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:
- Remembering Mountain Men by William Stafford
- Ольга Берггольц – Старая гвардия
- Ольга Седакова – То в теплом золоте, в широких переплетах
- Jerusalem Delivered – Book 01 – part 01 by Torquato Tasso
- Homing by Satish Verma
- Василий Жуковский – Бедный певец
- 致老鼠的铅笔
- Владимир Маяковский – Подлиза
- Владимир Высоцкий – Грицюку
- Владимир Луговской – Жестокое пробужденье
- At A Calvary Near The Ancre by Wilfred Owen
- Юлия Друнина – Два вечера
- So tired by Tanisha Avarsekar
- Babul poem – Amir Khusro poems | Poems and Poetry
- Владимир Британишский – Старая Рига
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
- Off the Turnpike poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Obligation poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Number 3 on the Docket poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Number 3 on the Docket poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Nightmare: A Tale for an Autumn Evening poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- New York at Night poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- New York at Night poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Music poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Music poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Monadnock in Early Spring poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Miscast II poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Miscast II poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Miscast I poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Miscast I poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Mirage poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- March Evening poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- March Evening poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Malmaison poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Madonna of the Evening Flowers poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Loon Point poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
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.