THE BEGINNING

 "WHERE have I come from, where did you pick me up?" the baby asked its mother.

 

She answered half crying, half laughing, and clasping the baby to her breast,-- "You were hidden in my heart as its desire, my darling.

 

You were in the dolls of my childhood's games; and when with clay I made the image of my god every morning, I made and unmade you then.

 

You were enshrined with our household deity¹, in his worship I worshipped you.

 

In all my hopes and my loves, in my life, in the life of my mother you have lived.

 

In the lap of the deathless Spirit who rules our home you have been nursed for ages.

 

When in girlhood my heart was opening its petals², you hovered³ as a fragrance⁴ about it.

 

Your tender softness bloomed in my youthful limbs, like a glow in the sky before the sunrise.

 

Heaven's first darling, twin-born with the morning light, you have floated down the stream of the world's life, and at last you have stranded⁵ on my heart.

 

As I gaze on your face, mystery overwhelms me; you who belong to all have become mine.

 

For fear of losing you I hold you tight to my breast. What magic has snared⁶ the world's treasure in these slender arms of mine?"

1 deity   

n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)

参考例句：

• Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。
• The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

2 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

4 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

5 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

6 snared   

v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He snared a job with IBM. 他以巧妙的手段在 IBM 公司谋得一职。 来自辞典例句
• The hunter snared a skunk. 猎人捕得一只臭鼬。 来自辞典例句