There Was a Child Went Forth Every Day

There was a child went forth every day,

And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became,

And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,

Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

The early lilacs became part of this child,

And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird,

And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf,

And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pond-side,

And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there, and the beautiful curious liquid,

And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him.

The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him,

Winter-grain sprouts and those of the light-yellow corn, and the esculent roots of the garden,

And the apple-trees cover'd with blossoms and the fruit afterward, and wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road,

And the old drunkard staggering home from the outhouse of the tavern whence he had lately risen,

And the schoolmistress that pass'd on her way to the school,

And the friendly boys that pass'd, and the quarrelsome boys,

And the tidy and fresh-cheek'd girls, and the barefoot negro boy and girl,

And all the changes of city and country wherever he went.

His own parents, he that had father'd him and she that had conceiv'd

him in her womb and birth'd him,

They gave this child more of themselves than that,

They gave him afterward every day, they became part of him.

The mother at home quietly placing the dishes on the supper-table,

The mother with mild words, clean her cap and gown, a wholesome odor falling off her person and clothes as she walks by,

The father, strong, self-sufficient, manly, mean, anger'd, unjust,

The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure,

The family usages, the language, the company, the furniture, the yearning and swelling heart,

Affection that will not be gainsay'd, the sense of what is real, the thought if after all it should prove unreal,

The doubts of day-time and the doubts of night-time, the curious whether and how,

Whether that which appears so is so, or is it all flashes and specks?

Men and women crowding fast in the streets, if they are not flashes and specks what are they?

The streets themselves and the facades of houses, and goods in the windows,

Vehicles, teams, the heavy-plank'd wharves, the huge crossing at the ferries,

The village on the highland seen from afar at sunset, the river between,

Shadows, aureola and mist, the light falling on roofs and gables of white or brown two miles off,

The schooner near by sleepily dropping down the tide, the little boat slack-tow'd astern,

The hurrying tumbling waves, quick-broken crests, slapping,

The strata of color'd clouds, the long bar of maroon-tint away

solitary by itself, the spread of purity it lies motionless in,

The horizon's edge, the flying sea-crow, the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud,

These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.

有個(gè)天天向前走的孩子谢床，

他只要觀(guān)看某一個(gè)東西饰豺，他就變成了那個(gè)東西，

在當(dāng)天或當(dāng)天某個(gè)時(shí)候那個(gè)對(duì)象就成為他的一部分富拗，

或者繼續(xù)許多年或一個(gè)個(gè)世紀(jì)連綿不已。

早開(kāi)的丁香曾成為這個(gè)孩子的一部分，

青草和紅的白的牽攀竟花，紅的白的三葉草呵萨，鹟鳥(niǎo)的歌聲奏属，

以及三月的羔羊和母豬的一窩淡紅色的小崽，母馬的小駒潮峦，母牛的黃犢囱皿，

還有倉(cāng)前場(chǎng)地或者池邊淤泥旁一窩啁啾的鳥(niǎo)雛勇婴，

還有那些巧妙地浮游在下面的魚(yú)，和那美麗而奇怪的液體嘱腥，

還有那些頭部扁平而好看的水生植物——所有這些都變?yōu)樗?/p>

成分耕渴，在某個(gè)部位。

四五月間田地里的幼苗變成了他的一部分齿兔，

還有冬季谷類(lèi)作物和淺黃色的玉米苗兒橱脸，以及園子里菜蔬的塊根，

綴滿(mǎn)花朵的蘋(píng)果樹(shù)和后來(lái)的果實(shí)分苇，木漿果添诉，以及路邊

最普通的野草，

從小旅館外面廁所里很晚才起來(lái)的踉蹌而歸的醉老漢医寿，

路過(guò)這里到學(xué)校去的女教師吻商，途經(jīng)這里的彼此要好的男孩子

和爭(zhēng)吵的男孩子，

整潔而臉頰紅潤(rùn)的小姑娘糟红，赤腳的黑人娃娃艾帐，以及他所到的城

市和鄉(xiāng)村的一切變化。

他自己的父母盆偿，那個(gè)作他父親的男人和在子宮里孕育并生產(chǎn)了

他的女人柒爸，

他們從自己身上給予這孩子的還不止于此，

他們后來(lái)還每天都給事扭，他們成了他的一部分捎稚。

母親在家不聲不響地把一盤(pán)盤(pán)的菜端到餐桌上，

母親言語(yǔ)溫和求橄，穿戴整潔今野，走過(guò)時(shí)會(huì)從她身上和衣服上散發(fā)出

健康的芳香，

父親強(qiáng)壯罐农，自負(fù)条霜，魁偉；吝嗇涵亏，愛(ài)發(fā)脾氣宰睡，不公正，

那種毆打气筋，急促而響亮的言談拆内，苛刻的討價(jià)還價(jià)，耍手腕的本領(lǐng)宠默，

那些家庭習(xí)慣麸恍，語(yǔ)言，交往搀矫，家具抹沪，那渴望和興奮的情緒刻肄，

那無(wú)法否認(rèn)的慈愛(ài)，那種真實(shí)感采够，那種惟恐最后成為泡影的憂(yōu)慮肄方，

那些白天黑夜的懷疑冰垄，那些奇怪的猜測(cè)和設(shè)想蹬癌，猜測(cè)那現(xiàn)象是否屬實(shí)，

或者全是些斑點(diǎn)和閃光

那些大街上熙熙攘攘的男女虹茶，他們不是些閃光和斑點(diǎn)又是什么逝薪？

那些大街本身和房子的門(mén)面，以及櫥窗里的貨樣蝴罪，

那些車(chē)輛和畜力車(chē)隊(duì)董济，鋪著厚木板的碼頭，規(guī)模宏大的渡口要门，

日落時(shí)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)看到的高地上的村莊虏肾，中間的河流，

陰影欢搜，光暈和霧靄封豪，落在遠(yuǎn)處白色或棕色屋頂和山墻上的夕照，

近處那些懶懶地順流而下的帆船炒瘟，緩緩?fù)显诤竺娴男≈郏?/p>

紛紛翻滾的波濤吹埠，在激揚(yáng)中立即碎裂的浪峰，

層層迭迭的彩云疮装，孤單地呆在一旁的紫醬色霞帶缘琅，

它靜靜地躺在其中的那片澄凈的蒼冥，

地平線(xiàn)的邊緣廓推，飛繞的海鷗刷袍，鹽沼和海岸泥土的馥郁，

這些都變成那個(gè)孩子的一部分樊展，

那個(gè)天天向前走的孩子做个，他正在走，他將永遠(yuǎn)天天向前滚局。