OH, gaily sings the bird! and the wattle-boughs are stirred

And rustled by the scented breath of Spring;

Oh, the dreary wistful longing! Oh, the faces that are thronging!

Oh, the voices that are vaguely whispering!

Oh, tell me, father mine, ere the good ship crossed the brine,

On the gangway one mute handgrip we exchanged,

Do you, past the grave, employ, for your stubborn reckless boy,

Those petitions that in life were ne’er estranged?

Oh, tell me, sister dear—parting word and parting tear

Never passed between us: let me bear the blame—

Are you living, girl, or dead? bitter tears since then I’ve shed

For the lips that lisped with mine a mother’s name.

Oh, tell me, ancient friend, ever ready to defend

In our boyhood, at the base of life’s long hill,

Are you waking yet or sleeping? Have you left this vale of weeping,

Or do you, like your comrade, linger still?

Oh, whisper, buried love, is there rest and peace above?—

There is little hope or comfort here below;

On your sweet face lies the mould, and your bed is strait and cold—

Near the harbour where the sea-tides ebb and flow.

All silent—they are dumb—and the breezes go and come

With an apathy that mocks at man’s distress;

Laugh, scoffer, while you may! I could bow me down and pray

For an answer that might stay my bitterness.

Oh, harshly screams the bird, and the wattle-bloom is stirred;

There’s a sullen weird-like whisper in the bough:

‘Aye, kneel and pray and weep, but HIS BELOVED SLEEP

CAN NEVER BE DISTURBED BY SUCH AS THOU!’

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

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 

• Ольга Берггольц – Бабье лето (надо любить, жалеть, прощать) by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Анна Ахматова в 1941 году в Ленинграде by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – А помнишь by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – 27 января 1945 года by Ольга Берггольц
• Олег Широв – Она бесценна, просто ангел by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Зимний кот by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Задумал слово я такое by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Храбрый червячок by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Воробышек и крошки by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Во дворе by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Угадай, в какой руке by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – У сосульки льет из носа by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Стой, кто идет by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Птенчик by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Пришли цыплята в первый класс by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Перемена by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Облачко by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Мошка Машка by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Кузнечик by Поэзия На Русском
• Олег Сердобольский – Корова и божья коровка by Поэзия На Русском

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

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

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works