the complete poetical works-第101部分
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From the confessionals I hear arise
Rehearsals of forgotten tragedies;
And lamentations from the crypts below;
And then a voice celestial; that begins
With the pathetic words; 〃Although your sins
As scarlet be;〃 and ends with 〃as the snow。〃
IV
With snow…white veil and garments as of flame;
She stands before thee; who so long ago
Filled thy young heart with passion and the woe
From which thy song and all its splendors came;
And while with stern rebuke she speaks thy name;
The ice about thy heart melts as the snow
On mountain height; and in swift overflow
Comes gushing from thy lips in sobs of shame。
Thou makest full confession; and a gleam;
As of the dawn on some dark forest cast;
Seems on thy lifted forehead to increase;
Lethe and Eunoethe remembered dream
And the forgotten sorrowbring at last
That perfect pardon which is perfect peace。
V
I lift mine eyes; and all the windows blaze
With forms of saints and holy men who died;
Here martyred and hereafter glorified;
And the great Rose upon its leaves displays
Christ's Triumph; and the angelic roundelays;
With splendor upon splendor multiplied;
And Beatrice again at Dante's side
No more rebukes; but smiles her words of praise。
And then the organ sounds; and unseen choirs
Sing the old Latin hymns of peace and love;
And benedictions of the Holy Ghost;
And the melodious bells among the spires
O'er all the house…tops and through heaven above
Proclaim the elevation of the Host!
VI
O star of morning and of liberty!
O bringer of the light; whose splendor shines
Above the darkness of the Apennines;
Forerunner of the day that is to be!
The voices of the city and the sea;
The voices of the mountains and the pines;
Repeat thy song; till the familiar lines
Are footpaths for the thought of Italy!
Thy fame is blown abroad from all the heights;
Through all the nations; and a sound is heard;
As of a mighty wind; and men devout;
Strangers of Rome; and the new proselytes;
In their own language hear thy wondrous word;
And many are amazed and many doubt。
NOEL。
ENVOYE A M。 AGASSIZ; LA VEILLE DE NOEL 1864;
AVEC UN PANIER DE VINS DIVERS
L'Academie en respect;
Nonobstant l'incorrection
A la faveur du sujet;
Ture…lure;
N'y fera point de rature;
Noel! ture…lure…lure。
Gui Barozai
Quand les astres de Noel
Brillaient; palpitaient au ciel;
Six gaillards; et chacun ivre;
Chantaient gaiment dans le givre;
〃Bons amis;
Allons donc chez Agassiz!〃
Ces illustres Pelerins
D'Outre…Mer adroits et fins;
Se donnant des airs de pretre;
A l'envi se vantaient d'etre
〃Bons amis;
De Jean Rudolphe Agassiz!〃
Oeil…de…Perdrix; grand farceur;
Sans reproche et sans pudeur;
Dans son patois de Bourgogne;
Bredouillait comme un ivrogne;
〃Bons amis;
J'ai danse chez Agassiz!〃
Verzenay le Champenois;
Bon Francais; point New…Yorquois;
Mais des environs d'Avize;
Fredonne a mainte reprise;
〃Bons amis;
J'ai chante chez Agassiz!〃
A cote marchait un vieux
Hidalgo; mais non mousseux;
Dans le temps de Charlemagne
Fut son pere Grand d'Espagne!
〃Bons amis;
J'ai dine chez Agassiz!〃
Derriere eux un Bordelais;
Gascon; s'il en fut jamais;
Parfume de poesie
Riait; chantait; plein de vie;
〃Bons amis;
J'ai soupe chez Agassiz!〃
Avec ce beau cadet roux;
Bras dessus et bras dessous;
Mine altiere et couleur terne;
Vint le Sire de Sauterne;
〃Bons amis;
J'ai couche chez Agassiz!〃
Mais le dernier de ces preux;
Etait un pauvre Chartreux;
Qui disait; d'un ton robuste;
〃Benedictions sur le Juste!
Bons amis;
Benissons Pere Agassiz!〃
Ils arrivent trois a trois;
Montent l'escalier de bois
Clopin…clopant! quel gendarme
Peut permettre ce vacarme;
Bons amis;
A la porte d'Agassiz!
〃Ouvrer donc; mon bon Seigneur;
Ouvrez vite et n'ayez peur;
Ouvrez; ouvrez; car nous sommes
Gens de bien et gentilshommes;
Bons amis
De la famille Agassiz!〃
Chut; ganaches! taisez…vous!
C'en est trop de vos glouglous;
Epargnez aux Philosophes
Vos abominables strophes!
Bons amis;
Respectez mon Agassiz!
