Harriet H. King
Through the lands low-lying, fast and free
I ride alone and under the moon;
An empty road that is strange to me,
Yet at every turn remembered soon:
A road like a racecourse , even and wide,
With grassy margins on either side;
In a rapture of blowing air I ride,
With a heart that is beating tune.
Light as on turf the hoof-beats fall,
As on spongy sod as fast and fleet,
For the road is smooth and moist withal ,
And the water springs under the horse's feet:
And to every stride sounds a soft plash yet.
For all the length of the way is wet
With many a runnel and rivulet
That under the moonlight meet.
O surely the water lilies should be
Sunk away and safe folded to rest!
But, no; they are shining open and free,
White and awake on the water's breast:
On the long and shimmering waterway,
All silver-spread to the full moon's ray,
The shallow dykes that straggle and stray
With their floating fringes drest.
The road will flow winding and winding away
Through the sleeping country to-night;
All one long level of dusky grey,
The border hedges slip past in flight;
Turning and twisting in many a lane,
Mile after mile of a labyrinth chain
I have seen before, I shall see again,
Yet remember not aright.
And somewhere all out of sight there stands
A sleeping house that is white and low,
Hid in the heart of the level lands,
The lands where the waters wander slow,
Embowered all round by the thickset ways,
Set in a silent and stately maze
Of high-grown ilex , arbutus , bays, —
If I ever saw it, I do not know.
Shall I ever reach it? or ere the day
Breaks, will it all have passed away?
If only the night might last!
While the mists of moonlight the warm air fill,
Out of boskage and bower so deep and still
There reaches afar the glimmer, the thrill, —
O the night is flying too fast!
* * *
[reiskɔːs] n.
跑道
[ˈræptʃə] n.
着迷，全神贯注
-turf
[təːf] n.
草皮
[wiˈðɔːl] adv.
而又
[ˈrivjulit] n.
小河，小溪
[hedʒ] n.
树篱
[ˈlæbərinθ] n.
迷宫
-ilex
[ˈaileks] n.
圣栎
[ɑːˈbjuːtəs] n.
野草莓树
* * *
哈丽叶特·金
哈丽叶特·金（Harriet H. King，1840-1920），英国女诗人。关心意大利独立运动，曾与意大利复兴运动民主共和派领袖马志尼（Mazzinni，1805-1872）通信。她的第一本作品是为意大利爱国者费里契·奥尔西尼（他曾计划刺杀法国的拿破仑三世）所作的辩护书，此外，她还出版了有关意大利政治的诗集《阿斯普罗蒙特及其他诗》（1869）等。她也写过具有特殊个性的作品，如《梦之书》中收入的就是带有神秘怪诞风格的诗。《月光下的驰骋》透露出一个本来是贤妻良母型的女性受到压抑时迸发的憧憬和梦幻。
越大片低地，我披着月色，
单人策马，自由驰驱；
无人的道路，我感到陌生的，
但每个拐弯都很快记住：
一条路像跑道，宽广，平坦，
绿草地镶在道路的两边；
痴迷于风吹，我跃马扬鞭，
按着节拍，我的心在击鼓。
马蹄轻轻，像落上草坪，
像踏着海绵土，敏捷，快速，
只见那条路平滑又湿润，
奔蹄下一路飞溅着水珠：
每一步都有击水的轻响。
从路头到路尾都雨雾瀼瀼，
有多少水沟和小溪在流淌，
月光下溪与河交汇追逐。
啊，水上的睡莲想必已
沉落，蜷伏着，安稳地睡眠！
但是不！睡莲开放着，光熠熠，
清醒着，一片白，在水波胸前：
在闪着微光的长长水道上，
洒满银点，揽圆月幽光，
一条条浅沟游离，彷徨，
沟渠的边缘似飘带蹁跹。
道路弯弯绕绕地伸向前，
穿过今夜沉睡的乡村；
平地上一条长长的灰蓝，
边缘的树篱飞速地逃奔；
一程加一程，千回又百转，
一哩再一哩，似迷宫盘旋，
我已经见过，我还将再见，
可惜我不会记得很准。
一座低矮的白屋在睡乡
耸立，消失得无踪无影，
隐没在平坦大地的中央，
大地上溪河在迂回延伸，
四周环绕着稠密的道路，
遍地是圣栎，月桂，草莓树，
像一座迷宫，庄严，肃穆，——
我曾见过吗？我毫不知情。
我能否到达那里？天一亮，
这一切是否全都会消亡？
但愿长夜永远没尽头！
朦胧的月光温暖了夜色，
透过幽僻的密林和繁柯，
微光，颤动，向远方投射，——
啊，夜正在迅速飞走！