[郊外的雪]

場景，冬天，
色彩，鮮明。

每根枝幹都隨之而粗大，
每束枝椏都隨之而彎折；
每個樹叉都象白色的蹼爪；
每條街道都因此而緘默：
有些飄灑道上的雪花，又摸索上升，
遇蜿蜒而降的同夥它們又迴轉下落。
木柵被膠粘在一起活象一堵牆，
並沒有風伴這羊毛似的雪飛落。

一隻麻雀鑽進了樹冠，
很快地就在樹上站妥，
一團雪竟以其瘦弱身軀，
三番飛臨襲擊了它的頭臉和眼窩，
並且掀翻了它，
又幾乎將它埋沒，
當它拂去了飛撲連打的雪團，
又在地面一枝椏上跌落。

台階成了白色的斜坡，
坡上，懷着微弱希望，
爬上一隻黑貓，大眼圓睜而羸瘦；
我們把它帶進到寒舍。

Snow in the Suburbs

scene, winter,
color, contrast

Every branch big with it,
Bent every twig with it;
Every fork like a white web-foot;
Every street and pavement mute:
Some flakes have lost their way, and grope back upward, when
Meeting those meandering down they turn and descend again.
The palings are glued together like a wall,
And there is no waft of wind with the fleecy fall.

A sparrow enters the tree,
Whereon immediately
A snow-lump thrice his own slight size
Descends on him and showers his head and eyes,
And overturns him,
And near inurns him,
And lights on a nether twig, when its brush
Starts off a volley of other lodging lumps with a rush.

The steps are a blanched slope,
Up which, with feeble hope,
A black cat comes, wide-eyed and thin;
And we take him in.

[牛群]

聖誕前夜，十二點，
“現在它們都跪倒在地，”
一位長者說，當我們坐成一群
在爐火的餘燼旁舒享安逸。

我們描繪那些溫順的生命
安居在它們的稻草棚里，
我們當中沒有誰產生懷疑
它們當時正跪在那裡。

如此美妙的幻想實在少見
在這些年裡！可，我感覺，
假若有人在聖誕前夜提議，
“來呀，去看牛群正跪着呢，

在我們童年熟知常去的
那峽谷小溪邊寂靜的農場裡，”
我定會以真切之情
在昏暗中與他同去。

The Oxen

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
"Now they are all on their knees,"
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.

We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen,
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.

So fair a fancy few would weave
In these years! Yet, I feel,
If someone said on Christmas Eve,
"Come; see the oxen kneel,

"In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know,"
I should go with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.

---By Thomas Hardy (1840-1925)

托馬斯.哈代，英國著名作家，著有小說[德伯家的苔絲]，[卡斯特橋市長]等