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second april-第1部分

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Second April



Edna St。 Vincent Millay





TO

MY BELOVED FRIEND

CAROLINE B。 DOW







CONTENTS



  SPRING                            INLAND

  CITY TREES                        TO A POET THAT DIED YOUNG

  THE BLUE…FLAG IN THE BOG          WRAITH

  JOURNEY                           EBB

  EEL…GRASS                         ELAINE

  ELEGY BEFORE DEATH                BURIAL

  THE BEAN…STALK                    MARIPOSA

  WEEDS                             THE LITTLE HILL

  PASSER MORTUUS EST                DOUBT NO MORE THAT OBERON

  PASTORAL                          LAMENT

  ASSAULT                           EXILED

  TRAVEL                            THE DEATH OF AUTUMN

  LOW…TIDE                          ODE TO SILENCE

  SONG OF A SECOND APRIL            MEMORIAL TO D。 C。

  ROSEMARY                          UNNAMED SONNETS I…XII

  THE POET AND HIS BOOK             WILD SWANS

  ALMS











SECOND APRIL







SPRING



To what purpose; April; do you return again?

Beauty is not enough。

You can no longer quiet me with the redness

Of little leaves opening stickily。

I know what I know。

The sun is hot on my neck as I observe

The spikes of the crocus。

The smell of the earth is good。

It is apparent that there is no death。

But what does that signify?

Not only under ground are the brains of men

Eaten by maggots;

Life in itself

Is nothing;

An empty cup; a flight of uncarpeted stairs。

It is not enough that yearly; down this hill;

April

Comes like an idiot; babbling and strewing flowers。







CITY TREES



The trees along this city street;

  Save for the traffic and the trains;

Would make a sound as thin and sweet

  As trees in country lanes。



And people standing in their shade

  Out of a shower; undoubtedly

Would hear such music as is made

  Upon a country tree。



Oh; little leaves that are so dumb

  Against the shrieking city air;

I watch you when the wind has come;

  I know what sound is there。







THE BLUE…FLAG IN THE BOG



God had called us; and we came;

  Our loved Earth to ashes left;

Heaven was a neighbor's house;

  Open to us; bereft。



Gay the lights of Heaven showed;

  And 'twas God who walked ahead;

Yet I wept along the road;

  Wanting my own house instead。



Wept unseen; unheeded cried;

  〃All you things my eyes have kissed;

Fare you well!  We meet no more;

  Lovely; lovely tattered mist!



Weary wings that rise and fall

  All day long above the fire!〃

Red with heat was every wall;

  Rough with heat was every wire



〃Fare you well; you little winds

  That the flying embers chase!

Fare you well; you shuddering day;

  With your hands before your face!



And; ah; blackened by strange blight;

  Or to a false sun unfurled;

Now forevermore goodbye;

  All the gardens in the world!



On the windless hills of Heaven;

  That I have no wish to see;

White; eternal lilies stand;

  By a lake of ebony。



But the Earth forevermore

  Is a place where nothing grows;

Dawn will come; and no bud break;

  Evening; and no blossom close。



Spring will come; and wander slow

  Over an indifferent land;

Stand beside an empty creek;

  Hold a dead seed in her hand。〃



God had called us; and we came;

  But the blessed road I trod

Was a bitter road to me;

  And at heart I questioned God。



〃Though in Heaven;〃 I said; 〃be all

  That the heart would most desire;

Held Earth naught save souls of sinners

  Worth the saving from a fire?



Withered grass;the wasted growing!

  Aimless ache of laden boughs!〃

Little things God had forgotten

  Called me; from my burning house。



〃Though in Heaven;〃 I said; 〃be all

  That the eye could ask to see;

All the things I ever knew

  Are this blaze in back of me。〃



〃Though in Heaven;〃 I said; 〃be all

  That the ear could think to lack;

All the things I ever knew

  Are this roaring at my back。〃



It was God who walked ahead;

  Like a shepherd to the fold;

In his footsteps fared the weak;

  And the weary and the old;



Glad enough of gladness over;

  Ready for the peace to be;

But a thing God had forgotten

  Was the growing bones of me。



And I drew a bit apart;

  And I lagged a bit behind;

And I thought on Peace Eternal;

  Lest He look into my mind:



And I gazed upon the sky;

  And I thought of Heavenly Rest;

And I slipped away like water

  Through the fingers of the blest!



All their eyes were fixed on Glory;

  Not a glance brushed over me;

〃Alleluia!  Alleluia!〃

  Up the road;and I was free。



And my heart rose like a freshet;

  And it swept me on before;

Giddy as a whirling stick;

  Till I felt the earth once more。



All the earth was charred and black;

  Fire had swept from pole to pole;

And the bottom of the sea

  Was as brittle as a bowl;



And the timbered mountain…top

  Was as naked as a skull;

Nothing left; nothing left;

  Of the Earth so beautiful!



