双语有声阅读：If you were coming in the Fall

If you were coming in the Fall, 

I'd brush the Summer by 

With half a smile, and half a spurn, 

As Housewives do, a Fly. 

 

If I could see you in a year, 

I'd wind the months in balls - 

And put them each in separate Drawers, 

For fear the numbers fuse - 

 

If only Centuries, delayed, 

I'd count them on my Hand, 

Subtracting, till my fingers dropped 

Into Van Dieman's Land. 

 

If certain, when this life was out - 

That yours and mine, should be 

I'd toss it yonder, like a Rind, 

And take Eternity¹ - 

 

But, now, uncertain of the length 

Of this, that is between, 

It goads² me, like the Goblin Bee - 

That will not state - its sting. 

 

There is both hope and sorrow in this poem all towards this mystery person. If she knew that person were coming in the fall, she would have disregarded her lonely summer the way as how housewives treat a fly. Why with half scorn and half joy? She despises the fact that she has to be away from that person for the whole summer, which also reminds her that as soon as the summer ends, she will be able to see the person she is waiting for. 

 

The second stanza³ continues to show her longing⁴ to find the distant person. She reduces a year to twelve balls of yarn⁵ to be stored separately from tangling⁶ together. Then she minimizes a delayed century-long wait by modifying "century" with “only” and counts the meeting time backwards⁷ in a form of finger play. Van Dieman's Land is the original name for Tasmania, an island off Australia. It is on the underside of the globe from where Emily lived. Her declining fingers, falling into that far far away island, represent the time that has passed. 

 

The fourth stanza indicates that if their souls were assured to meet in the afterlife, she would willingly die. Her mortal body, containing a spirit or essence which would continue after her death, is metaphorically⁸ linked with a rind, the natural outer covering of food, . 

 

The final stanza abruptly⁹ introduces a new train of thought, hinted by the first word "but". Emily feels the haunting pain caused by that person's absence, and is uncertain about when it will cease. Her sense of longing and agitation¹⁰ is nearly perceptible, just like the Goblin Bee. A goblin is a small grotesque¹¹ supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings and a bee is a tiny insect that stings. By putting the two together Emily illustrates¹² the possibility of not having a reunion and gives time a malefic image. 

1 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

2 goads   

n.赶牲口的尖棒( goad的名词复数 )v.刺激( goad的第三人称单数 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人

参考例句：

• They are motivated by the twin goads of punishment and reward. 他们受赏与罚的双重因素所激励。 来自互联网

3 stanza   

n.（诗）节，段

参考例句：

• We omitted to sing the second stanza.我们漏唱了第二节。
• One young reporter wrote a review with a stanza that contained some offensive content.一个年轻的记者就歌词中包含有攻击性内容的一节写了评论。

4 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

5 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

6 tangling   

（使）缠结， （使）乱作一团( tangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• During match with football, sportsman is like tangling on the football field. 足球比赛时，运动员似在足球场上混战。
• Furthermore the built in cable rewind prevents tangling and prolongs cable life. 此外，在防止缠绕电缆退建，延长电缆使用寿命。

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

9 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

10 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

11 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

12 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分