper
- Inscription For A Moss-House In The Shrubbery At Weston by William Cowper
- Inscription For A Hermitage In The Author’s Garden by William Cowper
- In Seditionem Horrendam, Corruptelis Gallicus Ut Fertue, Londini Nuper Exortam by William Cowper
- In Memory Of The Late John Thornton, Esq. by William Cowper
- In A Letter To C. P. Esq. In Imitation Of Shakspeare by William Cowper
- In A Letter To C. P. Esq. Ill With The Rheumatism by William Cowper
- Hymn For The Use Of The Sunday School At Olney by William Cowper
- Hope, Like The Short-lived Ray That Gleams Awhile by William Cowper
- Gratitude And Love To God by William Cowper
- Gratitude, Addressed To Lady Hesketh by William Cowper
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.