Lord Nevils Advice

“Friend,” quoth Lord Nevil, “thou art young

To face the world, and thou art blind

To subtle ways of womankind;

The meshes thou wilt fall among.

“Take an old married man’s advice;

Use the experience I have earned;

Watch well where women are concerned,-

They’re not all birds of paradise!

“Be circumspect, or thou mayst fall;

Abjure a blind faith-nay, trust none-

Till thou hast chosen, proven one;

Then trust her truly-trust in all.

“Keep a calm brain and quiet eye,

And watch. The doll of powder and paint,

The flirt, the artificial saint,

The loud man-woman pass them by.

“The innocent one, who craves thy cares

To shield her from life’s fret and fray;

Lad, watch her-maybe she’ll betray

Some doubtful knowledge, unawares.

“The pensive one, who droops and sighs-

Wait till her dreaming comes to test;

Be gentle, yet be wary, lest

‘Tis but a graceful grey disguise.

“The world-wise husband-hunter-she

Who knows no love but love of gold,

And lands and titles-empty, cold,-

Pity her, lad, and let her be.

“And the rich heiress-let her pass.

Belike she’s stupid, drugged with wealth,

And just enjoys her life and health

As some fat cow in clover grass.

“Or insolent with prosperity,

Unsharpened, shallow, unrefined;-

And thou art poor, and thou wilt mind

That proud blood cometh down to thee.

“The gushing gossip-she who rains

Incessant chatter in thine ears;-

She may be worth thy keenest fears,

She may be simply lacking brains,

“And lacking grace and modesty.

She will make mischief, at the best;

She may be wily, like the rest;

Keep thy tongue still when she is by.

“They that would master thee, if they could,

In brain and muscle-flaring lights-

The clamorous for false woman’s rights;-

Snub them, my friend-it does them good-

“And do not think of them for wives.

Fit mates for such seem somewhat rare;

But when two odd ones make a pair,

They spoil at least four precious lives.

“But shouldst thou chance to meet a girl

With brave, bright eyes, that front thee straight,

A kindly tongue that does not prate,

And quiet lips that cannot curl;

“With fine sense, quick to understand,

With dignity that is not cold,

Sweet, sunny mirth that is not bold,

A ready ear, a willing hand;

“One skilled in household arts, and skilled

In little courteous, graceful ways,

That make no show and win no praise-

Wherewith discordant jars are stilled:

“One who will never touch a sore;

One who sheds sunshine round about,

And draws life’s hidden comfort out;

One whom the boys and babes adore:

“One with an intellect to reach

The highest range that thou canst rise;

Who will aye help thee, woman-wise,

And yet not set herself to teach:

“One of whom women love to speak,

In honest kindness, and whose name

Men let alone; whose chiefest fame

Lies hidden where men may not seek;-

“Friend, woo her, as a good knight can,

And win her. Lay thou at her feet

Faith, love, and honour, true and sweet;

And count thyself a happy man.”

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 

• Владимир Маяковский – Тёплое слово кое-каким порокам by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Ты знаешь это вот… (Главполитпросвет №267) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Ты хочешь освободиться от тяжести войны?.. (РОСТА №523) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Ты обут? Тебя обувает фабрика… (РОСТА №601) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Ты не пошел на фронт бить барона?.. (РОСТА №451) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Ты by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Тучкины штучки by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Трудовая взаимопомощь инвентарем (Агитплакаты) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Тропики by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Тревога by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Третий вывоз by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Тресты by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Трагедия by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарищу Нетте, пароходу и человеку by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарищи, близятся ужасы зимы… (РОСТА №270) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарище, не забывайте о Врангеле-бароне! (РОСТА № 116) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарищ! Шахтер раздет… (РОСТА №603) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарищ Иванов by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарищ! Фронту помог ты… (РОСТА №444) by Владимир Маяковский
• Владимир Маяковский – Товарищ Чичерин и тралеры отдает и прочее by Владимир Маяковский

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