第 8 节
作者:老是不进球      更新:2021-02-19 17:49      字数:9322
  But; when the happy birds
  Are singing in the sunny rain;
  I think I hear its words。
  I think I hear the echo still
  Of long…forgotten tones;
  When evening winds are on the hill
  And sunset fires the cones;
  But only in the hours supreme;
  With songs of land and sea;
  The lyrics of the leaf and stream;
  This echo comes to me。
  No longer doth the earth reveal
  Her gracious green and gold;
  I sit where youth was once; and feel
  That I am growing old。
  The lustre from the face of things
  Is wearing all away;
  Like one who halts with tired wings;
  I rest and muse to…day。
  There is a river in the range
  I love to think about;
  Perhaps the searching feet of change
  Have never found it out。
  Ah! oftentimes I used to look
  Upon its banks; and long
  To steal the beauty of that brook
  And put it in a song。
  I wonder if the slopes of moss;
  In dreams so dear to me
  The falls of flower; and flower…like floss
  Are as they used to be!
  I wonder if the waterfalls;
  The singers far and fair;
  That gleamed between the wet; green walls;
  Are still the marvels there!
  Ah! let me hope that in that place
  Those old familiar things
  To which I turn a wistful face
  Have never taken wings。
  Let me retain the fancy still
  That; past the lordly range;
  There always shines; in folds of hill;
  One spot secure from change!
  I trust that yet the tender screen
  That shades a certain nook
  Remains; with all its gold and green;
  The glory of the brook。
  It hides a secret to the birds
  And waters only known:
  The letters of two lovely words
  A poem on a stone。
  Perhaps the lady of the past
  Upon these lines may light;
  The purest verses; and the last;
  That I may ever write:
  She need not fear a word of blame:
  Her tale the flowers keep
  The wind that heard me breathe her name
  Has been for years asleep。
  But in the night; and when the rain
  The troubled torrent fills;
  I often think I see again
  The river in the hills;
  And when the day is very near;
  And birds are on the wing;
  My spirit fancies it can hear
  The song I cannot sing。
  Hy…Brasil
  〃Daughter;〃 said the ancient father; pausing by the evening sea;
  〃Turn thy face towards the sunset  turn thy face and kneel with me!
  Prayer and praise and holy fasting; lips of love and life of light;
  These and these have made thee perfect  shining saint with seraph's sight!
  Look towards that flaming crescent  look beyond that glowing space
  Tell me; sister of the angels; what is beaming in thy face?〃
  And the daughter; who had fasted; who had spent her days in prayer;
  Till the glory of the Saviour touched her head and rested there;
  Turned her eyes towards the sea…line  saw beyond the fiery crest;
  Floating over waves of jasper; far Hy…Brasil in the West。
  All the calmness and the colour  all the splendour and repose;
  Flowing where the sunset flowered; like a silver…hearted rose!
  There indeed was singing Eden; where the great gold river runs
  Past the porch and gates of crystal; ringed by strong and shining ones!
  There indeed was God's own garden; sailing down the sapphire sea
  Lawny dells and slopes of summer; dazzling stream and radiant tree!
  Out against the hushed horizon  out beneath the reverent day;
  Flamed the Wonder on the waters  flamed; and flashed; and passed away。
  And the maiden who had seen it felt a hand within her own;
  And an angel that we know not led her to the lands unknown。
  Never since hath eye beheld it  never since hath mortal; dazed
  By its strange; unearthly splendour; on the floating Eden gazed!
  Only once since Eve went weeping through a throng of glittering wings;
  Hath the holy seen Hy…Brasil where the great gold river sings!
  Only once by quiet waters; under still; resplendent skies;
  Did the sister of the seraphs kneel in sight of Paradise!
  She; the pure; the perfect woman; sanctified by patient prayer;
  Had the eyes of saints of Heaven; all their glory in her hair:
  Therefore God the Father whispered to a radiant spirit near
  〃Show Our daughter fair Hy…Brasil  show her this; and lead her here。〃
  But beyond the halls of sunset; but within the wondrous West;
  On the rose…red seas of evening; sails the Garden of the Blest。
  Still the gates of glassy beauty; still the walls of glowing light;
  Shine on waves that no man knows of; out of sound and out of sight。
  Yet the slopes and lawns of lustre; yet the dells of sparkling streams;
  Dip to tranquil shores of jasper; where the watching angel beams。
  But; behold! our eyes are human; and our way is paved with pain;
  We can never find Hy…Brasil; never see its hills again!
