Two Roads

 THERE are two roads near Joppa town

And here I doubting stood,

For one went winding¹ round the hill

The other thru the wood.

And if I took the winding road

’Twould lead me thru the mall,

Of noise and gossipers for which

I have no heart at all.

Sweet briar nodded from the hill,

The blue bells from the shade.

A purple finch² decided³ me,

So in the wood I stayed.

A brooding bird and restless young,

Began to chide⁴ and fret⁵.

And wonder in bird fashion what

I ever came to get.

A green snake ran across my path

Its eyes were jewel small.

A flying squirrel left a tree,

That seemed ten paces tall.{13}

I picked a fern that had uncurled

Itself from out the ground.

And O! the wood delighted me,

The way it stood around.

And there were holy moments when

My very soul went still.

And sad I was for folks who took

The road around the hill.

And when I left the sancted place,

My arms were loaded down.

It cost me not one pang⁶ to shun⁷,

The road to Joppa town.

1 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

2 finch   

n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等)

参考例句：

• This behaviour is commonly observed among several species of finch.这种行为常常可以在几种雀科鸣禽中看到。
• In Australia,it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch.在澳大利亚，它主要还是被称之为胡锦雀。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 chide   

v.叱责；谴责

参考例句：

• However,they will chide you if you try to speak French.然而，如果你试图讲法语，就会遭到他们的责骂。
• He thereupon privately chide his wife for her forwardness in the matter.于是他私下责备他的妻子，因为她对这种事热心。

5 fret   

v.(使)烦恼；(使)焦急；(使)腐蚀，(使)磨损

参考例句：

• Don't fret.We'll get there on time.别着急，我们能准时到那里。
• She'll fret herself to death one of these days.她总有一天会愁死的.

6 pang   

n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷

参考例句：

• She experienced a sharp pang of disappointment.她经历了失望的巨大痛苦。
• She was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love.她开始尝到了失恋的痛苦。

7 shun   

vt.避开，回避，避免

参考例句：

• Materialists face truth,whereas idealists shun it.唯物主义者面向真理，唯心主义者则逃避真理。
• This extremist organization has shunned conventional politics.这个极端主义组织有意避开了传统政治。