Emily Dickinson(2)

“A word is dead

When it is said,

Some say.

I say it just

Begins to live

That day.”

—Emily Dickinson

 

 

I have a Bird in spring
Which for myself doth sing --
The spring decoys.
And as the summer nears --
And as the Rose appears,
Robin is gone.

Yet do I not repine
Knowing that Bird of mine
Though flown --
Learneth beyond the sea
Melody new for me
And will return.

Fast is a safer hand
Held in a truer Land
Are mine --
And though they now depart,
Tell I my doubting heart
They're thine.

In a serener Bright,
In a more golden light
I see
Each little doubt and fear,
Each little discord here
Removed.

Then will I not repine,
Knowing that Bird of mine
Though flown
Shall in a distant tree
Bright melody for me
Return.

—Emily Dickinson

 

我有一只春天的鸟儿
单单只为我一人歌唱
她是唤醒春天的使者
当夏日临近玫瑰盛开
我的知更鸟，她便离去

然而我并不为此抱怨
我与鸟儿她心照不宣
尽管她已远走高飞
到那比海更远之远
我知她那悦耳之新曲
还将再次回还

忠实是更安全的手掌
相握于更真实的土地
这是我的……
尽管她们已离开
告诉我那多疑的心吧
她们仍然是你的

在一片平静的灿烂里
在那更金黄的光明中
我看到
每一个细小的怀疑与担忧
每一点微不足道的分歧
它们已经远离

因此我将不会抱怨
我与我的鸟儿心照不宣
尽管她已飞去
将在更远的树端
那专为我歌唱的欢快仙乐
还将回还

 

 

Emily Dickinson is best known as an intensely private, even reclusive writer. Yet the way she has been mythologised has meant her work is often misunderstood. This introduction delves behind the myth to present a poet who was deeply engaged with the issues of her day. In a lucid and elegant style, the book places her life and work in the historical context of the Civil War, the suffrage movement, and the rapid industrialisation of the United States. Wendy Martin explores the ways in which Dickinson's personal struggles with romantic love, religious faith, friendship and community shape her poetry. The complex publication history of her works, as well as their reception, is teased out, and a guide to further reading is included. Dickinson emerges not only as one of America's finest poets, but also as a fiercely independent intellect and an original talent writing poetry far ahead of her time.

 

艾米莉.狄金森(Emily Dickinson)(1830～1886) 为美国隐士女诗人，生前写过一千七百多首令人耳目一新的短诗，却不为人知，死后名声大噪。她诗风独特，以文字细腻、观察敏锐、意象突出著称。题材方面多半是自然、死亡、和永生。