A poem by Alec Derwent-Hope (1907–2000)
by Alec Derwent Hope
At noon thepaper tigers roar
— Miroslav Holub
The paper tigers roar at noon;
The sun is hot, the sun is high.
They roar in chorus, not in tune,
Their plaintive, savage hunting cry.
O, when you hear them, stop your ears
And clench your lids and bite your tongue.
The harmless paper tiger bears
Strong fascination for the young.
His forest is the busy street;
His dens the forum and the mart;
He drinks no blood, he tastes no meat:
He riddles and corrupts the heart.
But when the dusk begins to creep
From tree to tree, from door to door,
The jungle tiger wakes from sleep
And utters his authentic roar.
It bursts the night and shakes the stars
Till one breaks blazing from the sky;
Then listen! If to meet it soars
Your heart’s reverberating cry,
My child, then put aside your fear:
Unbar the door and walk outside!
The real tiger waits you there;
His golden eyes shall be your guide.
And, should he spare you in his wrath,
The world and all the worlds are yours;
And should he leap thejungle path
And clasp you with his bloody jaws,
Then say, as his divine embrace
Destroys the mortal parts of you:
I too am of that royal race
Who do what we are born to do.
A few random poems:
- Deaf Mute in the Pear Tree by P. K. Page
- Last Wish by Théophile Gautier
- Reasons to Survive November by Tony Hoagland
- A Teenage Pregnancy
- Владимир Маяковский – В Европе кризис (РОСТА №869)
- Love’s Divinest Power by Timothy Thomas Fortune
- Farewell by Rabindranath Tagore
- Immigrants by Robert Frost
- Inscriptions In The Ground Of Coleorton, The Seat Of Sir George Beaumont, Bart., Leicestershire by William Wordsworth
- Николай Огарев – Я сорвал ветку кипариса
- Postures by Martina Reisz Newberry
- Nothing Stays Put poem – Amy Clampitt poems | Poems and Poetry
- Николай Карамзин – К Лиле
- Владимир Маяковский – Не эти правильно Октябрь празднуют… (РОСТА №398)
- The School of Night
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
- Limbo Under the Westway poem – André Rostant poems
- A Rainy Night poem – André Rostant poems
- “European Union” by the (Roman/German) Eagles
- 決定
- Decision
- 我的妻子。 安德烈·布勒東一首關於自由戀愛的詩
- Less Time poem – Andre Breton poems
- Freedom of Love poem | L’Union Libre (Ma Femme) – Andre Breton poems
- Le Verbe Etre poem – Andre Breton poems
- Five Ways To Kill A Man poem – Andre Breton poems
- Always for the first time
- I have a dream
- Putin, Our Savior and Dear Friend
- Shame
- A Poem about Lemonade
- About Wedding Dress
- Spirituality of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Gerard Manley Hopkins: a shepherd poet
- What Shall I Do For the Land that Bred Me poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- What Being in Rank-Old Nature poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
- Tom’s Garland poem – Gerard Manley Hopkins poems
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.