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:
- Bridal Song by William Shakespeare
- Greater Love by Wilfred Owen
- You Are One For Whom Ma Heart Really Cares by Miraj Patel
- An Indian Summer Day on the Prarie by Vachel Lindsay
- Elizabeth by Michael Ondaatje
- A Stepmother’s Vain Love by Vaishnavi Prakash
- I have a dream
- Star-Gazers by William Wordsworth
- Федор Сологуб – В лунном озарении
- Robert Burns: Inscription For An Altar Of Independence: At Kerroughtree, the Seat of Mr. Heron.
- Владимир Корнилов – Погодинка
- Владимир Корнилов – Происхождение
- Meditatio poem – Ezra Pound poems
- Robert Burns: Epistle To J. Lapraik, An Old Scottish Bard:
- Sonnet I: Loving In Truth by Sir Philip Sidney
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
- Covenent by Rudyard Kipling
- Columns by Rudyard Kipling
- Cold Iron by Rudyard Kipling
- Cleared by Rudyard Kipling
- Cities and Thrones and Powers by Rudyard Kipling
- Christmas in India by Rudyard Kipling
- Cholera Camp by Rudyard Kipling
- Chapter Headings by Rudyard Kipling
- Chant-Pagan by Rudyard Kipling
- Certain Maxims Of Hafiz by Rudyard Kipling
- Cells by Rudyard Kipling
- Cain and Abel by Rudyard Kipling
- By the Hoof of the Wild Goat by Rudyard Kipling
- Butterflies by Rudyard Kipling
- Brookland Road by Rudyard Kipling
- Bridge-Guard in the Karroo by Rudyard Kipling
- Boots by Rudyard Kipling
- Blue Roses by Rudyard Kipling
- Bill ‘Awkins by Rudyard Kipling
- Belts by Rudyard Kipling
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.