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:
- For Anne Gregory by William Butler Yeats
- Abuses and Awards poem – Andrei Voznesensky poems
- A Minuet Of Mozart’s by Sara Teasdale
- Morris Island by William Gilmore Simms
- The Thorns In The Geäte by William Barnes
- Илья Эренбург – Я помню, давно уже я уловил
- Владимир Маяковский – Помогите цинготным детям (Главполитпросвет №274)
- The joyful things in life by Martin Smith
- To Solitude poem – John Keats poems
- Frankincense and Myrrh poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Нина Воронель – Маме
- A Human Being Needs Strong Tea
- Rain all along by Mukeshkumar Raval
- Федор Сологуб – Лихо
- Николай Карамзин – Филлиде
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
- Fringed Gentian poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Frankincense and Myrrh poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Francis II, King of Naples poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Francis II, King of Naples poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Fragment poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Fool’s Money Bags poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Excerpt from “What’s O’Clock” poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Epitaph of a Young Poet Who Died Before Having Achieved Success poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Epitaph in a Church-Yard in Charleston, South Carolina poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Dreams poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Diya {original title is Greek, Delta-iota-psi-alpha} poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Crowned poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Crepuscule du Matin poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Crepuscule du Matin poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Convalescence poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Convalescence poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Climbing poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Climbing poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Clear, with Light, Variable Winds poem – Amy Lowell poems | Poems and Poetry
- Behind a Wall 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.