ROSE OF ALL THE WORLD

  I AM here myself; as though this heave of effort

     At starting other life, fulfilled my own:

     Rose-leaves that whirl in colour round a core

     Of seed-specks kindled¹ lately and softly blown

 

     By all the blood of the rose-bush into being—

     Strange, that the urgent will in me, to set

     My mouth on hers in kisses, and so softly

     To bring together two strange sparks, beget²

 

     Another life from our lives, so should send

     The innermost fire of my own dim soul out-

        spinning

     And whirling in blossom of flame and being upon

        me!

     That my completion of manhood should be the

        beginning

 

     Another life from mine! For so it looks.

     The seed is purpose, blossom accident.

     The seed is all in all, the blossom lent

     To crown the triumph of this new descent.

 

     Is that it, woman? Does it strike you so?

     The Great Breath blowing a tiny seed of fire

     Fans out your petals³ for excess of flame,

     Till all your being smokes with fine desire?

 

     Or are we kindled, you and I, to be

     One rose of wonderment upon the tree

     Of perfect life, and is our possible seed

     But the residuum of the ecstasy⁴?

 

     How will you have it?—the rose is all in all,

     Or the ripe rose-fruits of the luscious⁵ fall?

     The sharp begetting⁶, or the child begot⁷?

     Our consummation matters, or does it not?

 

     To me it seems the seed is just left over

     From the red rose-flowers' fiery⁸ transience;

     Just orts and slarts; berries that smoulder in the

        bush

     Which burnt just now with marvellous immanence.

 

     Blossom, my darling, blossom, be a rose

     Of roses unchidden and purposeless; a rose

     For rosiness⁹ only, without an ulterior motive¹⁰;

     For me it is more than enough if the flower un-

        close.

     A YOUTH MOWING¹¹

 

     THERE are four men mowing down by the Isar;

     I can hear the swish of the scythe-strokes, four

     Sharp breaths taken: yea, and I

     Am sorry for what's in store.

 

     The first man out of the four that's mowing

     Is mine, I claim him once and for all;

     Though it's sorry I am, on his young feet, knowing

     None of the trouble he's led to stall.

 

     As he sees me bringing the dinner, he lifts

     His head as proud as a deer that looks

     Shoulder-deep out of the corn; and wipes

     His scythe-blade bright, unhooks

 

     The scythe-stone and over the stubble to me.

     Lad, thou hast gotten a child in me,

     Laddie, a man thou'lt ha'e to be,

     Yea, though I'm sorry for thee.

1 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

2 beget   

v.引起；产生

参考例句：

• Dragons beget dragons,phoenixes beget phoenixes.龙生龙，凤生凤。
• Economic tensions beget political ones.经济紧张导致政治紧张。

3 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》

4 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

5 luscious   

adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的

参考例句：

• The watermelon was very luscious.Everyone wanted another slice.西瓜很可口，每个人都想再来一片。
• What I like most about Gabby is her luscious lips!我最喜欢的是盖比那性感饱满的双唇！

6 begetting   

v.为…之生父( beget的现在分词 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• It was widely believed that James' early dissipations had left him incapable of begetting a son. 人们普通认为，詹姆士早年生活放荡，致使他不能生育子嗣。 来自辞典例句
• That best form became the next parent, begetting other mutations. 那个最佳形态成为下一个父代，带来其他变异。 来自互联网

7 begot   

v.为…之生父( beget的过去式 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• He begot three children. 他生了三个子女。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cush also begot Nimrod who was the first man of might on earth. 卡什还生了尼姆罗德，尼姆罗德是世上第一个力大无穷的人。 来自辞典例句

8 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

9 rosiness   

n.玫瑰色；淡红色；光明；有希望

参考例句：

• There is a kind of musical-comedy rosiness about the novel. 那本小说有一种音乐喜剧的愉快气氛。 来自辞典例句
• She was flushed like the dawn, with a kind of luminous rosiness all about her. 她满脸象朝霞一样的通红，浑身上下有一种玫瑰色的光彩。 来自辞典例句

10 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

11 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说