Broken Numbers

 AMYSTERY puzzled and vexed¹ me,

Unsolvable, strange and deep.

Perplexed² and worn out in spirit

It followed me into my sleep.

Then with eyes that were heavy with dreaming

I drifted from darkness to dawn.

For the raindrops scattered³ my shadows

With numbers of broken song.

I thought of the heavy mystery

That troubled me yesterday,

It seemed I never could solve it

Or drive it completely away.

And I thought of the thousands of moments

When each, to oneself stands alone,

Thrown back on oneself for the answer

The answer that never comes home.

As I pondered each sad broken number

The raindrops made on the pane⁴,

The shine came to me, came in bundles,

For I heard the song in the rain.{59}

Shine is a guest we have often

Grief being seldom is great.

I have no quarrel with mystery

I have no quarrel with fate.

1 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

3 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

4 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。