FROST FLOWERS

      IT is not long since, here among all these folk

     in London, I should have held myself

     of no account whatever,

     but should have stood aside and made them way

     thinking that they, perhaps,

     had more right than I—for who was I?

 

     Now I see them just the same, and watch them.

     But of what account do I hold them?

 

     Especially the young women. I look at them

     as they dart¹ and flash

     before the shops, like wagtails on the edge of a

         pool.

 

     If I pass them close, or any man,

     like sharp, slim wagtails they flash a little aside

     pretending to avoid us; yet all the time

     calculating.

 

     They think that we adore them—alas, would it

         were true!

 

     Probably they think all men adore them,

     howsoever they pass by.

 

     What is it, that, from their faces fresh as spring,

     such fair, fresh, alert, first-flower faces,

     like lavender crocuses, snowdrops, like Roman

         hyacinths,

     scyllas and yellow-haired hellebore, jonquils, dim

         anemones,

     even the sulphur auriculas,

     flowers that come first from the darkness, and feel

         cold to the touch,

     flowers scentless³ or pungent⁴, ammoniacal almost;

     what is it, that, from the faces of the fair young

         women

     comes like a pungent scent², a vibration⁵ beneath

     that startles me, alarms me, stirs up a repulsion?

 

     They are the issue of acrid⁶ winter, these first-

         flower young women;

     their scent is lacerating and repellant,

     it smells of burning snow, of hot-ache,

     of earth, winter-pressed, strangled in corruption⁷;

     it is the scent of the fiery-cold dregs of corruption,

     when destruction soaks through the mortified⁸,

         decomposing earth,

     and the last fires of dissolution burn in the bosom⁹

         of the ground.

 

     They are the flowers of ice-vivid mortification¹⁰,

     thaw-cold, ice-corrupt blossoms,

     with a loveliness I loathe¹¹;

     for what kind of ice-rotten, hot-aching heart

         must they need to root in!

 

1 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

2 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

3 scentless   

adj.无气味的，遗臭已消失的

参考例句：

4 pungent   

adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a pungent style.文章写得泼辣。
• Its pungent smell can choke terrorists and force them out of their hideouts.它的刺激性气味会令恐怖分子窒息，迫使他们从藏身地点逃脱出来。

5 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

6 acrid   

adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的

参考例句：

• There is an acrid tone to your remarks.你说这些话的口气带有讥刺意味。
• The room was filled with acrid smoke.房里充满刺鼻的烟。

7 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。

8 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

10 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

11 loathe   

v.厌恶，嫌恶

参考例句：

• I loathe the smell of burning rubber.我厌恶燃着的橡胶散发的气味。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。