Chatper 72

 Two Poems from an Ashram in India

First

All this talk of nectar and bliss¹ is starting to piss me off.

I don't know about you, my friend,but my path to God ain't no sweet waft² of incense³.

It's a cat set loose in a pigeon pen,and I'm the cat--but also them who yell like hell when they get pinned. 

My path to God is a worker's uprising,won't be peace till they unionize.

Their picket⁴ is so fearsomethe National Guard won't go near them.

My path was beaten unconscious before me,by a small brown man I never got to see,who chased God through India, shin-deep in mud,barefoot and famined, malarial⁵ blood,sleeping in doorways⁶, under bridges--a hobo.

(Which is short for "homeward bound," you know)And he now chases me, saying: "Got it yet, Liz?

What HOMEWARD means? What BOUND really is?"Second 

However.

If they'd let me wear pants made out of thefresh-mown grass from this place,I'd do it.

If they'd let me make outwith every single Eucalyptus⁷ tree in Ganesh's Grove,I swear, I'd do it.

I've sweated out dew these days,worked out the dregs,rubbed my chin on tree bark,mistaking it for my master's leg.

I can't get far enough in.

If they'd let me eat the soil of this placeserved on a bed of birds' nests,I'd finish only half my plate,Then sleep all night on the rest.

1 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。

2 waft   

v.飘浮，飘荡；n.一股；一阵微风；飘荡

参考例句：

• The bubble maker is like a sword that you waft in the air.吹出泡泡的东西就像你在空中挥舞的一把剑。
• When she just about fall over,a waft of fragrance makes her stop.在她差点跌倒时，一股幽香让她停下脚步。

3 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

4 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

5 malarial   

患疟疾的，毒气的

参考例句：

• Malarial poison had sallowed his skin. 疟疾病毒使他皮肤成灰黄色。
• Standing water like this gives malarial mosquitoes the perfect place to breed. 像这样的死水给了传染疟疾的蚊子绝佳的繁殖地点。

6 doorways   

n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群，从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
• He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句

7 eucalyptus   

n.桉树，桉属植物

参考例句：

• Eucalyptus oil is good for easing muscular aches and pains.桉树油可以很好地缓解肌肉的疼痛。
• The birds rustled in the eucalyptus trees.鸟在桉树弄出沙沙的响声。