The British
by A. S. J. Tessimond
We are a people living in shells and moving
Crablike; reticent, awkward, deeply suspicious;
Watching the world from a corner of half-closed eyelids,
Afraid lest someone show that he hates or loves us,
Afraid lest someone weep in the railway train.
We are coiled and clenched like a foetus clad in armour.
We hold our hearts for fear they fly like eagles.
We grasp our tongues for fear they cry like trumpets.
We listen to our own footsteps. We look both ways
Before we cross the silent empty road.
We are a people easily made uneasy,
Especially wary of praise, of passion, of scarlet
Cloaks, of gesturing hands, of the smiling stranger
In the alien hat who talks to all or the other
In the unfamiliar coat who talks to none.
We are afraid of too-cold thought or too-hot
Blood, of the opening of long-shut shafts or cupboards,
Of light in caves, of X-rays, probes, unclothing
Of emotion, intolerable revelation
Of lust in the light, of love in the palm of the hand.
We are afraid of, one day on a sunny morning,
Meeting ourselves or another without the usual
Outer sheath, the comfortable conversation,
And saying all, all, all we did not mean to,
All, all, all we did not know we meant.
A few random poems:
- “Yes! Thou Art Fair, Yet Be Not Moved” by William Wordsworth
- Disguises by Thomas Edward Brown
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Раздумье
- Neither Out Far Nor In Deep by Robert Frost
- Not Fair
- Вера Звягинцева – Пойдёте пешком на кладбище
- Calligraphy of geese by Yosa Buson
- The Song of the Dead by Rudyard Kipling
- The Sea-Wife by Rudyard Kipling
- The Real Work by Wendell Berry
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Монастыркам
- England’s Answer by Rudyard Kipling
- Baldovan by William Topaz McGonagall
- Михаил Лермонтов – Я не люблю тебя
- The Most Exquisite Creature Of My Dreams by Mac McGovern
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
- Иван Бунин – За рекой луга зазеленели
- Иван Бунин – Надпись на могильной плите
- Иван Бунин – Богиня
- Иван Бунин – Безнадежность
- Иван Бунин – Беру твою руку и долго смотрю
- Иван Бунин – Балагула
- Иван Бунин – Апрель
- Иван Бунин – Алёнушка
- Иван Бунин – Пустыня, грусть в степных просторах
- Иван Барков – Выбор
- Иван Барков – Вопрос без ответу
- Иван Барков – Венерино оружие
- Иван Барков – Улика подьячего
- Иван Барков – Торжественным воротам
- Иван Барков – Стихи с матом без цензуры: читать матерные нецензурные стихотворения Баркова – Poetry Monster
- Исикава Такубоку – Дом
- Ирина Токмакова – Каша
- Иосиф Бродский – Бюст Тиберия
- Иосиф Бродский – Буров тракторист
- Иннокентий Анненский – Любовь к прошлому
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