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:
- As Consequent, Etc. by Walt Whitman
- Аля Кудряшева – Рыбный вальсок
- Readen Ov A Head-Stwone by William Barnes
- Юнна Мориц – Это вьюги хрустящий калач
- Secrets of Academic Success: Passion
- A Song On The Baths by William Strode
- Elizabeth by Michael Ondaatje
- I bring hope and love by Raj Arumugam
- Владимир Британишский – Переписка
- Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Robert Frost
- Cake by Roger McGough
- Ольга Ермолаева – Псевдоготика для русских романтических сердец
- The Weavers by Nijole Miliauskaite
- Ок Мельникова – Тоской тома йорка
- On the Idle Hill of Summer poem – A. E. Housman
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
- Стефан Малларме – Подавленное тучей
- Стефан Малларме – Отходит кружево опять
- Стефан Малларме – О, зеркало
- Стефан Малларме – Милостыня
- Стефан Малларме – Гробница Эдгара По
- Стефан Малларме – Ее ногтей ожив, что ожил из пароса
- Стефан Малларме – Дар поэмы
- Станислав Востоков – Стой, кто идёт
- Станислав Востоков – Не хочется отцу и маме
- Станислав Востоков – Не умею
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Я для песни задушевной
- Спиридон Дрожжин – В деревне
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Свети мне, солнышко
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Смерть коня-пахаря
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Рожь
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Песня пахаря
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Первая борозда
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Люблю я сельский мой приют
- Спиридон Дрожжин – Из поэмы “Дуняша”
- София Парнок – В земле бесплодной не взойти зерну
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.