A poem by Alan Dugan
by Al Mutanabbi
Resolutions are measured against those who make them; generosity in accordance with the giver.
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Littleness is magnified by small men, while grandeur is deprecated by the great.
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Sayf al-Dawla imposes upon the army his will, yet seasoned armies cannot achieve it.
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He asks from men all that he has in himself, though even lions would not claim to match that.
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Dose al-Hadath know of its red color? Or which of the two pourers was a cloud?
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White-streaked clouds had watered al-Hadath before his arrival; when he approached, it was inundated with skulls.
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The enemy came at you, hauling their weapons as if they traveled on legless horses.
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When their ranks caught the light, their swords remained unseen, since their shirts and turbans were also made from steel.
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You stayed where you were, when doing so meant certain death: as if perdition itself slept while you stood in its eyelid.
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Wounded and fleeting, heroes passed you by, while your face remained bright and your lips, smiling.
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You surpassed the bounds of courage and understanding, until people claimed that you knew the unseen.
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To you belongs the praise for these pearls I pronounce; you are the giver, I the arranger.
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Oh, Sword never sheathed, whom none can doubt and from whom there is no refuge.
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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:
- Владимир Маяковский – Вот что говорил Ленин на съезде политпросветов (Главполитпросвет №385)
- Владимир Британишский – Девятое января
- Robert Burns: Address Spoken by Miss Fontenelle on her Benefit Night, December 4th, 1793, at the Theatre, Dumfries.:
- Омар Хайям – Кто не грешит?
- What Peace Is Like
- The Appointment by Ruth Padel
- Leaving Early by Sylvia Plath
- Patroling Barnegat. by Walt Whitman
- Song Of A Dream by Sarojini Naidu
- Practising Anthem
- Miracles by Paul Hostovsky
- Blue Moles by Sylvia Plath
- Tears. by Walt Whitman
- Penmaen Pool poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Ольга Седакова – Цивилизация
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
- A Cliff Dwelling by Robert Frost
- A Brook in the City by Robert Frost
- A Boundless Moment by Robert Frost
- The Easter Egg Hunt by Roger Turner
- Nikolai Gumilev –
- The Land of Counterpane by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Come, My Beloved, Hear From Me by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Come, Here Is Adieu To The City by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Come From The Daisied Meadows by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Behold, As Goblins Dark Of Mien by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Before This Little Gift Was Come by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Away With Funeral Music by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Auntie’s Skirts by Robert Louis Stevenson
- At the Sea-Side by Robert Louis Stevenson
- At Last She Comes by Robert Louis Stevenson
- As One Who Having Wandered All Night Long by Robert Louis Stevenson
- As In Their Flight The Birds Of Song by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Armies in the Fire by Robert Louis Stevenson
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.