I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,

From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid

In their noonday dreams.

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken

The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their Mother's breast,

As she dances about the Sun.

I wield the flail of the lashing hail,

And whiten the green plains under;

And then again I dissolve it in rain,

And laugh as I pass in thunder.

I sift the snow on the mountains below,

And their great pines groan aghast;

And all the night 'tis my pillow white,

While I sleep in the arms of the blast

Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers

Lightning my pilot sits;

In a cavern under is fettered the Thunder—

It struggles and howls at fits:

Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,

This pilot is guiding me,

Lured by the love of the Genii that move

In the depths of the purple sea;

Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills.

Over the lakes and the plains,

Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream.

The Spirit he loves remains;

And I all the while bask in heaven's blue smile,

Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes.

And his burning plumes outspread,

Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,

When the morning-star shines dead, —

As on the jag of a mountain crag,

Which an earthquake rocks and swings.

An eagle alit one moment may sit

In the light of its golden wings.

And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,

Its ardours of rest and of love,

And the crimson pall of eve may fall

From the depth of heaven above, —

With wings folded I rest, on mine airy nest,

As still as a brooding dove.

That orbed maiden with white fire laden,

Whom mortals call the Moon,

Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,

By the midnight breezes strewn;

And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,

Which only the angels hear,

May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,

The stars peep behind her and peer;

And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,

Like a swarm of golden bees,

When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent, —

Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,

Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,

Are each paved with the moon and these.

I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,

And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;

The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim,

When the Whirlwinds my banner unfurl.

From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,

Over a torrent sea,

Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof;

The mountains its columns be.

The triumphal arch through which I march

With hurricane, fire, and snow,

When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,

Is the million-coloured bow;

The Sphere-fire above, its soft colours wove,

While the moist Earth was laughing below.

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,

And the nursling of the Sky:

I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;

I change, but I cannot die.

For after the rain—when with never a stain

The pavilion of heaven is bare,

And the winds and sunbeams', with their convex gleams,

Build up the blue dome of air—

I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,

And out of the caverns of rain,

Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,

I arise and unbuild it again.

—P. B. Shelley

Words

ardours,fervours.

dissolve,melt.

earthquake,a convulsion of the earth.

glimmering,flickering.

guiding,conducting.

hurricane,tempest.

lashing,scourging.

meteor,flashing.

mortals,human beings.

nursling,child.

pavilion,canopy.

sublime,imposing.

thirsting,parched.

unfurl,unfold.

volcanoes,burning mountains.

whirlwinds,violent blasts.

我為焦灼的花木，灑下清新的雨露——

我來自江河湖海；

當夢境在晌午恍恍惚惚——

我為綠葉提供陰涼的庇護。

我讓清香簇擁，蓓蕾復蘇——

我抖落葉瓣上的露珠，

在慈母的胸膛，我感覺溫暖的愛撫，

當她圍繞太陽翩翩起舞。

我揮舞連枷，像冰雹在擊打，

我將綠野鋪滿皚皚的冰花，

嘩嘩的雨水之中，我再將其溶化，

我邊走邊笑，任雷電交加。

我將絨絨雪花，撒向群山，

蔥郁的松林，發出駭人的呻吟；

在狂風的懷中，我睡意蒙朧，

夜晚，我頭枕白雪，沉入夢境。

我的塔樓天穹，雄偉高聳，

我的向導，端坐其中，

雷聲轟鳴，幽囚于地洞，

忽然之間，發出陣陣狂嚎；

緩緩飛臨大地與碧浪之上，

那向導將我引領，

用愛慕之情，將其引誘，

游弋在紫色大海深處的精靈。

在山澗、險崖和山巒之上游弋，

越過湖泊和平原，

無論夢在山巒，或在河川，

他鐘愛的精靈依舊不變；

天空蔚藍的微笑，始終賜給我溫暖，

雖然在雨中，他會漸漸消散。

紅艷的朝霞，他流星一般的眼睛，

展露他火紅色的翎羽，

當晨星漸漸幻滅，

躍上我浮云的脊背飛行；

當嶙峋的山崖，凹凸有致，

搖擺晃動、天崩地裂，

剛飛落的雄鷹，如愿棲身于此——

在它們金光閃閃的羽翎之間。

在明亮的海底水域之上，斜陽在怯怯低語，

休眠的熱切，摯愛的情趣，

緋紅的夜幕，會漸漸

降臨在高深、浩瀚的蒼穹之上，

我在云層的巢穴中，合翅休憩，

似正在孵卵的母鴿般靜謐。

圓潤的女郎，泛起盈盈的白光，

塵世之間，將其稱為月亮，

飛掠的微光，恰似羊毛覆蓋在大地之上，

任憑午夜的微風，送來陣陣清涼；

無論隱形的玉足在哪里停留，

只有天使才能感悟其中，

他們會踩破我的帳篷，頂部的薄紗，

群星在她背后窺探、凝望；

我笑看他們似旋風般奔逃，

宛若一群金色的蜜蜂，

當我在颶風的天篷，撐開裂縫，

直到江河湖海風平浪靜，

就像來自我頭頂的蒼穹一般的條紋，

每一片都鑲嵌著月亮和這些繁星。

我纏住太陽的寶座，用火紅的綾羅綢緞，

珍珠腰帶包裹住月亮的寶座；

火山隱隱閃爍，星星飄忽顛簸，

我的旗幟在旋風中飄過。

從一處海角到另一處，似拱橋的形狀，

在奔流不息的大海之上，

我像懸空的穹頂，遮擋住陽光，

崇山峻嶺是我的柱廊。

我途經凱旋之門，

裹挾著火焰、雪片和颶風，

當空中的神靈，被我的馬車拘禁，

五彩繽紛，姹紫嫣紅；

天上的火星，柔和的色彩交織一起，

濕潤的大地之上，泛起笑語聲聲。

我是來自天庭的圣嬰，

是大地、水域的千金之女；

我穿梭于海洋與海岸的隙縫之間；

我時刻變換，絕不消停。

雨后天晴，沒有一點痕跡——

天國的帳篷此時毫無遮掩，

和風與日光顯出瑩瑩凹面，

勾畫出蔚藍的大氣穹頂，

我在自己的墓冢之中暗暗嘲諷，

而洞穴之外，卻是煙雨蒙蒙，

似來自荒冢的幽靈，出自子宮的嬰兒，

我會將其夷平，繼而再度升空。

——P.B·雪萊