V "O Pearl," I said, "in pearls bedight

 "O Pearl," I said, "in pearls bedight,

Art thou my pearl for which I mourn,

Lamenting¹ all alone at night?

With hidden grief my heart is worn.

Since thou through grass didst slip from sight,

Pensive² and pained, I pass forlorn,

And thou livest in a life of light,

A world where enters sin nor scorn.

What fate has hither my jewel borne,

And left me in earth's strife³ and stir?

Oh, sweet, since we in twain were torn,

I have been a joyless jeweler."

That Jewel then with gems⁵ besprent

Glanced up at me with eyes of grey,

Put on her pearl crown orient,

And soberly began to say:

"You tell your tale with wrong intent,

Thinking your pearl gone quite away.

Like a jewel within a coffer pent,

In this gracious garden bright and gay,

Your pearl may ever dwell at play,

Where sin nor mourning come to her;

It were a joy to thee alway

Wert thou a gentle jeweler.

"But, Jeweler, if thou dost lose

Thy joy for a gem⁴ once dear to thee,

Methinks thou dost thy mind abuse,

Bewildered by a fantasy;

Thou hast lost nothing save a rose

That flowered and failed by life's decree:

Because the coffer did round it close,

A precious pearl it came to be.

A thief thou hast dubbed⁶ thy destiny

That something for nothing gives thee, sir;

Thou blamest thy sorrow's remedy,

Thou art no grateful jeweler."

Like jewels did her story fall,

A jewel, every gentle clause;

"Truly," I said, "thou best of all!

My great distress⁷ thy voice withdraws.

I thought my pearl lost past recall,

My jewel shut within earth's jaws⁸;

But now I shall keep festival,

And dwell with it in bright wood-shaws;

And love my Lord and all His laws,

Who hath brought this bliss⁹. Ah! if I were

Beyond these waves, I should have cause

To be a joyful¹⁰ jeweler."

"Jeweler," said that Gem so dear,

"Why jest ye men, so mad ye be?

Three sayings thou hast spoken clear,

And unconsidered were all three;

Their meaning thou canst not come near,

Thy word before thy thought doth flee.

First, thou believest me truly here,

Because with eyes thou mayst me see;

Second, with me in this country

Thou wilt¹¹ dwell, whatever may deter¹²;

Third, that to cross here thou art free:

That may no joyful jeweler."

1 lamenting   

adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Katydids were lamenting fall's approach. 蝈蝈儿正为秋天临近而哀鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept. 她正在吃后悔药呢，后悔自己没有毁了那张字条，把钱昧下来！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

2 pensive   

a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的

参考例句：

• He looked suddenly sombre,pensive.他突然看起来很阴郁，一副忧虑的样子。
• He became so pensive that she didn't like to break into his thought.他陷入沉思之中,她不想打断他的思路。

3 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

4 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。

5 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

6 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

8 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

9 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

10 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

11 wilt   

v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱

参考例句：

• Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered.金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
• Several sleepless nights made him wilt.数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。

12 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。