**************
BIRDS OF PASSAGE
FLIGHT THE THIRD
FATA MORGANA
O sweet illusions of Song;
That tempt me everywhere;
In the lonely fields; and the throng
Of the crowded thoroughfare!
I approach; and ye vanish away;
I grasp you; and ye are gone;
But ever by nigh an day;
The melody soundeth on。
As the weary traveller sees
In desert or prairie vast;
Blue lakes; overhung with trees;
That a pleasant shadow cast;
Fair towns with turrets high;
And shining roofs of gold;
That vanish as he draws nigh;
Like mists together rolled;
So I wander and wander along;
And forever before me gleams
The shining city of song;
In the beautiful land of dreams。
But when I would enter the gate
Of that golden atmosphere;
It is gone; and I wander and wait
For the vision to reappear。
THE HAUNTED CHAMBER
Each heart has its haunted chamber;
Where the silent moonlight falls!
On the floor are mysterious footsteps;
There are whispers along the walls!
And mine at times is haunted
By phantoms of the Past
As motionless as shadows
By the silent moonlight cast。
A form sits by the window;
That is not seen by day;
For as soon as the dawn approaches
It vanishes away。
It sits there in the moonlight
Itself as pale and still;
And points with its airy finger
Across the window…sill。
Without before the window;
There stands a gloomy pine;
Whose boughs wave upward and downward
As wave these thoughts of mine。
And underneath its branches
Is the grave of a little child;
Who died upon life's threshold;
And never wept nor smiled。
What are ye; O pallid phantoms!
That haunt my troubled brain?
That vanish when day approaches;
And at night return again?
What are ye; O pallid phantoms!
But the statues without breath;
That stand on the bridge overarching
The silent river of death?
THE MEETING
After so long an absence
At last we meet again:
Does the meeting give us pleasure;
Or does it give us pain?
The tree of life has been shaken;
And but few of us linger now;
Like the Prophet's two or three berries
In the top of the uppermost bough。
We cordially greet each other
In the old; familiar tone;
And we think; though we do not say it;
How old and gray he is grown!
We speak of a Merry Christmas
And many a Happy New Year
But each in his heart is thinking
Of those that are not here。
We speak of friends and their fortunes;
And of what they did and said;
Till the dead alone seem living;
And the living alone seem dead。
And at last we hardly distinguish
Between the ghosts and the guests;
And a mist and shadow of sadness
Steals over our merriest jests。
VOX POPULI
When Mazarvan the Magician;
Journeyed westward through Cathay;
Nothing heard he but the praises
Of Badoura on his way。
But the lessening rumor ended
When he came to Khaledan;
There the folk were talking only
Of Prince Camaralzaman;
So it happens with the poets:
Every province hath its own;
Camaralzaman is famous
Where Badoura is unknown。
THE CASTLE…BUILDER
A gentle boy; with soft and silken locks
A dreamy boy; with brown and tender eyes;
A castle…builder; with his wooden blocks;
And towers that touch imaginary skies。
A fearless rider on his father's knee;
An eager listener unto stories told
At the Round Table of the nursery;
Of heroes and adventures manifold。
There will be other towers for thee to build;
There will be other steeds for thee to ride;
There will be other legends; and all filled
With greater marvels and more glorified。
Build on; and make thy castles high and fair;
Rising and reaching upward to the skies;
Listen to voices in the upper air;
Nor lose thy simple faith in mysteries。
CHANGED
From the outskirts of the town
Where of old the mile…stone stood。
Now a stranger; looking down
I behold the shadowy crown
Of the dark and haunted wood。
Is it changed; or am I changed?
Ah! the oaks are fresh and green;
But the friends with whom I ranged
Through their thickets are estranged
By the years that intervene。
Bright as ever flows the sea;
Bright as ever shines the sun;
But alas! they seem to me
Not the sun that used to be;
Not the tides that used to run。
THE CHALLENGE
I have a vague remembrance
Of a story; that is told
In some ancient Spanish legend
Or chronicle of old。
It was when brave King Sanchez
Was before Zamora slain;
And his great besieging army
Lay encamped upon the plain。
Don Diego de Ordonez
Sallied forth in front of all;
And shouted loud his challenge
To the warders on the wall。
All the people of Zamora;
Both the born and the unborn;
As traitors did he challenge
With taunting words of scorn。
The living; in their houses;
And in their graves; the dead!
And the waters of their rivers;
And their wine; and oil; and bread!
There is a greater army;
That besets us round with strife;
A starving; numberless army;
At all the gates of life。
The poverty…stricken millions
Who challenge our wine and bread;
And impeach us all as traitors;
Both the living and the dead。
And whenever I sit at the banquet;
Where the feast and song are high;
Amid the mirth and