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