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:
- They’ve Put A Brassiere On A Camel by Shel Silverstein
- Bicycle Ride by Pat Mullan
- Гавриил Державин – Афинейскому витязю
- Василий Каменский – Из Симеиза в Алупку
- Off Mesolongi poem – Alfred Austin
- Address to the Deil by Robert Burns
- Эмиль Верхарн – Воскресное утро
- The Farewell to the Brethren of St. James’s Lodge by Robert Burns
- Виталий Сивяков – Крещенье
- Gwaïn Down The Steps Vor Water by William Barnes
- The Princess (part 2) poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Melmillo by Walter de la Mare
- Владимир Высоцкий – День рождения лейтенанта милиции в ресторане “Берлин”
- Human Instrument by Victoria Bukofske
- The Queen’s Men by Rudyard Kipling
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
- Иван Бунин – Не видно птиц
- Иван Бунин – За рекой луга зазеленели
- Иван Бунин – Надпись на могильной плите
- Иван Бунин – Богиня
- Иван Бунин – Безнадежность
- Иван Бунин – Беру твою руку и долго смотрю
- Иван Бунин – Балагула
- Иван Бунин – Апрель
- Иван Бунин – Алёнушка
- Иван Бунин – Пустыня, грусть в степных просторах
- Иван Барков – Выбор
- Иван Барков – Вопрос без ответу
- Иван Барков – Венерино оружие
- Иван Барков – Улика подьячего
- Иван Барков – Торжественным воротам
- Иван Барков – Стихи с матом без цензуры: читать матерные нецензурные стихотворения Баркова – Poetry Monster
- Исикава Такубоку – Дом
- Ирина Токмакова – Каша
- Иосиф Бродский – Бюст Тиберия
- Иосиф Бродский – Буров тракторист
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.