A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
I.
Silence! coeval with Eternity;
Thou wert, ere Nature’s-self began to be,
‘Twas one vast Nothing, all, and all slept fast in thee.
II.
Thine was the sway, ere heav’n was form’d, or earth,
Ere fruitful Thought conceiv’d creation’s birth,
Or midwife Word gave aid, and spoke the infant forth.
III.
Then various elements, against thee join’d,
In one more various animal combin’d,
And fam’d the clam’rous race of busy Human-kind.
IV.
The tongue mov’d gently first, and speech was low,
‘Till wrangling Science taught it noise and show,
And wicked Wit arose, thy most abusive foe.
V.
But rebel Wit deserts thee oft’ in vain;
Lost in the maze of words he turns again,
And seeks a surer state, and courts thy gentle reign.
VI.
Afflicted Sense thou kindly dost set free,
Oppress’d with argumental tyranny,
And routed Reason finds a safe retreat in thee.
VII.
With thee in private modest Dulness lies,
And in thy bosom lurks in Thought’s disguise;
Thou varnisher of Fools, and cheat of all the Wise!
VIII.
Yet thy indulgence is by both confest;
Folly by thee lies sleeping in the breast,
And ’tis in thee at last that Wisdom seeks for rest.
IX.
Silence the knave’s repute, the whore’s good name,
The only honour of the wishing dame;
Thy very want of tongue makes thee a kind of Fame.
X.
But could’st thou seize some tongues that now are free,
How Church and State should be oblig’d to thee!
At Senate, and at Bar, how welcome would’st thou be!
XI.
Yet speech ev’n there, submissively withdraws,
From rights of subjects, and the poor man’s cause:
Then pompous Silence reigns, and stills the noisy Laws.
XII.
Past services of friends, good deeds of foes,
What Fav’rites gain, and what the Nation owes,
Fly the forgetful world, and in thy arms repose.
XIII.
The country wit, religion of the town,
The courtier’s learning, policy o’ th’ gown,
Are best by thee express’d; and shine in thee alone.
XIV.
The parson’s cant, the lawyer’s sophistry,
Lord’s quibble, critic’s jest; all end in thee,
All rest in peace at last, and sleep eternally.
A few random poems:
- April Aubade by Sylvia Plath
- From Death
- Robert Burns: Tam Samson’s Elegy: When this worthy old sportman went out, last muirfowl season, he supposed it was to be, in Ossian’s phrase, “the last of his fields,” and expressed an ardent wish to die and be buried in the muirs. On this hint the author composed his elegy and epitaph.-R.B., 1787.
- Гавриил Державин – Осень
- Graydigger’s Home by William Stafford
- Love Of Life poem – Alfred Austin
- Николай Языков – Послание к А. Н. Очкину (О, ты, с которым я, от юношеских лет)
- Владимир Гандельсман – Воскрешение матери
- Алексей Плещеев – По чувствам братья мы с тобой
- The Parting
- One Word
- Lamhe by Priyanka Tungana
- An Untold Love by Rixa White
- Patience poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Complete Destruction by William Carlos Williams
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
- Вера Павлова – Подарил мне жизнь
- Вера Павлова – По счету
- Вера Павлова – Плачу, потому что не можешь со мной жить
- Вера Павлова – Перед дальней дорогой
- Вера Павлова – Память, дырявый мешок
- Вера Павлова – Отпала от пола
- Вера Павлова – Они влюблены и счастливы
- Вера Павлова – Объятье
- Вера Павлова – О чем
- Вера Павлова – Нежность больше не делится
- Вера Павлова – Нет, нет, не ревность
- Вера Павлова – Жизнь в посудной лавке
- Вера Павлова – Зеркало по природе правдиво
- Вера Павлова – Завещание
- Вера Павлова – Заплетала косички
- Вера Павлова – за руку здороваться с рекой
- Вера Павлова – Я дождевой червь
- Вера Павлова – Всходить на костёр Жанною
- Вера Павлова – Время уступать место
- Вера Павлова – Время бежит на время
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
