A poem by Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000)
by Alec Derwent Hope
What pleasures have great princes? These: to know
Themselves reputed mad with pride or power;
To speak few words — few words and short bring low
This ancient house, that city with flame devour;
To make old men, their father’s enemies,
Drunk on the vintage of the former age;
To have great painters show their mistresses
Naked to the succeeding time; engage
The cunning of able, treacherous ministers
To serve, despite themselves, the cause they hate,
And leave a prosperous kingdom to their heirs
Nursed by the caterpillars of the state;
To keep their spies in good men’s hearts; to read
The malice of the wise, and act betimes;
To hear the Grand Remonstrances of greed
Led by the pure; cheat justice of her crimes;
To beget worthless sons and, being old,
By starlight climb the battlements, and while
The pacing sentry hugs himself for cold,
Keep vigil like a lover, muse and smile,
And think, to see from the grim castle steep
The midnight city below rejoice and shine:
“There my great demon grumbles in his sleep
And dreams of his destruction, and of mine.”
A few random poems:
- A Man Young And Old: V. The Empty Cup by William Butler Yeats
- Владимир Маяковский – Раньше иностранцы шли в Россию как разбойники и воры… (Роста №105)
- Afterimages by Satish Verma
- Владимир Маяковский – Еще Петербург
- Олег Бундур – Красивая мама
- A Carol by Rudyard Kipling
- Sir Galahad poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- Memory by Siegfried Sassoon
- My Own Heart Let Me Have More Have Pity On; Let poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- English Poetry. Adam Lindsay Gordon. The Rhyme of Joyous Garde. Адам Линдсей Гордон.
- Conversation With My Heart by Russ Pergram
- Владимир Маяковский – Неделя охраны труда (РОСТА № 317)
- Elegy on the Death of Sir James Hunter Blair by Robert Burns
- Impromptu on Dumourier’s Desertion of the French Republican Army by Robert Burns
- Ladies And Gentlemen In Outer Space by Ron Padgett
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
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Праздник на биваке
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Пожар
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Потоки
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Пируя праздник возвращенья
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Певец
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Песнь соловья
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Пещеры Кизиль-коба
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Переход
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Переселение
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Отзыв на вызов
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Звездочет
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Знакомое место
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Желания
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Затмение
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Запретный плод
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Южная ночь
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Я знаю, люблю я бесплодно
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Я. П. Полонскому
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Христианские мысли перед битвами
- Владимир Бенедиктов – Вьющееся растение
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
Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000) was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic.