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:
- Лермонтов – Бородино: Стихотворение “Скажи-ка, дядя, ведь не даром”, читать текст стиха полностью онлайн на Poetry Monster
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- Slant by Stephen Dunn
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- Man Kunto Maula poem – Amir Khusro poems | Poems and Poetry
- Gratitude, Addressed To Lady Hesketh by William Cowper
- A Parænesis To Prince Henry by William Alexander
- Scots, Wha Hae Wi’ Wallace Bled by Robert Burns
- In Memoriam A. H. H.: 16. I Envy not in any Moods poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Butterflies by Siegfried Sassoon
- Владимир Луговской – Дорога
- Ballade Of Youth And Age by William Ernest Henley
- Hail, Twilight, Sovereign Of One Peaceful Hour by William Wordsworth
- Gone
- A Jewish Family In A Small Valley Opposite St. Goar, Upon The Rhine by William Wordsworth
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
- Love Sonnet LIV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XXXI poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XXVII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XXIX poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XXIV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood XL poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood X poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood VIII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Sonnet Of Motherhood VI poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Memory poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XXXV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XXVIII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XXVI poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XXIX poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XXI poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XVII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XLIX poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XLIV poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
- Love Sonnet XLII poem – Zora Bernice May Cross poems
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.