勃朗宁夫人 十四行诗

I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision thro my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was ’ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair;
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,—
“Guess now who holds thee!”—“Death,” I said, But, there,
The silver answer rang, “Not Death, but Love.”

我想起，当年希腊的诗人曾经歌咏：
年复一年，那良辰在殷切的盼望中
翩然降临，各自带一份礼物
分送给世人－－年老或是年少。
当我这么想，感叹着诗人的古调，
穿过我泪眼所逐渐展开的幻觉，
我看见，那欢乐的岁月、哀伤的岁月－－
我自己的年华，把一片片黑影接连着
掠过我的身。紧接着，我就觉察
（我哭了）我背后正有个神秘的黑影
在移动，而且一把揪住了我的发， ;
往后拉，还有一声吆喝（我只是在挣扎）：
“这回是谁逮住了你？猜！”“死，”我答话。
听哪，那银铃似的回音：“不是死，是爱！”