A poem by Alan Dugan
by Al Mutanabbi
Resolutions are measured against those who make them; generosity in accordance with the giver.
***
Littleness is magnified by small men, while grandeur is deprecated by the great.
***
Sayf al-Dawla imposes upon the army his will, yet seasoned armies cannot achieve it.
***
He asks from men all that he has in himself, though even lions would not claim to match that.
***
Dose al-Hadath know of its red color? Or which of the two pourers was a cloud?
***
White-streaked clouds had watered al-Hadath before his arrival; when he approached, it was inundated with skulls.
***
The enemy came at you, hauling their weapons as if they traveled on legless horses.
***
When their ranks caught the light, their swords remained unseen, since their shirts and turbans were also made from steel.
***
You stayed where you were, when doing so meant certain death: as if perdition itself slept while you stood in its eyelid.
***
Wounded and fleeting, heroes passed you by, while your face remained bright and your lips, smiling.
***
You surpassed the bounds of courage and understanding, until people claimed that you knew the unseen.
***
To you belongs the praise for these pearls I pronounce; you are the giver, I the arranger.
***
Oh, Sword never sheathed, whom none can doubt and from whom there is no refuge.
***
Blessed are warfare, glory and eminence; blessed are your subjects and all of Islam, for you are safe!
Copyright ©:
Translated by Nancy Coffin

A few random poems:
- English Poetry. Thomas Moore. From “Irish Melodies”. 85. Oh For the Swords of Former Time. Томас Мур.
- Олег Григорьев – Крадучись, точно вор
- To Arms! (II) poem – Alfred Austin
- The Homeless Man by Mary TallMountain
- Miracles by Siegfried Sassoon
- Яков Полонский – Братья
- Debris. by Walt Whitman
- The Elphin Nourrice poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Владимир Высоцкий – На острове необитаемом
- DOWNHILL JOURNEY by Satish Verma
- After-Thought by William Wordsworth
- The Masks of Love
- Шекспир – Как и любовь – Сонет 151
- Robert Burns: On My Own Friend And My Father’s Friend, Wm. Muir In Tarbolton Mill:
- Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick
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
- The Haymakers’ Song poem – Alfred Austin
- Love’s Blindness poem – Alfred Austin
- At Her Grave poem – Alfred Austin
- At Delphi poem – Alfred Austin
- As Dies The Year poem – Alfred Austin
- Any Poet At Any Time poem – Alfred Austin
- An Experiment In Translation poem – Alfred Austin
- An Autumn Picture poem – Alfred Austin
- An Autumn Homily poem – Alfred Austin
- An Autumn-Blooming Rose poem – Alfred Austin
- An April Love poem – Alfred Austin
- An April Fool poem – Alfred Austin
- An Answer poem – Alfred Austin
- “Although no stupid scoffer, I” poem – Alfred Austin
- All Hail To The Czar! poem – Alfred Austin
- Alfred’s Song poem – Alfred Austin
- A Te Deum poem – Alfred Austin
- A Tale Of True Love poem – Alfred Austin
- A Spring Carol poem – Alfred Austin
- A Souless Singer poem – Alfred Austin
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
Alan Dugan (1923 – 2003) an American poet, a contemporary classic of American poetry.