亨利·沃茲沃斯·朗費羅[1]
一天結束，黑暗
降落，從夜的翅膀，
像羽毛飄下
從翱翔的鷹身上。
我看見村莊的燈光
在雨霧中隱約閃亮，
悲哀將我籠罩
我的靈魂已無法抵抗。
悲哀和渴望，
并不像疼痛，
卻只似悲傷
正如霧與雨相仿。
來，為我讀些詩吧，
一些簡單真誠的詩句，
它將撫慰這份不安，
消除一日的思慮。
不要古代詩人的鴻篇，
也不要游吟詩人的莊嚴，
他們遙遠的腳步聲
回響在時光長廊間，
因為，像軍樂一樣緊張，
他們強大的思想昭示
生活就是勞作不止；
但今夜我渴望休息。
讀些謙卑詩人的吧，
他們的歌聲涌自心田，
就像雨水來自夏日的云朵，
或是眼眸眨動，淚珠滾落；
白天辛苦勞動，
夜晚也無放松，
他仍聽見曼妙的音樂，
在他的靈魂之中。
這歌聲有力量
將焦慮不安的沖動平撫，
如同禱告
帶來祝福。
再從珍貴的書卷中
挑選詩歌一首，
借你優美的嗓音
誦讀出它的節奏。
夜晚將充滿音樂，
遍布白天的焦慮，
將卷起它們的帳篷，像阿拉伯人，
悄然離去。
The Day Is Done
Henry Longfellow
The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.
I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.
Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.
Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time,
For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And tonight I long for rest.
Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;
Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.
Such songs have a power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And comes like the benediction
That follows after prayer.
Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.
And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.
注釋：
[1]亨利·沃茲沃斯·朗費羅1807—1882，美國詩人、翻譯家。代表作有《夜吟》《奴役篇》《伊凡吉林》《海華沙之歌》等。他去世后，人們將他的半身像安放在威斯敏斯特教堂的“詩人角”，在美國作家中他是第一個獲此殊榮的人。