太子爷小说网 > 英语电子书 > the complete poetical works >

第62节

the complete poetical works-第62节

小说: the complete poetical works 字数: 每页4000字

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页,按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页,按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
————未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!




And his bursting heart within him

Uttered such a cry of anguish;

That the forest moaned and shuddered;

That the very stars in heaven

Shook and trembled with his anguish。

  Then he sat down; still and speechless;

On the bed of Minnehaha;

At the feet of Laughing Water;

At those willing feet; that never

More would lightly run to meet him;

Never more would lightly follow。

  With both hands his face he covered;

Seven long days and nights he sat there;

As if in a swoon he sat there;

Speechless; motionless; unconscious

Of the daylight or the darkness。

  Then they buried Minnehaha;

In the snow a grave they made her

In the forest deep and darksome

Underneath the moaning hemlocks;

Clothed her in her richest garments

Wrapped her in her robes of ermine;

Covered her with snow; like ermine;

Thus they buried Minnehaha。

  And at night a fire was lighted;

On her grave four times was kindled;

For her soul upon its journey

To the Islands of the Blessed。

From his doorway Hiawatha

Saw it burning in the forest;

Lighting up the gloomy hemlocks;

From his sleepless bed uprising;

From the bed of Minnehaha;

Stood and watched it at the doorway;

That it might not be extinguished;

Might not leave her in the darkness。

  〃Farewell!〃 said he; 〃Minnehaha!

Farewell; O my Laughing Water!

All my heart is buried with you;

All my thoughts go onward with you!

Come not back again to labor;

Come not back again to suffer;

Where the Famine and the Fever

Wear the heart and waste the body。

Soon my task will be completed;

Soon your footsteps I shall follow

To the Islands of the Blessed;

To the Kingdom of Ponemah;

To the Land of the Hereafter!〃







XXI



THE WHITE MAN'S FOOT



In his lodge beside a river;

Close beside a frozen river;

Sat an old man; sad and lonely。

White his hair was as a snow…drift;

Dull and low his fire was burning;

And the old man shook and trembled;

Folded in his Waubewyon;

In his tattered white…skin…wrapper;

Hearing nothing but the tempest

As it roared along the forest;

Seeing nothing but the snow…storm;

As it whirled and hissed and drifted。

  All the coals were white with ashes;

And the fire was slowly dying;

As a young man; walking lightly;

At the open doorway entered。

Red with blood of youth his cheeks were;

Soft his eyes; as stars in Spring…time;

Bound his forehead was with grasses;

Bound and plumed with scented grasses;

On his lips a smile of beauty;

Filling all the lodge with sunshine;

In his hand a bunch of blossoms

Filling all the lodge with sweetness。

  〃Ah; my son!〃 exclaimed the old man;

〃Happy are my eyes to see you。

Sit here on the mat beside me;

Sit here by the dying embers;

Let us pass the night together;

Tell me of your strange adventures;

Of the lands where you have travelled;

I will tell you of my prowess;

Of my many deeds of wonder。〃

  From his pouch he drew his peace…pipe;

Very old and strangely fashioned;

Made of red stone was the pipe…head;

And the stem a reed with feathers;

Filled the pipe with bark of willow;

Placed a burning coal upon it;

Gave it to his guest; the stranger;

And began to speak in this wise:

〃When I blow my breath about me;

When I breathe upon the landscape;

Motionless are all the rivers;

Hard as stone becomes the water!〃

  And the young man answered; smiling:

〃When I blow my breath about me;

When I breathe upon the landscape;

Flowers spring up o'er all the meadows;

Singing; onward rush the rivers!〃

  〃When I shake my hoary tresses;〃

Said the old man darkly frowning;

〃All the land with snow is covered;

All the leaves from all the branches

Fall and fade and die and wither;

For I breathe; and lo! they are not。

From the waters and the marshes;

Rise the wild goose and the heron;

Fly away to distant regions;

For I speak; and lo! they are not。

And where'er my footsteps wander;

All the wild beasts of the forest

Hide themselves in holes and caverns;

And the earth becomes as flintstone!〃

  〃When I shake my flowing ringlets;〃

Said the young man; softly laughing;

〃Showers of rain fall warm and welcome;

Plants lift up their heads rejoicing;

Back into their lakes and marshes

Come the wild goose and the heron;

Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow;

Sing the bluebird and the robin;

And where'er my footsteps wander;

All the meadows wave with blossoms;

All the woodlands ring with music;

All the trees are dark with foliage!〃

  While they spake; the night departed:

From the distant realms of Wabun;

From his shining lodge of silver;

Like a warrior robed and painted;

Came the sun; and said; 〃Behold me

Gheezis; the great sun; behold me!〃

  Then the old man's tongue was speechless

And the air grew warm and pleasant;

And upon the wigwam sweetly

Sang the bluebird and the robin;

And the stream began to murmur;

And a scent of growing grasses

Through the lodge was gently wafted。

  And Segwun; the youthful stranger;

More distinctly in the daylight

Saw the icy face before him;

It was Peboan; the Winter!

