The Last Leap
by Adam Lindsay Gordon
ALL is over! fleet career,
Dash of greyhound slipping thongs,
Flight of falcon, bound of deer,
Mad hoof-thunder in our rear,
Cold air rushing up our lungs,
Din of many tongues.
Once again, one struggle good,
One vain effort;—he must dwell
Near the shifted post, that stood
Where the splinters of the wood,
Lying in the torn tracks, tell
How he struck and fell.
Crest where cold drops beaded cling,
Small ear drooping, nostril full,
Glazing to a scarlet ring,
Flanks and haunches quivering,
Sinews stiffening, void and null,
Dumb eyes sorrowful.
Satin coat that seems to shine
Duller now, black braided tress
That a softer hand than mine
Far away was wont to twine,
That in meadows far from this
Softer lips might kiss.
All is over! this is death,
And I stand to watch thee die,
Brave old horse! with bated breath
Hardly drawn through tight-clenched teeth,
Lip indented deep, but eye
Only dull and dry.
Musing on the husk and chaff
Gathered where life’s tares are sown,
Thus I speak, and force a laugh,
That is half a sneer and half
An involuntary groan,
In a stifled tone—
‘Rest, old friend! thy day, though rife
With its toil, hath ended soon;
We have had our share of strife,
Tumblers in the masque of life,
In the pantomime of noon
Clown and pantaloon.
‘With a flash that ends thy pain,
Respite and oblivion blest
Come to greet thee. I in vain
Fall: I rise to fall again:
Thou hast fallen to thy rest—
And thy fall is best
A few random poems:
- a_city_one_wish.html
- The Blue Scarf poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Владимир Высоцкий – Песня Лягушонка
- Robert Burns: Lassie Wi’ The Lint-White Locks:
- sea_salt_a_villanelle.html
- Валерий Брюсов – После ночи бессонной
- Surprised By Joy by William Wordsworth
- Robert Burns: A Bottle And Friend:
- Aunt Helen by T. S. Eliot
- Men by Maya Angelou
- For what’s worth breathing by Rixa White
- Shot? So Quick, So Clean an Ending? poem – A. E. Housman
- At Ease by Walter de la Mare
- Walking The Marshland by Stephen Dunn
- Владимир Маяковский – Не пей сырой воды! (Главполитпросвет №230)
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
- Meg Merrilies poem – John Keats poems
- Lines On The Mermaid Tavern poem – John Keats poems
- Lines from Endymion poem – John Keats poems
- Lines poem – John Keats poems
- Last Sonnet poem – John Keats poems
- La Belle Dame Sans Merci poem – John Keats poems
- Keen, Fitful Gusts are Whisp’ring Here and There poem – John Keats poems
- Isabella or The Pot of Basil poem – John Keats poems
- John Keats – John Keats Poems
- In Drear-Nighted December poem – John Keats poems
- If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain’d poem – John Keats poems
- Hyperion poem – John Keats poems
- Hymn To Apollo poem – John Keats poems
- How Many Bards Gild The Lapses Of Time! poem – John Keats poems
- Hither, Hither, Love poem – John Keats poems
- His Last Sonnet poem – John Keats poems
- Happy Is England! I Could Be Content poem – John Keats poems
- Give Me Women, Wine, and Snuff poem – John Keats poems
- Fragment of an Ode to Maia poem – John Keats poems
- Fill For Me A Brimming Bowl poem – John Keats poems
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
Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833 – 1870) was an Australian or British-Australian poet, horseman, police officer and politician. He is considered to be one of the first national Australian poets.