A poem by Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)
The clouds and the stars didn’t wage this war
the brooks gave no information
if the mountain spewed stones of fire into the river
it was not taking sides
the raindrop faintly swaying under the leaf
had no political opinions
and if here or there a house
filled with backed-up raw sewage
or poisoned those who lived there
with slow fumes, over years
the houses were not at war
nor did the tinned-up buildings
intend to refuse shelter
to homeless old women and roaming children
they had no policy to keep them roaming
or dying, no, the cities were not the problem
the bridges were non-partisan
the freeways burned, but not with hatred
Even the miles of barbed-wire
stretched around crouching temporary huts
designed to keep the unwanted
at a safe distance, out of sight
even the boards that had to absorb
year upon year, so many human sounds
so many depths of vomit, tears
slow-soaking blood
had not offered themselves for this
The trees didn’t volunteer to be cut into boards
nor the thorns for tearing flesh
Look around at all of it
and ask whose signature
is stamped on the orders, traced
in the corner of the building plans
Ask where the illiterate, big-bellied
women were, the drunks and crazies,
the ones you fear most of all: ask where you were.
A few random poems:
- Alicante Lullaby by Sylvia Plath
- Ballad Of The Press-Gang At Shihao Village by Du Fu
- Sonnet 01
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песня о вещем Олеге
- Rhymes for Gloriana by Vachel Lindsay
- Epitaph on Holy Willie by Robert Burns
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Час обыкновенный
- Marine Snow At Mid-Depths And Down by Thomas Lux
- the_kings_breakfast.html
- Sonnet 61: Is it thy will thy image should keep open by William Shakespeare
- A Grey Day by William Vaughn Moody
- Brothers poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- The Jailer by Sylvia Plath
- I Wish This Lovely Time Never Ends by Miraj Patel
- Николай Языков – Валдайский узник
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
- Аля Кудряшева – Если ты, к примеру, кролик с шелковистыми ушами
- Аля Кудряшева – Двадцать перышек за плечами
- Аля Кудряшева – Дождь напевает, искрясь по зарослям
- Алишер Навои – Уже белеет голова
- Алишер Навои – Украсишь ты свой наряд красным
- Алишер Навои – У пери — точка вместо уст
- Алишер Навои – То не заросли тюльпанов
- Алишер Навои – Сверкнула в темноте ночной краса
- Алишер Навои – Стихотворные жемчужины
- Алишер Навои – Соловей, лишенный розы, умолкает, не поет
- Алишер Навои – Словно зеркало, сияет лик твой
- Алишер Навои – Скиталец горький, страсть таю я
- Алишер Навои – Сердце взял мое сын мага
- Алишер Навои – Сердце кровью из ран обагрить я сумел
- Алишер Навои – Пустословя на минбаре
- Алишер Навои – Птицу-сердце полонила нежных локонов силком
- Алишер Навои – Поучительные заветы старости
- Алишер Навои – Осрамился я
- Алишер Навои – Он любить мне запрещает
- Алишер Навои – О таинствах любви
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
Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012) was an American poet, essayist, and feminist.