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:
- Even As A Dragon’s Eye That Feels The Stress by William Wordsworth
- An Autumn Homily poem – Alfred Austin
- Юрий Верховский – Есть имена, таинственны и стары
- Владимир Степанов – Облако-овечка
- Notes To A Neophyte by Sylvia Plath
- Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms by Thomas Moore
- Олег Бундур – Наши неприятности
- Ruth by William Wordsworth
- On Seeing the Ladies Crux-Easton Walk in the Woods by the Grotto. poem – Alexander Pope
- To Lily poem – Alexander Pushkin
- Spring in Town by William Cullen Bryant
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Чудом тени
- In A Garden by Sara Teasdale
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 04 – part 03 by Torquato Tasso
- The Song of the Cities by Rudyard Kipling
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
- Hope by Walter William Safar
- Freedom by Walter William Safar
- Forest by Walter William Safar
- Cry of the Betrayed Earth by Walter William Safar
- Christmas Star by Walter William Safar
- Beloved Ireland by Walter William Safar
- American Soil by Walter William Safar
- America by Walter William Safar
- Against All Streams by Walter William Safar
- A window into the world by Walter William Safar
- A Poem to my Beloved by Walter William Safar
- Bound Home to Mount Song by Wang Wei
- Answering Vice-Prefect Zhang by Wang Wei
- At the Lake Pavilion by Wang Wei
- Duckweed Pond by Wang Wei
- Bamboo Adobe by Wang Wei
- Deer Enclosure by Wang Wei
- Farewell to Hsin Chien at Hibiscus Pavilion by Wang Wei
- Farewell by Wang Wei
- For P’ei Ti by Wang Wei
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.