In Our Old Street

 WE children played in a queer old street

That persistently¹ seemed to hide,

Itself and us in a kindly² way

From the great wide world outside.

And how we loved in our childishness

God’s work on the sea and land.

But death was secretive, dark and deep,

And never showed us his hand.

With awe³ we gazed on his work, sad work

And the flutter of ribbons white,

Made us all catch hands, hold our breath and sob⁴

In our restless dreams at night.

When a baby came to our queer old street

So downy and vague and new,

We tiptoed out of the soft, dark room,

And the mystery grew and grew.

But many things we have learned since then

For life has a strange sad way,{53}

We left the hills and the queer old street

Where we used to shout and play.

One of the things we have learned is this:

Tho’ death rides around rough shod,

Back of our births and our deaths and our loves

Is the all-kind heart of GOD.

1 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

2 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

3 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。