〃Earth;〃 I said; 〃how can I leave you?〃

  〃You are all I have;〃 I said;

〃What is left to take my mind up;

  Living always; and you dead?〃



〃Speak!〃 I said; 〃Oh; tell me something!

  Make a sign that I can see!

For a keepsake!  To keep always!

  Quick!before God misses me!〃



And I listened for a voice;

  But my heart was all I heard;

Not a screech…owl; not a loon;

  Not a tree…toad said a word。



And I waited for a sign;

  Coals and cinders; nothing more;

And a little cloud of smoke

  Floating on a valley floor。



And I peered into the smoke

  Till it rotted; like a fog:

There; encompassed round by fire;

  Stood a blue…flag in a bog!



Little flames came wading out;

  Straining; straining towards its stem;

But it was so blue and tall

  That it scorned to think of them!



Red and thirsty were their tongues;

  As the tongues of wolves must be;

But it was so blue and tall

  Oh; I laughed; I cried; to see!



All my heart became a tear;

  All my soul became a tower;

Never loved I anything

  As I loved that tall blue flower!



It was all the little boats

  That had ever sailed the sea;

It was all the little books

  That had gone to school with me;



On its roots like iron claws

  Rearing up so blue and tall;

It was all the gallant Earth

  With its back against a wall!



In a breath; ere I had breathed;

  Oh; I laughed; I cried; to see!

I was kneeling at its side;

  And it leaned its head on me!



Crumbling stones and sliding sand

  Is the road to Heaven now;

Icy at my straining knees

  Drags the awful under…tow;



Soon but stepping…stones of dust

  Will the road to Heaven be;

Father; Son and Holy Ghost;

  Reach a hand and rescue me!



〃Therethere; my blue…flag flower;

  Hushhushgo to sleep;

That is only God you hear;

  Counting up His folded sheep!



Lullabyelullabye

  That is only God that calls;

Missing me; seeking me;

  Ere the road to nothing falls!



He will set His mighty feet

  Firmly on the sliding sand;

Like a little frightened bird

  I will creep into His hand;



I will tell Him all my grief;

  I will tell Him all my sin;

He will give me half His robe

  For a cloak to wrap you in。



Lullabyelullabye〃

  Rocks the burnt…out planet free!

Father; Son and Holy Ghost;

  Reach a hand and rescue me!



Ah; the voice of love at last!

  Lo; at last the face of light!

And the whole of His white robe

  For a cloak against the night!



And upon my heart asleep

  All the things I ever knew!

〃Holds Heaven not some cranny; Lord;

  For a flower so tall and blue?〃



All's well and all's well!

  Gay the lights of Heaven show!

In some moist and Heavenly place

  We will set it out to grow。







JOURNEY



Ah; could I lay me down in this long grass

And close my eyes; and let the quiet wind

Blow over meI am so tired; so tired

Of passing pleasant places!  All my life;

Following Care along the dusty road;

Have I looked back at loveliness and sighed;

Yet at my hand an unrelenting hand

Tugged ever; and I passed。  All my life long

Over my shoulder have I looked at peace;

And now I fain would lie in this long grass

And close my eyes。

                   Yet onward!

                               Cat birds call

Through the long afternoon; and creeks at dusk

Are guttural。  Whip…poor…wills wake and cry;

Drawing the twilight close about their throats。

Only my heart makes answer。  Eager vines

Go up the rocks and wait; flushed apple…trees

Pause in their dance and break the ring for me;

Dim; shady wood…roads; redolent of fern

And bayberry; that through sweet bevies thread

Of round…faced roses; pink and petulant;

Look back and beckon ere they disappear。

Only my heart; only my heart responds。

Yet; ah; my path is sweet on either side

All through the dragging day;sharp underfoot

And hot; and like dead mist the dry dust hangs

But far; oh; far as passionate eye can reach;

And long; ah; long as rapturous eye can cling;

The world is mine: blue hill; still silver lake;

Broad field; bright flower; and the long white road

A gateless garden; and an open path:

My feet to follow; and my heart to hold。







EEL…GRASS



No matter what I say;

  All that I really love

Is the rain that flattens on the bay;

  And the eel…grass in the cove;

The jingle…shells that lie and bleach

  At the tide…line; and the trace

Of higher tides along the beach:

  Nothing in this place。







ELEGY BEFORE DEATH



There will be rose and rhododendron

  When you are dead and under ground;

Still will be heard from white syringas

  Heavy with bees; a sunny sound;



Still will the tamaracks be raining

  After the rain has ceased; and still

Will there be robins in the stubble;
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