LOGGERHEADS

 PLEASE yourself how you have it.

     Take my words, and fling

     Them down on the counter roundly;

     See if they ring.

 

     Sift my looks and expressions,

     And see what proportion there is

     Of sand in my doubtful sugar

     Of verities¹.

 

     Have a real stock-taking

     Of my manly² breast;

     Find out if I'm sound or bankrupt,

     Or a poor thing at best.

 

     For I am quite indifferent

     To your dubious³ state,

     As to whether you've found a fortune

     In me, or a flea-bitten fate.

 

     Make a good investigation⁴

     Of all that is there,

     And then, if it's worth it, be grateful—

     If not then despair.

 

     If despair is our portion

     Then let us despair.

     Let us make for the weeping willow⁵.

     I don't care.

 

1 verities   

n.真实( verity的名词复数 )；事实；真理；真实的陈述

参考例句：

• the eternal verities of life 生命永恒的真理

2 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

3 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

4 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

5 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。