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:
- Pagett, M.P. by Rudyard Kipling
- Федор Сологуб – Сладко мечтается мне
- Владимир Набоков – Путь
- First let the kennel be the huntsman’s care by William Somervile
- Jewels by Sara Teasdale
- Polly Be-en Upzides Wi’ Tom by William Barnes
- Carpe Diem by William Shakespeare
- NIGHT RAID by Satish Verma
- Николай Тихонов – Когда людям советским
- The Tree Of Knowledge
- Teddy Bear
- Вера Звягинцева – Ты не снись мне
- On a Sea Fight, Which the Author was in, Betwixt the English and Dutch by William Wycherley
- Ольга Берггольц – Встреча
- Николай Языков – А. Н. Очкину (Было время, мой приятель)
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
- Evenén in the Village by William Barnes
- Evenèn, An’ Maidens Out At Door by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–Two Farms In Woone by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Veäiries by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Times by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The ‘Lotments by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Common A-Took In by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–The Best Man In The Vield by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–Racketèn Joe by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–John, Jealous At Shroton Feäir by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–John An’ Thomas by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–Come And Zee Us In The Zummer by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–A Ghost by William Barnes
- Eclogue:–A Bit O’ Sly Coorten by William Barnes
- Early Risèn by William Barnes
- Early Pla Meäte by William Barnes
- Don’t Ceäre by William Barnes
- A Do’set Sale by William Barnes
- Day’s Work A-Done by William Barnes
- Daniel Dwithen, The Wise Chap by William Barnes
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.