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:
- A Good Father by William Barnes
- They Would Love To See Me Dead by Mahmoud Darwish
- Spring Thing by Paul Blackburn
- Southern Sunrise by Sylvia Plath
- A Story At Dusk
- A Poplar and the Moon by Siegfried Sassoon
- Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known by William Wordsworth
- vorticism_is_a_choka_in_its_modular_home.html
- Николай Заболоцкий – Начало зимы
- CAESAR’S LAST BREATH by MICHAEL SALCMAN
- The Ladies by Rudyard Kipling
- From An Atlas Of The Difficult World
- What Being in Rank-Old Nature poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Ольга Высотская стихи: лучшие стихотворения для детей Высотской – Poetry Monster
- Юрий Котов – Ты что-же боль, меня не отпускаешь
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
- Songs of Joy by William Henry Davies
- Seeking Beauty by William Henry Davies
- Sadness and Joy by William Henry Davies
- Rich or Poor by William Henry Davies
- Rich Days by William Henry Davies
- No Master by William Henry Davies
- Nell Barnes by William Henry Davies
- Money by William Henry Davies
- Leisure by William Henry Davies
- Laughing Rose by William Henry Davies
- Joy and Pleasure by William Henry Davies
- William Henry Davies – William Henry Davies
- In the Country by William Henry Davies
- In May by William Henry Davies
- Days Too Short by William Henry Davies
- Come, Let Us Find by William Henry Davies
- Charms by William Henry Davies
- April’s Charms by William Henry Davies
- All in June by William Henry Davies
- Ale by William Henry Davies
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.