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:
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 02 – part 07 by Torquato Tasso
- Олег Бундур – И до моря 15 шагов
- Robert Burns: I Gaed A Waefu’ Gate Yestreen:
- Robert Burns: On Glenriddell’s Fox Breaking His Chain: A Fragment
- Ghosts by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Владимир Корнилов – Командировка на Север
- Never Again by Stevie Smith
- cinema_screen.html
- Nanny’s Cow by William Barnes
- A Twilight Song poem – Alfred Austin
- София Парнок – Екатерине Гельцер
- Владимир Бенедиктов – О, не играй веселых песен мне
- Gubbinal by Wallace Stevens
- Faith and Faiths by Tomás Ó Cárthaigh
- Владимир Маяковский – Буржуазия и пролетариат стали врагами друг против друга… (Главполитпросвет №19)
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
- Владимир Высоцкий – На острове необитаемом
- Владимир Высоцкий – На Филиппинах бархатный сезон
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мы живём в большом селе Большие Вилы
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мы вращаем Землю
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мы вместе грабили одну и ту же хату
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мы просто куклы
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мы бдительны, мы тайн не разболтаем
- Владимир Высоцкий – Моя клятва (Первый стих)
- Владимир Высоцкий – Москва-Одесса
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мой Гамлет
- Высоцкий – Спасибо, что живой: стих, текст “Мой черный человек в костюме сером” – Poetry Monster
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мог бы быть я при тёще, при тесте
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мне в душу ступит кто-то посторонний
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мне скулы от досады сводит
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мне каждый вечер зажигают свечи
- Владимир Высоцкий – Михаилу Шемякину под впечатлением от серии “Чрево”
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мистерия хиппи
- Владимир Высоцкий – Милицейский протокол
- Владимир Высоцкий – Мажорный светофор, трёхцветье, трио
- Владимир Высоцкий – Маски
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.