The Long Twilight

 WHEN “Pop” is bald, and my hair is white,

And the stage is set, for a long twilight¹;

When we are alone in our little den²

He with his pipe and I with my pen,

’Twill not be regrets that make us sigh

For we will have things that the world can’t buy.

For we have snatched from the mirth mad throng³

A little of love and a deathless song.

A few glad dreams and our tho’ts all white,

The silence of God, in the long twilight.

When “Pop” is bald and my hair is white,

And we’re nearing the end of the long twilight,

’Twill not seem cold in the darksome wood

For we have been friends with solitude⁴.

And often yearned⁵ in the shadows cold

For the friendly smiles the gods withold.

Hearts all the braver for the feel of pain,

For a rose grows sweeter every time it rains.{32}

A few glad notes from a comrade’s song

We’ll sing in the night as we go along.

For we carry the blossoms a frost ne’er blights⁶

And we’ll have no morning till we’ve said goodnight.

 

1 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

2 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

3 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

4 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

5 yearned   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people yearned for peace. 人民渴望和平。
• She yearned to go back to the south. 她渴望回到南方去。

6 blights   

使凋萎( blight的第三人称单数 )； 使颓丧； 损害； 妨害

参考例句：

• The crops suffered from frequent blights. 农作物经常遭受病虫害。
• New England was accustomed to didacticism in its literature, and unmitigated didacticism blights the novel. 新英格兰习惯于在文学里说教，可是一味说教，小说就要完蛋。