To the Cuckoo
O blithe new-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice?
While I am lying on the grass
Thy twofold shout I hear;
From hill to hill it seems to pass
At once far off, and near.
Though babbling only to the Vale,
Of sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours.
Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even ye thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
A voice a mystery;
The same whom in my schoolboy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky.
To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the GREen;
And thou wert still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen.
And I can listen to thee yet;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again.
O blessed Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for thee!
致布谷鸟 啊,快乐的新客! 听到你啭鸣,我满怀喜悦; 啊,布谷,是否称你为鸟? 或为妙音,回荡清越? 当我躺在草地上, 听到你的二重唱: 似从这山传到那山, 似在近旁,又在远方。 你的歌声在山谷回荡, 伴着繁华和阳光; 你还把我带到 追忆往事的幻想。 我再三地欢迎 你是阳春的先行。 在我眼中,你可不是鸟, 而是无形的神奇之音。 想当年我还是小学生, 曾倾听同样的鸣声; 我千方百计寻找, 从天上到丛林。 我时常漫游,为了找你, 踩着草地,穿过密林; 如今仍在期待,虽不眼见, 你仍是希望,是恋情。 此刻我躺在平原, 你的歌声仍能听见。 我专心谛听, 直到召回金色的童年。 我们栖息的大地 又显得空灵而神奇; 这是你安家的福地, 啊, 快乐的鸟儿,祝福你!