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:
- Poor Mailie’s Elegy by Robert Burns
- Felix Randal poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Epigram—Kirk and State Excisemen by Robert Burns
- Answer Me
- Agatha poem – Alfred Austin
- Somebody Has To by Shel Silverstein
- Passion For Light
- September by Ted Hughes
- Гавриил Державин – Похвала комару
- Наум Коржавин – Неужели птицы пели
- A Toccata Of Galuppi’s by Robert Browning
- The Hour Before Dawn by William Butler Yeats
- A Bucolic Betwixt Two; Lacon and Thyrsis by Robert Herrick
- “From the man whom I love, though my heart I disguise,” by Tobias Smollett
- Avec seulement du noir by Martine Morillon-Carreau
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
- Владимир Корнилов – В Македонии
- Владимир Корнилов – Утро
- Владимир Корнилов – Учитель
- Владимир Корнилов – Трофейный фильм
- Владимир Корнилов – Тоска
- Владимир Корнилов – Сызнова
- Владимир Корнилов – Суворов
- Владимир Корнилов – Стих стиху
- Владимир Корнилов – Старость
- Владимир Корнилов – Спортлото
- Владимир Корнилов – Спасенье
- Владимир Корнилов – Сорок лет спустя
- Владимир Корнилов – Соперник
- Владимир Корнилов – Собака подлеца
- Владимир Корнилов – Слово
- Владимир Корнилов – Слепец
- Владимир Корнилов – Щитовидка
- Владимир Корнилов – Рифма
- Владимир Корнилов – Репертуар
- Владимир Корнилов – Разговор
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
