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:
- Adam: A Sacred Drama. Act 4. by William Cowper
- A Ballad of Footmen poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Tumi Sandhyar Meghamala – You Are A Cluster Of Clouds – Translation by Rabindranath Tagore
- Ольга Высотская стихи: лучшие стихотворения для детей Высотской – Poetry Monster
- Robert Burns: Epitaph For Robert Aiken, Esq.:
- Омар Хайям – Лик розы освежен дыханием весны
- Impromptu on Mrs. Riddell’s Birthday by Robert Burns
- Late Autumn by William Allingham
- Эмиль Верхарн – Завершение
- Владимир Маяковский – Россия – страна земледельческая… (РОСТА №874)
- Николай Заболоцкий – На закате
- The Death Of Myth-Making by Sylvia Plath
- Николай Заболоцкий – Гурзуф ночью
- A Perfect World by Robby Charters
- The Alfresco Moment by Russell Edson
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
- The Illusion of Love by Sarojini Naidu
- The Bangle Sellers by Sarojini Naidu
- The Snake Charmer by Sarojini Naidu
- The Queen’s Rival by Sarojini Naidu
- In The Bazaars of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
- Wandering Singers by Sarojini Naidu
- Village Song by Sarojini Naidu
- Transcience by Sarojini Naidu
- Suttee by Sarojini Naidu
- Street Cries by Sarojini Naidu
- Song Of A Dream by Sarojini Naidu
- Past and Future by Sarojini Naidu
- Palanquin Bearers by Sarojini Naidu
- Ode to H.H. The Nizam Of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
- Nightfall In The City Of Hyderabad by Sarojini Naidu
- My Dead Dream by Sarojini Naidu
- Life by Sarojini Naidu
- Leili by Sarojini Naidu
- Indian Weavers by Sarojini Naidu
- Indian Love Song by Sarojini Naidu
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.