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:
- Николай Карамзин – Из письма к И. И. Дмитриеву (Что ж может быть любви и счастия быстрее)
- Faithless Nelly Gray by Thomas Hood
- Владимир Высоцкий – Слева бесы, справа бесы
- Федор Сологуб – Плачет безутешная вдова
- In The Dusky Path Of A Dream by Rabindranath Tagore
- Great Men Have Been Among Us by William Wordsworth
- The Solitary by Sara Teasdale
- Thrones In Heaven by Victoria Rose
- The Immortal Part poem – A. E. Housman
- Address To A Child During A Boisterous Winter By My Sister by William Wordsworth
- The Poor Lover to His Rich Mistress about to Marry His Coxcombly Rival by William Wycherley
- Couplet 7 poem – Amir Khusro poems | Poems and Poetry
- Вера Павлова – Нежность больше не делится
- Hope And Riders
- Владимир Высоцкий – Всё меньше вас, участники войны
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
- Олег Бундур – Поросенок и свиньи
- Олег Бундур – Полёт
- Олег Бундур – Под сосной
- Олег Бундур – Почему собаки дерутся
- Олег Бундур – Письмо от бабушки
- Олег Бундур – Певец Александр Серов
- Олег Бундур – Первый пирог
- Олег Бундур – Переселение
- Олег Бундур – Папино влияние
- Олег Бундур – Папа возмущается
- Олег Бундур – Папа собирается на рыбалку
- Олег Бундур – Папа пристал
- Олег Бундур – Папа и родительское собрание
- Олег Бундур – Орлан-белохвост
- Олег Бундур – Окошки
- Олег Бундур – Однажды на даче
- Олег Бундур – Обновки
- Олег Бундур – Неправильный кот
- Олег Бундур – Не ходите ночью
- Олег Бундур – Не верится
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.