Chapter 22

The Floods

The rain it rains without a stay
??In the hills above us, in the hills;
And presently the floods break way
??Whose strength is in the hills.
The trees they suck from every cloud,
The valley brooks¹ they roar aloud —
Bank-high for the lowlands, lowlands,
??Lowlands under the hills!

The first wood down is sere² and small,
??From the hills, the brishings off the hills;
And then come by the bats and all
??We cut last year in the hills;
And then the roots we tried to cleave³
But found too tough and had to leave —
Polting through the lowlands, lowlands,
??Lowlands under the hills!

The eye shall look, the ear shall hark
??To the hills, the doings in the hills,
And rivers mating in the dark
??With tokens from the hills.
Now what is weak will surely go,
And what is strong must prove it so.
Stand fast in the lowlands, lowlands,
??Lowlands under the hills!

The floods they shall not be afraid —
??Nor the hills above ’em, nor the hills —
Of any fence which man has made
??Betwixt him and the hills.
The waters shall not reckon twice
For any work of man’s device,
But bid it down to the lowlands, lowlands,
??Lowlands under the hills!

The floods shall sweep corruption⁴ clean —
??By the hills, the blessing⁵ of the hills —
That more the meadows may be green
??New-amended from the hills.
The crops and cattle shall increase,
Nor little children shall not cease —
Go — plough the lowlands, lowlands,
??Lowlands under the hills!

1 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sere   

adj.干枯的；n.演替系列

参考例句：

• The desert was edged with sere vegetation.沙漠周围零星地长着一些干枯的植被。
• A sere on uncovered rock is a lithosere.在光秃岩石上的演替系列是岩生演替系列。

3 cleave   

v．(clave；cleaved)粘着，粘住；坚持；依恋

参考例句：

• It examines how the decision to quit gold or to cleave to it affected trade policies.论文分析了放弃或坚持金本位是如何影响贸易政策的。
• Those who cleave to the latter view include many conservative American politicians.坚持后一种观点的大多是美国的保守派政客。

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。