Before this Little Gift was Come

BEFORE this little gift was come

The little owner had made haste for home;

And from the door of where the eternal dwell,

Looked back on human things and smiled farewell.

O may this grief remain the only one!

O may our house be still a garrison¹

Of smiling children, and for evermore

The tune² of little feet be heard along the floor!

1 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。