散文：The Grass so little has to do

The Grass so little has to do - 

A Sphere of simple Green - 

With only Butterflies to brood 

And Bees to entertain - 

 

And stir all day to pretty Tunes 

The Breezes fetch along - 

And hold the Sunshine in its lap 

And bow to everything - 

 

And thread the Dews, all night, like Pearls - 

And make itself so fine 

A Duchess were too common 

For such a noticing - 

 

And even when it dies - to pass 

In Odors so divine - 

Like Lowly spices, lain to sleep - 

Or Spikenards, perishing - 

 

And then, in Sovereign Barns to dwell - 

And dream the Days away, 

The Grass so little has to do 

I wish I were a Hay - 

 

 

In the first three stanzas¹, the poetess makes a delicate and even exquisite² observation of various natural objects. Grass, butterflies, bees, the sunshine, the breeze and dew become her companions. All these natural objects depicted³ are centered around the grass imagery, and she describes two scenes of different time periods - day and night. During the day, the grass, the butterflies, and the bee are rhythmic⁴ in dancing with the breeze, jovially⁵ bathed in the sunshine; like pearls, when the night dew comes, the green grass flashing a beautiful light forms another delightful⁶ picture. However, the Duchess who appears suddenly does not know how to appreciate this natural scenery. 

 

Then the poetess discovers the beauty of the grass after it died, so elegant and dreamy. Her unusual imagination gives the hay a nice place (sovereign barns) to allow it to have time to dream about its wonderful past. The last sentence of this poem reveals her true feelings; out of love for nature, she yearns⁷ for commonness and freedom. Could we be as carefree as the grass? 

 

 

小草很少有事可做  

一片纯净的碧绿世界  

只能孵几只粉蝶  

款待几只蜜蜂   

 

应着和风的曲调  

整天摇晃不停  

把阳光搂在怀里  

向万物鞠躬致敬   

 

整夜串联露珠像串珍珠  

把自己打扮得华美脱俗  

伯爵夫人也太平庸  

不足以如此引人注目   

 

甚至当它死去，死去时  

发出的香味也这样神圣  

像卑微的香料沉沉入睡  

像五加，失去生命   

 

然后迁居到宏伟的仓廪  

用梦把日子打发  

小草很少有事可做  

但愿我是干草一束

1 stanzas   

节，段( stanza的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poem has six stanzas. 这首诗有六小节。
• Stanzas are different from each other in one poem. 诗中节与节差异颇大。

2 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

3 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

4 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

5 jovially   

adv.愉快地，高兴地

参考例句：

• "Hello, Wilson, old man,'said Tom, slapping him jovially on the shoulder. "How's business?" “哈罗，威尔逊，你这家伙，”汤姆说，一面嘻嘻哈哈地拍拍他的肩膀，“生意怎么样？” 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
• Hall greeted him jovially enough, but Gorman and Walson scowled as they grunted curt "Good Mornings." 霍尔兴致十足地向他打招呼，戈曼和沃森却满脸不豫之色，敷衍地咕哝句“早安”。 来自辞典例句

6 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

7 yearns   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Every man yearns for sympathy in sorrow. 每个遇到不幸的人都渴望得到同情。
• What I dread is to get into a rut. One yearns for freshness of thought and ideas. 我害怕的就是墨守成规。人总是向往新思想和新观念的。