第 2 节
作者:
翱翔1981 更新:2021-04-30 15:55 字数:9320
For have I not caught a faint glimpse of her there;
A glimpse of her face and her glittering hair;
And a hand with the Harp of Australia?
I never can reach you; to hear the sweet voice
So full with the music of fountains!
Oh! when will you meet with that soul of your choice;
Who will lead you down here from the mountains?
A lyre…bird lit on a shimmering space;
It dazzled mine eyes and I turned from the place;
And wept in the dark for a glorious face;
And a hand with the Harp of Australia!
MOUNTAINS
RIFTED mountains; clad with forests; girded round by gleaming pines;
Where the morning; like an angel; robed in golden splendour shines;
Shimmering mountains; throwing downward on the slopes a mazy glare
Where the noonday glory sails through gulfs of calm and glittering air;
Stately mountains; high and hoary; piled with blocks of amber cloud;
Where the fading twilight lingers; when the winds are wailing loud;
Grand old mountains; overbeetling brawling brooks and deep ravines;
Where the moonshine; pale and mournful; flows on rocks and evergreens。
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Underneath these regal ridges … underneath the gnarly trees;
I am sitting; lonely…hearted; listening to a lonely breeze!
Sitting by an ancient casement; casting many a longing look
Out across the hazy gloaming … out beyond the brawling brook!
Over pathways leading skyward … over crag and swelling cone;
Past long hillocks looking like to waves of ocean turned to stone;
Yearning for a bliss unworldly; yearning for a brighter change;
Yearning for the mystic Aidenn; built beyond this mountain range。
Happy years; amongst these valleys; happy years have come and gone;
And my youthful hopes and friendships withered with them one by one;
Days and moments bearing onward many a bright and beauteous dream;
All have passed me like to sunstreaks flying down a distant stream。
Oh; the love returned by loved ones! Oh; the faces that I knew!
Oh; the wrecks of fond affection! Oh; the hearts so warm and true!
But their voices I remember; and a something lingers still;
Like a dying echo roaming sadly round a far off hill。
I would sojourn here contented; tranquil as I was of yore;
And would never wish to clamber; seeking for an unknown shore;
I have dwelt within this cottage twenty summers; and mine eyes
Never wandered erewhile round in search of undiscovered skies;
But a spirit sits beside me; veiled in robes of dazzling white;
And a dear one's whisper wakens with the symphonies of night;
And a low sad music cometh; borne along on windy wings;
Like a strain familiar rising from a maze of slumbering springs。
And the Spirit; by my window; speaketh to my restless soul;
Telling of the clime she came from; where the silent moments roll;
Telling of the bourne mysterious; where the sunny summers flee
Cliffs and coasts; by man untrodden; ridging round a shipless sea。
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There the years of yore are blooming … there departed life…dreams dwell;
There the faces beam with gladness that I loved in youth so well;
There the songs of childhood travel; over wave…worn steep and strand …
Over dale and upland stretching out behind this mountain land。
‘‘Lovely Being; can a mortal; weary of this changeless scene;
Cross these cloudy summits to the land where man hath never been?
Can he find a pathway leading through that wildering mass of pines;
So that he shall reach the country where ethereal glory shines;
So that he may glance at waters never dark with coming ships;
Hearing round him gentle language floating from angelic lips;
Casting off his earthly fetters; living there for evermore;
All the blooms of Beauty near him; gleaming on that quiet shore?
‘‘Ere you quit this ancient casement; tell me; is it well to yearn
For the evanescent visions; vanished never to return?
Is it well that I should with to leave this dreary world behind;
Seeking for your fair Utopia; which perchance I may not find?
Passing through a gloomy forest; scaling steeps like prison walls;
Where the scanty sunshine wavers and the moonlight seldom falls?
Oh; the feelings re…awakened! Oh; the hopes of loftier range!
Is it well; thou friendly Being; well to wish for such a change?''
But the Spirit answers nothing! and the dazzling mantle fades;
And a wailing whisper wanders out from dismal seaside shades!
‘‘Lo; the trees are moaning loudly; underneath their hood…like shrouds;
And the arch above us darkens; scarred with ragged thunder clouds!''
But the spirit answers nothing; and I linger all alone;
Gazing through the moony vapours where the lovely Dream has flown;
And my heart is beating sadly; and the music waxeth faint;
Sailing up to holy Heaven; like the anthems of a Saint。
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KIAMA
TOWARDS the hills of Jamberoo
Some few fantastic shadows haste;
Uplit with fires
Like castle spires
Outshining through a mirage waste。
Behold; a mournful glory sits
On feathered ferns and woven brakes;
Where sobbing wild like restless child
The gusty breeze of evening wakes!
Methinks I hear on every breath
A lofty tone go passing by;
That whispers … ‘‘Weave;
Though wood winds grieve;
The fadeless blooms of Poesy!''
A spirit hand has been abroad …
An evil hand to pluck the flowers …
A world of wealth;
And blooming health
Has gone from fragrant seaside bowers。
The twilight waxeth dim and dark;
The sad waves mutter sounds of woe;
But the evergreen retains its sheen;
And happy hearts exist below;
But pleasure sparkles on the sward;
And voices utter words of bliss;
And while my bride
Sits by my side;
Oh; where's the scene surpassing this?
Kiama slumbers; robed with mist;
All glittering in the dewy light
That; brooding o'er
The shingly shore;
Lies resting in the arms of Night;
And foam…flecked crags with surges chill;
And rocks embraced of cold…lipped spray;
Are moaning loud where billows crowd
In angry numbers up the bay。
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The holy stars come looking down
On windy heights and swarthy strand;
And Life and Love …
The cliffs above …
Are sitting fondly hand in hand。
I hear a music inwardly;
That floods my soul with thoughts of joy;
Within my heart
Emotions start
That Time may still but ne'er destroy。
An ancient Spring revives itself;
And days which made the past divine;
And rich warm gleams from golden dreams;
All glorious in their summer shine;
And songs of half forgotten hours;
And many a sweet melodious strain;
Which still shall rise
Beneath the skies
When all things else have died again。
A white sail glimmers out at sea …
A vessel walking in her sleep;
Some Power goes past
That bends the mast;
While frighted waves to leeward leap。
The moonshine veils the naked sand
And ripples upward with the tide;
As underground there rolls a sound
From where the caverned waters glide。
A face that bears affection's glow;
The soul that speaks from gentle eyes;
And joy which slips
From loving lips
Have made this spot my Paradise!
ETHELINE
The heart that once was rich with light;
And happy in your grace;
Now lieth cold beneath the scorn
That gathers on your face;
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And every joy it knew before;
And every templed dream;
Is paler than the dying flash
On yonder mountain stream。
The soul; regretting foundered bliss
Amid the wreck of years;
Hath mourned it with intensity
Too deep for human tears!
The forest fadeth underneath
The blast that rushes by …
The dripping leaves are white with death;
But Love will never die!
We both have seen the starry moss
That clings where Ruin reigns;
And one must know his lonely breast
Affection still retains;
Through all the sweetest hopes of life;
That clustered round and round;
Are lying now; like withered things;
Forsaken … on the ground。
'Tis hard to think of what we were;
And what we might have been;
Had not an evil spirit crept
Across the tranquil scene:
Had fervent feelings in your soul
Not failed nor ceased to shine
As pure as those existing on;
And burning still in mine。
Had every treasure at your feet