I Pearl that the Prince full well might prize

 Pearl that the Prince full well might prize,

So surely set in shining gold!

No pearl of Orient with her vies;

To prove her peerless I make bold:

So round, so radiant to mine eyes,

smooth she seemed, so small to hold,

Among all jewels judges wise

Would count her best an hundred fold.

Alas¹! I lost my pearl of old!

I pine with heart-pain unforgot;

Down through my arbour grass it rolled,

My own pearl, precious, without spot.

Since in that spot it slipped from me

I wait, and wish, and oft complain;

Once it would bid my sorrow flee,

And my fair fortune turn again;

It wounds my heart now ceaselessly,

And burns my breast with bitter pain.

Yet never so sweet a song may be

As, this still hour, steals through my brain,

While verity² I muse³ in vain

How clay should her bright beauty clot⁴;

O Earth! a brave gem⁵ thou dost stain,

My own pearl, precious, without spot!

Needs must that spot with spices spread,

Where such wealth falleth to decay;

Fair flowers, golden and blue and red,

Shine in the sunlight day by day;

Nor flower nor fruit have witherèd

On turf wherein such treasure lay;

The blade grows where the grain lies dead,

Else were no ripe wheat stored away;

Of good come good things, so we say,

Then surely such seed faileth not,

But spices spring in sweet array

From my pearl, precious, without spot.

Once, to that spot of which I rhyme,

I entered, in the arbour green,

In August, the high summer-time

When corn is cut with sickles⁶ keen;

Upon the mound⁷ where my pearl fell,

Tall, shadowing herbs grew bright and sheen,

Gilliflower, ginger⁸ and gromwell,

With peonies powdered all between.

As it was lovely to be seen,

So sweet the fragrance⁹ there, I wot,

Worthy¹⁰ her dwelling¹¹ who hath been

My own pearl, precious, without spot.

Upon that spot my hands I crossed

In prayer, for cold at my heart caught,

And sudden sorrow surged and tossed,

Though reason reconcilement sought.

I mourned my pearl, dear beyond cost,

And strange fears with my fancy fought;

My will in wretchedness was lost,

And yet Christ comforted my thought.

Such odours to my sense were brought,

I fell upon that flowery plot,

Sleeping,—a sleep with dreams inwrought

Of my pearl, precious, without spot.

1 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

2 verity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• Human's mission lies in exploring verity bravely.人的天职在勇于探索真理。
• How to guarantee the verity of the financial information disclosed by listed companies? 如何保证上市公司财务信息披露真实性?

3 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。

4 clot   

n.凝块；v.使凝成块

参考例句：

• Platelets are one of the components required to make blood clot.血小板是血液凝固的必须成分之一。
• The patient's blood refused to clot.病人的血液无法凝结。

5 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

6 sickles   

n.镰刀( sickle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Sickles and reaping hooks were used for cutting the crops. 镰刀和收割钩被用来收庄稼。 来自互联网
• Being short of sickles, they are reaping by hand. 由于缺少镰刀，他们在徒手收割庄稼。 来自互联网

7 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

8 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

9 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

10 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

11 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。