The Village Blacksmith
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - 1807-1882
Under a spreading chestnut-tree
?The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands,
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.
His hair is crisp, and black, and long;
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.
Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.
And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.
He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.
It sounds to him like her mother's voice
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.
Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.
Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.
一棵寬闊的栗樹下，
矗立著村裏的鐵匠鋪；
鐵匠健壯有力，
手大有肌肉，
他渾身的肌肉
堅固如鐵帶。
他的頭發卷曲、黑色、長；
他的臉色黝黑；
他的額頭沾滿了誠實的汗水，
他賺取他所能，
他毫不畏懼地麵對整個世界，
因為他沒有欠任何人。
每個星期，從早到晚，
你都可以聽到他的風箱吹動；
你可以聽到他擺動他沉重的錘子，
有節奏地慢慢敲打，
就像一個教堂的司鍾手響起村莊的鍾聲，
當太陽落山時。
孩子們放學回家，
從敞開的門口看進去；
他們喜歡看到燃燒的熔爐，
聽到風箱的轟鳴聲，
並抓住那些像從打場中飛出的秕皮一樣的火星。
他周日去教堂，
和他的兒子們坐在一起；
他聽牧師祈禱和講道，
他聽到他女兒的聲音
在村莊唱詩班裏歌唱，
這讓他心裏感到快樂。
對他來說，這聽起來像她母親的聲音
在天堂裏歌唱！
他必須再次想起她，
她躺在墳墓裏的樣子；
他用他粗糙的手擦掉了眼中的淚水。
勞作，歡樂，悲傷，
他向前走；
每天早晨都開始一些任務，
每天晚上都結束它；
嚐試過什麽，完成了什麽，
才能夠安享夜間的寧靜。
謝謝你，我可敬的朋友，
感謝你所教導的一切！
就像在生命的熾熱鐵砧上一樣，
我們的命運必須被鑄造；
每一個燃燒的行動和思想都是在它嘹亮的敲打聲中形成的。
