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:
- To a Common Prostitute. by Walt Whitman
- Ольга Берггольц – Из “Писем с дороги”
- Far Pitched Tents: Poems of War by Michael Nikoletseas
- Literary Cubism – A Non-Structured Structure For Twenty-first Century Storytelling
- An Afternoon by Raymond Carver
- emotional bond by Raj Arumugam
- Humankind – How Limitless In Genius by Michael Levy
- Portrait of Rage and Age poem – Amy Cavanaugh poems | Poems and Poetry
- CAESAR’S LAST BREATH by MICHAEL SALCMAN
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Чудом тени
- For Anne Gregory by William Butler Yeats
- On The Porch At The Frost Place, Franconia, N. H. by William Matthews
- Old Homeless Man by Walter William Safar
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Бездна
- The Candle Of The Lord
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
- Robert Burns: Poem On Pastoral Poetry :
- Robert Burns: On Glenriddell’s Fox Breaking His Chain: A Fragment
- Robert Burns: The Posie :
- Robert Burns: What Can A Young Lassie Do Wi’ An Auld Man:
- Robert Burns: The Charms Of Lovely Davies:
- Robert Burns: Epigram On Miss Davies: On being asked why she had been formed so little, and Mrs. A-so big.
- Robert Burns: The Bonie Wee Thing:
- Robert Burns: Craigieburn Wood:
- Robert Burns: Lines Sent To Sir John Whiteford, Bart: With The Lament On The Death Of the Earl Of Glencairn
- Robert Burns: Lament For James, Earl Of Glencairn:
- Robert Burns: The Banks O’ Doon: Third Version
- Robert Burns: The Banks O’ Doon: Second Version
- Robert Burns: The Banks O’ Doon: First Version
- Robert Burns: Out Over The Forth:
- Robert Burns: There’ll Never Be Peace Till Jamie Comes Hame:
- Robert Burns: Lament Of Mary, Queen Of Scots, On The Approach Of Spring:
- Robert Burns: Elegy On The Late Miss Burnet Of Monboddo :
- Robert Burns: On The Birth Of A Posthumous Child: Born in peculiar circumstances of family distress.
- Robert Burns: Tam O’ Shanter: A Tale
- Robert Burns: Verses On Captain Grose: Written on an Envelope, enclosing a Letter to Him.
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.