  From his eyes the tears were flowing;

As from melting lakes the streamlets;

And his body shrunk and dwindled

As the shouting sun ascended;

Till into the air it faded;

Till into the ground it vanished;

And the young man saw before him;

On the hearth…stone of the wigwam;

Where the fire had smoked and smouldered;

Saw the earliest flower of Spring…time;

Saw the Beauty of the Spring…time;

Saw the Miskodeed in blossom。

  Thus it was that in the North…land

After that unheard…of coldness;

That intolerable Winter;

Came the Spring with all its splendor;

All its birds and all its blossoms;

All its flowers and leaves and grasses。

  Sailing on the wind to northward;

Flying in great flocks; like arrows;

Like huge arrows shot through heaven;

Passed the swan; the Mahnahbezee;

Speaking almost as a man speaks;

And in long lines waving; bending

Like a bow…string snapped asunder;

Came the white goose; Waw…be…wawa;

And in pairs; or singly flying;

Mahng the loon; with clangorous pinions;

The blue heron; the Shuh…shuh…gah;

And the grouse; the Mushkodasa。

  In the thickets and the meadows

Piped the bluebird; the Owaissa;

On the summit of the lodges

Sang the robin; the Opechee;

In the covert of the pine…trees

Cooed the pigeon; the Omemee;

And the sorrowing Hiawatha;

Speechless in his infinite sorrow;

Heard their voices calling to him;

Went forth from his gloomy doorway;

Stood and gazed into the heaven;

Gazed upon the earth and waters。

  From his wanderings far to eastward;

From the regions of the morning;

From the shining land of Wabun;

Homeward now returned Iagoo;

The great traveller; the great boaster;

Full of new and strange adventures;

Marvels many and many wonders。

  And the people of the village

Listened to him as he told them

Of his marvellous adventures;

Laughing answered him in this wise:

〃Ugh! it is indeed Iagoo!

No one else beholds such wonders!〃

  He had seen; he said; a water

Bigger than the Big…Sea…Water;

Broader than the Gitche Gumee;

Bitter so that none could drink it!

At each other looked the warriors;

Looked the women at each other;

Smiled; and said; 〃It cannot be so!〃

Kaw!〃 they said; it cannot be so!〃

  O'er it; said he; o'er this water

Came a great canoe with pinions;

A canoe with wings came flying;

Bigger than a grove of pine…trees;

Taller than the tallest tree…tops!

And the old men and the women

Looked and tittered at each other;

〃Kaw!〃 they said; 〃we don't believe it!〃

  From its mouth; he said; to greet him;

Came Waywassimo; the lightning;

Came the thunder; Annemeekee!

And the warriors and the women

Laughed aloud at poor Iagoo;

〃Kaw!〃 they said; 〃what tales you tell us!〃

  In it; said he; came a people;

In the great canoe with pinions

Came; he said; a hundred warriors;

Painted white were all their faces

And with hair their chins were covered!

And the warriors and the women

Laughed and shouted in derision;

Like the ravens on the tree…tops;

Like the crows upon the hemlocks。

〃Kaw!〃 they said; 〃what lies you tell us!

Do not think that we believe them!〃

  Only Hiawatha laughed not;

But he gravely spake and answered

To their jeering and their jesting:

〃True is all Iagoo tells us;

I have seen it in a vision;

Seen the great canoe with pinions;

Seen the people with white faces;

Seen the coming of this bearded

People of the wooden vessel

From the regions of the morning;

From the shining land of Wabun。

  〃Gitche Manito; the Mighty;

The Great Spirit; the Creator;

Sends them hither on his errand。

Sends them to us with his message。

Wheresoe'er they move; before them

Swarms the stinging fly; the Ahmo;

Swarms the bee; the honey…maker;

Wheresoe'er they tread; beneath them

Springs a flower unknown among us;

Springs the

返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0

你可能喜欢的