Black shadows fall

一株株高大椴树

From the lindens tall,

洒下浓黑的阴影，

That lift aloft their massive wall

把厚厚实实的屏障

Against the southern sky;

擎举在南国天穹。

And from the realms

从幽幽榆树林里

Of the shadowy elms

涌来了沉沉夜色，

A tide-like darkness overwhelms

好像升腾的潮水

The fields that round us lie.

把四周原野淹没。

But the night is fair,

夜景秀丽而清明，

And everywhere

水汽温和又柔润，

A warm, soft vapor fills the air,

弥漫在处处空中，

And distant sounds seem near;

远处的声音也迫近。

And above, in the light

亮着点点繁星的

Of the star-lit night,

夜空淡淡微光里，

Swift birds of passage wing their flight

疾飞的候鸟掠过了

Through the dewy atmosphere.

饱含露水的空气。

I hear the beat

我听见它们拍击着

Of their pinions fleet,

急速如风的翅翼，

As from the land of snow and sleet

从雪霰纷飞的北国，

They seek a southern lea.

来寻觅南方的草地。

I hear the cry

我听见它们啼鸣，

Of their voices high

这轻柔悦耳的鸣声

Falling dreamily through the sky,

从天穹飘落人间，

But their forms I cannot see.

却不见它们的形影。

O, say not so!

哦！不要这样讲！

Those sounds that flow

这些喁喁的音响

In murmurs of delight and woe

有欢乐也有悲伤，

Come not from wings of birds.

并非鸟儿的歌唱。

They are the throngs

这些音响是诗人

Of the poet's songs,

纷纭繁复的歌曲，

Murmurs of pleasures, and pains, and wrongs,

喜悦、痛苦的倾诉，

The sound of wingèd words.

长着翅膀的言语。

This is the cry

这是灵魂的呼声；

Of souls, that high

灵魂在高空飞翥，

On toiling, beating pinions, fly,

辛劳的双翅拍击着，

Seeking a warmer clime.

寻觅温暖的去处。

From their distant flight

当灵魂远道飞行，

Through realms of light

掠过光明的国境，

It falls into our world of night,

这呼声，以诗的韵律，

With the murmuring sound of rhyme.

向我们夜世界降临。