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:
- An Ode To Antares
- The Evenèn Star O’ Zummer by William Barnes
- Greek Light
- On Seeing the Ladies Crux-Easton Walk in the Woods by the Grotto. poem – Alexander Pope
- Robert Burns: Green Grow The Rashes: A Fragment
- Autumn by Thomas Hood
- Владимир Вишневский – Стада уж боле не пасутся мирно
- I Chide Not At The Seasons poem – Alfred Austin
- Confession (to Alina Osipova, 1826) poem – Alexander Pushkin
- Persuasions to Joy, a Song by Thomas Carew
- Although they are by Sappho
- Юлия Жадовская – Чем ярче шумный пир
- Иван Варавва – Жаворонок
- Fatima | Best Love Poems
- Юрий Коринец – Листопад
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
- I Shout Love by Milton Acorn
- I know our friendship wil never end by Miraj Patel
- I Just Wanna Make You Mine Girl by Miraj Patel
- I Just Wanna Be Your Number One by Miraj Patel
- I Have A Friend I Can Proudly Say by Miraj Patel
- I Just Wanna Be Your Valentine by Miraj Patel
- I Can Feel The Same by Miraj Patel
- Househunting by Mike Yuan
- Hiking by Mike Yuan
- Growth: for Allen Qing Yuan by Mike Yuan
- Global Warning by Mike Yuan
- Four Corners by Michelle Bonczek Evory
- Forever Ya by Miraj Patel
- Far Pitched Tents: Poems of War by Michael Nikoletseas
- Entering the Body by Michelle Bonczek Evory
- Elizabeth by Michael Ondaatje
- East Idioms (1): A Fable by Mike Yuan
- Don’t Hang Up The Phone by Miraj Patel
- Christmas Dance of the Hours by Michael T. Bee
- Change of Climate by Michael S Wilson
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.