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:
- Валерий Брюсов – Ленин
- The Little Worold by William Barnes
- Words You Said poem – Andrew Neil Maternick poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Match poem – Andrew Marvell poems
- Яков Полонский – Блажен озлобленный поэт
- A Thought From Propertius by William Butler Yeats
- Maudlin by Sylvia Plath
- Яков Полонский – По горам две хмурых тучи
- This Morning by Raymond Carver
- In Thoughtless Mind by Satish Verma
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Нарядно выстлав дол, взбегая на холмы
- Application For A Driving License by Michael Ondaatje
- Илья Эренбург – Я знаю, будет золотой и долгий
- Avec seulement du noir by Martine Morillon-Carreau
- They’ve Put A Brassiere On A Camel by Shel Silverstein
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 Набоков – Как часто я в поезде скором
- Владимир Набоков – К Родине
- Владимир Набоков – Из мира уползли, и ноют на луне
- Владимир Набоков – И видел я, стемнели неба своды
- Владимир Набоков – Глаза
- Владимир Набоков – Есть в одиночестве свобода
- Владимир Набоков – Еще безмолвствую и крепну я в тиши
- Владимир Набоков – Цветет миндаль на перекрестке
- Владимир Набоков – Будь со мной прозрачнее и проще
- Владимир Набоков – Большая медведица
- Владимир Набоков – Безумец
- Владимир Набоков – Барс
- Владимир Маяковский – Журнал “Крысодав”
- Владимир Маяковский – Живой труп (РОСТА №182)
- Владимир Маяковский – Жид
- Владимир Маяковский – Земля наша обильна
- Владимир Маяковский – Застрельщики
- Владимир Маяковский – Заря Коммуны разгорается туго… (РОСТА №856)
- Владимир Маяковский – Заносы не дают железным дорогам жить… (РОСТА №838)
- Владимир Маяковский – Заграничная штучка
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