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:
- Robert Burns: Tam Samson’s Elegy: When this worthy old sportman went out, last muirfowl season, he supposed it was to be, in Ossian’s phrase, “the last of his fields,” and expressed an ardent wish to die and be buried in the muirs. On this hint the author composed his elegy and epitaph.-R.B., 1787.
- Василий Каменский – Из Симеиза в Алупку
- O Tan-faced Prairie Boy. by Walt Whitman
- Return Of The Heroes by Siegfried Sassoon
- These Little Songs by William Allingham
- In A Wood by Thomas Hardy
- Spirituality of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Gerard Manley Hopkins: a shepherd poet
- Does Our Spirit Fly Away by Mary Etta Metcalf
- Blame Aphrodite by Sappho
- Darling Daughter of Babylon by Vachel Lindsay
- To A Young Lady. On Her Recovery From A Fever by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- A Minuet Of Mozart’s by Sara Teasdale
- Says. by Walt Whitman
- Владимир Гиппиус – Закон чего? – закона нет
- Maudlin by Sylvia Plath
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
- Юрий Галансков – Мне больно
- Юрий Галансков – Человеческий манифест
- Юрий Галансков стихи: читать все стихотворения, поэмы поэта Юрий Галансков – Поэзия на Poetry Monster
- Юрий Энтин – Слово про слово
- Юрий Левитанский – Не брести мне сушею
- Юрий Левитанский – Мое поколение
- Юрий Левитанский – Кто-то так уже писал
- Юрий Левитанский – Кинематограф
- Юрий Левитанский – Как зарок от суесловья, как залог
- Юрий Левитанский – Иронический человек
- Юрий Левитанский – Грач над березовой чащей
- Юрий Левитанский – Диалог у новогодней елки
- Юрий Левитанский – Что я знаю про стороны света
- Юрий Левитанский – Человек, строящий воздушные замки
- Юрий Левитанский – Белый снег
- Юрий Верховский – Зачем, паук, уходишь торопливо
- Юрий Верховский – Вариации на тему Пушкина
- Юрий Верховский – В майское утро
- Юрий Верховский – Судьба с судьбой
- Юрий Верховский – Рождественскою ночью
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.