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.

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 

• Forex Trading Strategies – Divining the Mysteries of Candlestick Charts and Patterns by Poetry In English
• Numbers and the Bible by Poetry In English
• Quality Customer Service – How to Measure Customer Satisfaction by Poetry In English
• Ethiopia – Lalibela by Poetry In English
• Different World Views of Art by Poetry In English
• Distributive Trade II – The Wholesaler by Poetry In English
• 12 Surefire Brainstorming Techniques by Poetry In English
• Factors Affecting the Labor Market – Determination of Wages and The Activities of Trade Unions by Poetry In English
• How To Achieve Self-Realization, The Mother of All Knowledge? by Poetry In English
• The Cosmic Eggs by Poetry In English
• What Are Solar Roofing Shingles? by Poetry In English
• Howard Stern’s Wine by Poetry In English
• Style Ideas For Vests For Women by Poetry In English
• A Life Of Lorenzo Da Ponte:Talent Flies; Practical Reason Walks by Poetry In English
• How to Make Money Online Writing and Selling eBooks by Poetry In English
• Cinema Therapy and The MovieMaking Process by Poetry In English
• God’s Work Ethics by Poetry In English
• Article Writing – Revealed – 4 Priceless Methods to Make Money Through Article Writing by Poetry In English
• 71 Ways For A Writer To Make Money by Poetry In English
• Secrets of Academic Success: Passion by Poetry In English

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