LADY WIFE

 AH yes, I know you well, a sojourner¹

         At the hearth²;

     I know right well the marriage ring you wear,

         And what it's worth.

 

     The angels came to Abraham, and they stayed

         In his house awhile;

     So you to mine, I imagine; yes, happily

         Condescend to be vile³.

 

     I see you all the time, you bird-blithe⁴, lovely

         Angel in disguise.

     I see right well how I ought to be grateful,

         Smitten with reverent⁵ surprise.

 

     Listen, I have no use

         For so rare a visit;

     Mine is a common devil's

         Requisite.

 

     Rise up and go, I have no use for you

         And your blithe, glad mien⁶.

     No angels here, for me no goddesses,

         Nor any Queen.

 

     Put ashes on your head, put sackcloth on

         And learn to serve.

     You have fed me with your sweetness, now I am sick,

         As I deserve.

 

     Queens, ladies, angels, women rare,

         I have had enough.

     Put sackcloth on, be crowned with powdery ash,

         Be common stuff.

 

     And serve now woman, serve, as a woman should,

         Implicitly.

     Since I must serve and struggle with the imminent⁷

         Mystery.

 

     Serve then, I tell you, add your strength to mine

         Take on this doom⁸.

     What are you by yourself, do you think, and what

         The mere⁹ fruit of your womb?

 

     What is the fruit of your womb then, you mother,

           you queen,

         When it falls to the ground?

     Is it more than the apples of Sodom you scorn so,

           the men

        Who abound¹⁰?

 

     Bring forth¹¹ the sons of your womb then, and put

           them

         Into the fire

     Of Sodom that covers the earth; bring them forth

         From the womb of your precious desire.

 

     You woman most holy, you mother, you being

           beyond

         Question or diminution¹²,

     Add yourself up, and your seed, to the nought¹³

         Of your last solution.

 

1 sojourner   

n.旅居者，寄居者

参考例句：

• The sojourner has been in Wales for two weeks. 那个寄居者在威尔士已经逗留了两个星期。 来自互联网
• A sojourner or a hired servant shall not eat of it. 出12:45寄居的、和雇工人、都不可吃。 来自互联网

2 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

3 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

4 blithe   

adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的

参考例句：

• Tonight,however,she was even in a blithe mood than usual.但是，今天晚上她比往常还要高兴。
• He showed a blithe indifference to her feelings.他显得毫不顾及她的感情。

5 reverent   

adj.恭敬的，虔诚的

参考例句：

• He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
• She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。

6 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。

7 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

8 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

9 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

10 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 diminution   

n.减少；变小

参考例句：

• They hope for a small diminution in taxes.他们希望捐税能稍有减少。
• He experienced no diminution of his physical strength.他并未感觉体力衰落。

13 nought   

n.／adj.无，零

参考例句：

• We must bring their schemes to nought.我们必须使他们的阴谋彻底破产。
• One minus one leaves nought.一减一等于零。