A poem by Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000)
by Alec Derwent Hope
At noon thepaper tigers roar
— Miroslav Holub
The paper tigers roar at noon;
The sun is hot, the sun is high.
They roar in chorus, not in tune,
Their plaintive, savage hunting cry.
O, when you hear them, stop your ears
And clench your lids and bite your tongue.
The harmless paper tiger bears
Strong fascination for the young.
His forest is the busy street;
His dens the forum and the mart;
He drinks no blood, he tastes no meat:
He riddles and corrupts the heart.
But when the dusk begins to creep
From tree to tree, from door to door,
The jungle tiger wakes from sleep
And utters his authentic roar.
It bursts the night and shakes the stars
Till one breaks blazing from the sky;
Then listen! If to meet it soars
Your heart’s reverberating cry,
My child, then put aside your fear:
Unbar the door and walk outside!
The real tiger waits you there;
His golden eyes shall be your guide.
And, should he spare you in his wrath,
The world and all the worlds are yours;
And should he leap thejungle path
And clasp you with his bloody jaws,
Then say, as his divine embrace
Destroys the mortal parts of you:
I too am of that royal race
Who do what we are born to do.

A few random poems:
- Hyperion. Book III poem – John Keats poems
- Николай Рубцов – Зимняя песня
- The Choral Union by Siegfried Sassoon
- Invern poem – Ezra Pound poems
- Владимир Британишский – По-польски вместо слова “светлячок”
- Anteater by Shel Silverstein
- An Epitaph On Sr John Walter, Lord Cheife Baron by William Strode
- The Death Of Huss poem – Alfred Austin
- София Парнок – Рондель
- Олег Бундур – Где живут мысли
- Who Would Not Die For England! poem – Alfred Austin
- An Honest Poet’s Life Is Full Of Care by Malcolm Massiah
- Владимир Высоцкий – Надо с кем-то рассорить кого-то
- Further Instructions poem – Ezra Pound poems
- For The Moment by Pierre Reverdy
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
- On Your Midnight Pallet Lying poem – A. E. Housman
- On Your Midnight Pallet Lying poem – A. E. Housman
- On Wenlock Edge The Wood’s In Trouble poem – A. E. Housman
- On Wenlock Edge The Wood’s In Trouble poem – A. E. Housman
- On the Idle Hill of Summer poem – A. E. Housman
- On Moonlit Heath and Lonesome Bank poem – A. E. Housman
- On Moonlit Heath and Lonesome Bank poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh Who Is That Young Sinner poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh, when I was in love with you poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh Stay At Home, My Lad poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh Stay At Home, My Lad poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh, see how thick the goldcup flowers poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh, see how thick the goldcup flowers poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh fair enough are sky and plain poem – A. E. Housman
- Oh fair enough are sky and plain poem – A. E. Housman
- O Why Do You Walk poem – A. E. Housman
- Now Hollow Fires Burn Out to Black poem – Alfred Edward Housman
- Now Hollow Fires Burn Out to Black poem – Alfred Edward Housman
- March poem – A. E. Housman
- March poem – A. E. Housman
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.