草原之夜

瓦尔特·惠特曼

Night on the prairies,

草原的夜晚，

The supper is over, the fire on the ground burns low,

晚餐过了，活在地上轻轻的燃烧，

The wearied emigrants¹ sleep, wrapt in their blankets;

疲倦了的牧民过着他们的毯子睡着了，

I walk by myself--I stand and look at the stars,

我独自散步---我站着观望星星。

which I think nownever realized before.

那些我以前从没有注意过的星星。

Now I absorb immortality² and peace,

现在我想着永生与和平，

I admire death and test propositions.

我羡慕死亡，我思考各种问题。

How plenteous! how spiritual! how resume!

多么丰饶！多么高尚！多么简明哟！

The same old man and soul--the same old aspirations³, and the same content.

同样的一个老人和灵魂——同样的旧有的渴望，同样的满足。

I was thinking the day most splendid till I saw what the not-day exhibited,

直到我看见非白天所展示的一切，我一直以为白天最为光辉灿烂，

I was thinking this globe enough till there sprang out so noiseless around me myriads⁴ of other globes.

直到在我的周围无声地涌现出千万个其他的地球，我一直以为这个地球已经很足够。

Now while the great thoughts of space and eternity⁵ fill me I will measure myself by them,

现在空间和永恒的伟大思想己充满了我，我要以它们来测量我自己，

And now touch'd with the lives of other globes arrived as far along as those of the earth,

现在我接触到别的星球的生命，这生命跟大地上的生命一样来自遥远的地方，

Or waiting to arrive, or pass'd on farther than those of the earth,

或是将要来到，或是已经超过了大地上的生命，

I henceforth no more ignore them than I ignore my own life,

此后我将不再漠视它们，正如我不漠视我自己的生命，

Or the lives of the earth arrived as far as mine, or waiting to arrive.

或者那些在大地上跟我一样进展的，或将要来到的生命。

O I see now that life cannot exhibit all to me, as the day cannot,

啊，我现在看出生命不能向我展示出所有的一切，白天也不能展示出所有的一切，

I see that I am to wait for what will be exhibited by death.

我看出我得等待那将由死展示出来的东西。