最后一朵菊花

 最后一朵菊花

《最后一朵菊花》是托马斯.哈代的诗歌，托马斯·哈代(1840-1928) 英国伟大的现实主义作家、诗人。主要作品有小说《苔丝》、《还乡》，诗集《韦塞克斯诗集》、《今昔诗集》、《时光的笑柄》、《早期与晚期抒情诗》、诗剧《列王》等。

The Last Chrysanthemum¹

by Thomas Hardy²

Why should this flower delay so long

To show its tremulous plumes³?

Now is the time of plaintive⁴ robin-song,

When flowers are in their tombs.

这朵菊花为何留得如此长久，

来显示自己震颤的羽绒？

现在已是知更鸟哀鸣的时刻，

当花儿已经葬入了坟冢。

Through the slow summer, when the sun

Called to each frond⁵ and whorl

That all he could for flowers was being done,

Why did it not uncurl?

在漫长的夏季，束束阳光

被邀探访片片叶儿和花瓣，

太阳为花朵做完了该做的事情，

这朵花那时为何没有开放？

It must have felt that fervid⁶ call

Although it took no heed⁷,

Waking but now, when leaves like corpses⁸ fall,

And saps all retrocede.

它一定感到那炽热的召唤，

尽管丝毫也没有留心，

但现在已苏醒，当树叶僵尸般掉落，

当树液纷纷地隐身。

Too late its beauty, lonely thing,

The season's shine is spent,

Nothing remains⁹ for it but shivering

In tempests turbulent.

它的美色来得太晚，孤独的东西，

季节的光辉已经耗完，

什么也没有为它留下，它只好

在狂暴的风雪中震颤。

Had it a reason for delay,

Dreaming in witlessness

That for a bloom so delicately gay

Winter would stay its stress?

难道它有原因逗留，

没有头脑地异想天开，

对于一朵娇嫩美丽的鲜花，

酷冬定会抑制自己的残害？

- I talk as if the thing were born

With sense to work its mind;

Yet it is but one mask of many worn

By the Great Face behind.

－－瞧我说的，仿佛花朵

生来就有思维的能力；

然而这只是许多面具中的一个，

被戴于背后的上帝。

1 chrysanthemum   

n.菊，菊花

参考例句：

• Each mourner wore a black armband and a white paper chrysanthemum.每个吊唁的人都佩带着黑纱和一朵白纸菊花。
• There are many species of chrysanthemum.菊花品种很多。

2 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

3 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

4 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

5 frond   

n.棕榈类植物的叶子

参考例句：

• The weavers made a hat from palm fronds.织工用棕榈叶织成了一顶帽子。
• The village hut was thatched with palm fronds.乡村小屋用棕榈叶作顶。

6 fervid   

adj.热情的；炽热的

参考例句：

• He is a fervid orator.他是个慷慨激昂的演说者。
• He was a ready scholar as you are,but more fervid and impatient.他是一个聪明的学者，跟你一样，不过更加热情而缺乏耐心。

7 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

8 corpses   

n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The living soldiers put corpses together and burned them. 活着的战士把尸体放在一起烧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Overhead, grayish-white clouds covered the sky, piling up heavily like decaying corpses. 天上罩满了灰白的薄云，同腐烂的尸体似的沉沉的盖在那里。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。