THE FURTHER BANK

 I LONG to go over there to the further bank of the river,

 

Where those boats are tied to the bamboo poles in a line;

 

Where men cross over in their boats in the morning with ploughs on their shoulders to till their far-away fields;

 

Where the cowherds make their lowing cattle swim across to the riverside pasture;

 

Whence they all come back home in the evening, leaving the jackals to howl in the island overgrown with weeds,

 

Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of the ferry when I am grown up.

 

They say there are strange pools hidden behind that high bank,

 

Where flocks of wild ducks come when the rains are over, and thick reeds grow round the margins¹ where waterbirds lay their eggs;

 

Where snipes with their dancing tails stamp their tiny footprints upon the clean soft mud;

 

Where in the evening the tall grasses crested² with white flowers invite the moonbeam to float upon their waves.

 

Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of the ferryboat when I am grown up.

 

I shall cross and cross back from bank to bank, and all the boys and girls of the village will wonder at me while they are bathing.

 

When the sun climbs the mid³ sky and morning wears on to noon, I shall come running to you, saying, "Mother, I am hungry!"

 

When the day is done and the shadows cower⁴ under the trees, I shall come back in the dusk.

 

I shall never go away from you into the town to work like father.

 

Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of the ferryboat when I am grown up.

1 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

2 crested   

adj.有顶饰的，有纹章的，有冠毛的v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的过去式和过去分词 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点

参考例句：

• a great crested grebe 凤头䴙䴘
• The stately mansion crested the hill. 庄严的大厦位于山顶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

4 cower   

v.畏缩，退缩，抖缩

参考例句：

• I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.我决不会在任何一位大师面前发抖，也不会为任何恐吓所屈服。
• Will the Chinese cower before difficulties when they are not afraid even of death?中国人死都不怕，还怕困难吗？