  Never look on bays of crystal; never bend the reverent knee
  In the sight of Eden floating  floating on the sapphire sea!
  Outre Mer
  I see; as one in dreaming;
  A broad; bright; quiet sea;
  Beyond it lies a haven
  The only home for me。
  Some men grow strong with trouble;
  But all my strength is past;
  And tired and full of sorrow;
  I long to sleep at last。
  By force of chance and changes
  Man's life is hard at best;
  And; seeing rest is voiceless;
  The dearest thing is rest。
  Beyond the sea  behold it;
  The home I wish to seek;
  The refuge of the weary;
  The solace of the weak!
  Sweet angel fingers beckon;
  Sweet angel voices ask
  My soul to cross the waters;
  And yet I dread the task。
  God help the man whose trials
  Are tares that he must reap!
  He cannot face the future
  His only hope is sleep。
  Across the main a vision
  Of sunset coasts; and skies;
  And widths of waters gleaming;
  Enchant my human eyes。
  I; who have sinned and suffered;
  Have sought  with tears have sought
  To rule my life with goodness;
  And shape it to my thought。
  And yet there is no refuge
  To shield me from distress;
  Except the realm of slumber
  And great forgetfulness。
  Marcus Clarke。
  The Song of Tigilau
  The song of Tigilau the brave;
  Sina's wild lover;
  Who across the heaving wave
  From Samoa came over:
  Came over; Sina; at the setting moon!
  The moon shines round and bright;
  She; with her dark…eyed maidens at her side;
  Watches the rising tide。
  While balmy breathes the starry southern night;
  While languid heaves the lazy southern tide;
  The rising tide; O Sina; and the setting moon!
  The night is past; is past and gone;
  The moon sinks to the West;
  The sea…heart beats opprest;
  And Sina's passionate breast
  Heaves like the sea; when the pale moon has gone;
  Heaves like the passionate sea; Sina; left by the moon alone!
  Silver on silver sands; the rippling waters meet
  Will he come soon?
  The rippling waters kiss her delicate feet;
  The rippling waters; lisping low and sweet;
  Ripple with the tide;
  The rising tide;
  The rising tide; O Sina; and the setting moon!
  He comes!  her lover!
  Tigilau; the son of Tui Viti。
  Her maidens round her hover;
  The rising waves her white feet cover。
  O Tigilau; son of Tui Viti;
  Through the mellow dusk thy proas glide;
  So soon!
  So soon by the rising tide;
  The rising tide; my Sina; and the setting moon!
  The mooring…poles are left;
  The whitening waves are cleft;
  By the prows of Tui Viti!
  By the sharp keels of Tui Viti!
  Broad is the sea; and deep;
  The yellow Samoans sleep;
  But they will wake and weep
  Weep in their luxurious odorous vales;
  While the land breeze swells the sails
  Of Tui Viti!
  Tui Viti  far upon the rising tide;
  The rising tide
  The rising tide; my Sina; beneath the setting moon!
  She leaps to meet him!
  Her mouth to greet him
  Burns at his own。
  Away!  To the canoes;
  To the yoked war canoes!
  The sea in murmurous tone
  Whispers the story of their loves;
  Re…echoes the story of their loves
  The story of Tui Viti;
  Of Sina and Tui Viti;
  By the rising tide;
  The rising tide; Sina; beneath the setting moon!
  She has gone!
  She has fled!
  Sina!
  Sina; for whom the warriors decked their shining hair;
  Wreathing with pearls their bosoms brown and bare;
  Flinging beneath her dainty feet
  Mats crimson with the feathers of the parrakeet。
  Ho; Samoans! rouse your warriors full soon;
  For Sina is across the rippling wave;
  With Tigilau; the bold and brave。
  Far; far upon the rising tide!
  Far upon the rising tide!
  Far upon the rising tide; Sina; beneath the setting moon。
  Patrick Moloney。
  Melbourne
  O sweet Queen…city of the golden South;
  Piercing the evening with thy star…lit spires;
  Thou wert a witness when I kissed the mouth
  Of her whose eyes outblazed the skye