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:
- Heart of God by Vachel Lindsay
- The Iliad: Book VI (excerpt) poem – Alexander Pope
- Федор Сологуб – Собака седого короля
- The Poetic Principle by Mark Olynyk
- Once Upon A Wandering Mind poem – Ysabelle Moriarty poems | Poetry Monster
- Evening by Rainer Maria Rilke
- Василий Казин – Письмо
- Loneliness is a prison by Vladimir Marku
- Кондратий Рылеев – Оставь меня, Я здесь молю
- Николай Карамзин – Алина
- O Tan-faced Prairie Boy. by Walt Whitman
- Creative Self Sabotage – 5 Favourite Sabotage Techniques Of Creative Artists & How To Avoid Them
- Nailing by Mike Yuan
- Attack by Siegfried Sassoon
- Autumn poem – Ysabelle Moriarty poems | Poetry Monster
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
- Федор Сологуб – В лес пришла пастушка
- Федор Сологуб – В камине пылания много
- Федор Сологуб – В иных веках, в иной отчизне
- Федор Сологуб – В этот час
- Федор Сологуб – В его саду растет рябина
- Федор Сологуб – Терцинами писать как будто очень трудно
- Федор Сологуб – Тепло мне потому, что мой уютный дом
- Федор Сологуб – Тень решётки прочной
- Федор Сологуб – Там, внизу, костры горели
- Федор Сологуб – Так же внятен мне, как прежде
- Федор Сологуб – Так нежен был внезапный поцелуй
- Федор Сологуб – Святых имен твоих не знаю
- Федор Сологуб – Своеволием рока
- Федор Сологуб – Светлый пир
- Федор Сологуб – Светлый дом мой всё выше
- Федор Сологуб – Сверкайте, миги строгих дней
- Федор Сологуб – Солнце, которому больно
- Федор Сологуб – Собака седого короля
- Федор Сологуб – Снова саваны надели
- Федор Сологуб – Снежное поле бесшумно
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.