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:
- Федор Сологуб – Тепло мне потому, что мой уютный дом
- Destiny Far Away
- A Winter Ride poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Владимир Маяковский – Рифмованные лозунги
- Николай Некрасов – Демону
- Night Of Battle by Yvor Winters
- The Match poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- Robert Burns: Sappho Redivivus: Fragment
- Валерий Брюсов – Исполненное обещание романтическая поэма
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 02 – part 01 by Torquato Tasso
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мог бы быть я при тёще, при тесте
- To John Keats poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Mystic by Sylvia Plath
- Robert Burns: Extempore Reply To An Invitation:
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мы просто куклы
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
- Hobbinol; or The Rural Games – Canto 2 by William Somervile
- Hare-hunting by William Somervile
- Fortune-Hunter, The – Canto 5 by William Somervile
- Fortune-Hunter, The – Canto 3 by William Somervile
- Fortune-Hunter, The – Canto 1 by William Somervile
- For the Lute by William Somervile
- First let the kennel be the huntsman’s care by William Somervile
- Field Sports by William Somervile
- Epistle from Mr. Somerville, An by William Somervile
- Chase, The – Book 1 by William Somervile
- All-Accomplished Rover by William Somervile
- Advice to the Ladies by William Somervile
- Address to His Elbow-Chair, New Cloath’d, An by William Somervile
- A Padlock for the Mouth by William Somervile
- “Young England–What Is Then Become Of Old” by William Wordsworth
- Yew-Trees by William Wordsworth
- “Yes! Thou Art Fair, Yet Be Not Moved” by William Wordsworth
- Yes, It Was The Mountain Echo by William Wordsworth
- Yarrow Visited by William Wordsworth
- Yarrow Unvisited by William Wordsworth
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.