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:
- Ash-Boughs poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Владимир Высоцкий – Он не вернулся из боя
- Apologia Pro Poemate Meo by Wilfred Owen
- Asparagus – A Tanka Poem
- Old Deuteronomy by T. S. Eliot
- Eternal Drift by Satish Verma
- Poems from Makiwane poem – Amitabh Mitra poems | Poems and Poetry
- Poet’s Corner poem – Alfred Austin
- Zunsheen In The Winter by William Barnes
- A sinners prayer by Victoria Rose
- The Jungle Husband by Stevie Smith
- Extempore Effusion upon the Death of James Hogg by William Wordsworth
- Clever Stalk by Richard Schiffman
- Allegiances by William Stafford
- Константин Батюшков – Любовь в челноке
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
- Youth and Love poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- Twilight poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- Translated from Geibel poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- To Vernon Lee poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- To E. poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- To Death poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- To Clementina Black poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Village Garden poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Two Terrors poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Sick Man and the Nightingale poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Sequel to a Reminiscence poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Promise of Sleep poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Piano-Organ poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Old Poet poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Old House poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Lost Friend poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Last Judgment poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The First Extra poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The End of the Day poem – Amy Levy poems | Poems and Poetry
- The Dream poem – Amy Levy 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.