To a Waterfowl——William Cullen Bryant
Whither, midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?
Vainly the fowler's eye
Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong,
As, darkly seen against the crimson sky,
Thy figure floats along.
Seek'st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean-side?
There is a Power whose care
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast
The desert and illimitable air
Lone wandering, but not lost.
All day thy wings have fanned,
At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere,
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land,
Though the dark night is near.
And soon that toil shall end;
Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest,
And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend,
Soon, o'er thy sheltered nest.
Thou 'rt gone, the abyss of heaven
Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart
Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given,
And shall not soon depart.
He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright.
威廉库伦布莱恩特《致水鸟》
你要去往何方?露珠正在坠落，
天穹闪耀着白昼最后的脚步，
远远地，穿过玫瑰色的深处，
你求索着孤独的道路。
也许，猎鸟者的眼睛
徒劳地看着你远飞，想要伤害你，
当红色的天空衬着你的身影，
你飘摇而去。
你想要飞往何处?
要寻觅杂草丛生、潮湿的湖岸?
大河的边沿，还是磨损的海滩?
那里有动荡的巨浪起起落落
有一种力量关照着你，
教导你在无路的海滨，
荒漠和浩淼的长空，
独自漫游，不会迷失。
你整天拍打着翅膀，
扇着远天那寒冷的稀薄大气，
尽管黑夜已靠近，你已疲惫
也不肯屈尊降落安全的大地。
不久那折磨就会结束;
不久你就会找到夏天的家，歇下，
在同伴间欢叫;不久
芦苇将弯下，在你隐蔽的巢上。
你消失了，天空的深渊
吞噬了你的身影;但在我心上
已深深留下你教给我的一课，
它不会很快遗忘。
谁引导你穿过无垠的天空，
从一个领域到另一个领域，
也会在我必须独自跋涉的长途上，
正确地引导我的脚步。