Sea waves are green and wet,
But up from where they die,
Rise others vaster yet,
And those are brown and dry.
They are the sea made land
To come at the fisher town,
And bury in solid sand
The men she could not drown.
She may know cove and cape,
But she does not know mankind
If by any change of shape,
She hopes to cut off mind.
Men left her a ship to sink:
They can leave her a hut as well;
And be but more free to think
For the one more cast-off shell.
海浪潮湿碧綠,
从它消亡的地方,
升起更巨大的波浪,
却成干燥而又棕黄。
那是用海建成的陆地,
向打鱼的小镇推移,
把未能淹死的人们
掩埋在结实的沙丘里。
她可能熟悉海湾和海角,
却无法对人类完全明了,
即使她想用变形的法子,
来打断人们的思考。
人们给她一条船去沉没,
也能给她一栋屋去摧毁;
在海里再扔一个海贝,
让思绪更自由地腾飞。
作者简介
罗伯特·弗罗斯特(1874—1963),20世纪美国最杰出的诗人之一,作品以朴素、深邃著称。他曾四次获得普利策奖,被称为“美国文学中的桂冠诗人”。