The Messenger By ROBERT W. CHAMBERS

 Little gray messenger,

 

Robed like painted Death,

 

Your robe is dust.

 

Whom do you seek

 

Among lilies and closed buds

 

At dusk?

 

Among lilies and closed buds

 

At dusk,

 

Whom do you seek,

 

Little gray messenger,

 

Robed in the awful panoply¹

 

Of painted Death?

 

R.W.C.

 

From The Mystery of Choice, by Robert W. Chambers². Published, 1897, by D. Appleton and Company. Copyright by Robert W. Chambers. By permission of Robert W. Chambers.

 

All-wise,

 

Hast thou seen all there is to see with thy two eyes?

 

Dost thou know all there is to know, and so,

 

Omniscient³,

 

Darest thou still to say thy brother lies?

 

R.W.C.

1 panoply   

n.全副甲胄，礼服

参考例句：

• But all they had added was the trappings and panoply of applied science.但是他们所增添的一切,不过是实用科学的装饰和甲胄罢了。
• The lakes were surrounded By a panoply of mountains.群湖为壮丽的群山所环抱。

2 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

3 omniscient   

adj.无所不知的；博识的

参考例句：

• He's nervous when trying to potray himself as omniscient.当他试图把自己描绘得无所不知时，内心其实很紧张。
• Christians believe that God is omniscient.基督教徒相信上帝是无所不知的。