the home book of verse-1-第59章
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Do not mock us; grief has made us unbelieving:
We look up for God; but tears have made us blind。〃
Do you hear the children weeping and disproving;
O my brothers; what ye preach?
For God's possible is taught by His world's loving;
And the children doubt of each。
And well may the children weep before you!
They are weary ere they run;
They have never seen the sunshine; nor the glory
Which is brighter than the sun。
They know the grief of man; without its wisdom;
They sink in man's despair; without its calm;
Are slaves; without the liberty in Christdom;
Are martyrs; by the pang without the palm:
Are worn as if with age; yet unretrievingly
The harvest of its memories cannot reap; …
Are orphans of the earthly love and heavenly。
Let them weep! let them weep!
They look up; with their pale and sunken faces;
And their look is dread to see;
For they mind you of their angels in high places;
With eyes turned on Deity。
〃How long;〃 they say; 〃how long; O cruel nation;
Will you stand; to move the world; on a child's heart; …
Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation;
And tread onward to your throne amid the mart?
Our blood splashes upward; O gold…heaper;
And your purple shows your path;
But the child's sob in the silence curses deeper
Than the strong man in his wrath!〃
Elizabeth Barrett Browning '1806…1861'
THE SHADOW…CHILD
Why do the wheels go whirring round;
Mother; mother?
Oh; mother; are they giants bound;
And will they growl forever?
Yes; fiery giants underground;
Daughter; little daughter;
Forever turn the wheels around;
And rumble…grumble ever。
Why do I pick the threads all day;
Mother; mother?
While sunshine children are at play?
And must I work forever?
Yes; shadow…child; the live…long day;
Daughter; little daughter;
Your hands must pick the threads away;
And feel the sunshine never。
Why do the birds sing in the sun;
Mother; mother?
If all day long I run and run;
Run with the wheels forever?
The birds may sing till day is done;
Daughter; little daughter;
But with the wheels your feet must run …
Run with the wheels forever。
Why do I feel so tired each night;
Mother; mother?
The wheels are always buzzing bright;
Do they grow sleepy never?
Oh; baby thing; so soft and white;
Daughter; little daughter;
The big wheels grind us in their might;
And they will grind forever。
And is the white thread never spun;
Mother; mother?
And is the white cloth never done;
For you and me done never?
Oh; yes; our thread will all be spun;
Daughter; little daughter;
When we lie down out in the sun;
And work no more forever。
And when will come that happy day;
Mother; mother?
Oh; shall we laugh and sing and play
Out in the sun forever?
Nay; shadow…child; we'll rest all day;
Daughter; little daughter;
Where green grass grows and roses gay;
There in the sun forever。
Harriet Monroe '1860…1936'
MOTHER WEPT
Mother wept; and father sighed;
With delight aglow
Cried the lad; 〃To…morrow;〃 cried;
〃To the pit I go。〃
Up and down the place he sped; …
Greeted old and young;
Far and wide the tidings spread;
Clapt his hands and sung。
Came his cronies; some to gaze
Wrapped in wonder; some
Free with counsel; some with praise:
Some with envy dumb。
〃May he;〃 many a gossip cried;
〃Be from peril kept。〃
Father hid his face and sighed;
Mother turned and wept。
Joseph Skipsey '1832…1903'
DUTY
So nigh is grandeur to our dust;
So near is God to man;
When Duty whispers low; 〃Thou must;〃
The youth replies; 〃I can。〃
Ralph Waldo Emerson '1803…1882'
LUCY GRAY
Or Solitude
Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray:
And; when I crossed the wild;
I chanced to see; at break of day;
The solitary child。
No mate; no comrade Lucy knew;
She dwelt on a wide moor;
The sweetest thing that ever grew
Beside a human door!
You yet may spy the fawn at play;
The hare upon the green;
But the sweet face of Lucy Gray
Will never more be seen。
〃To…night will be a stormy night; …
You to the town must go;
And take a lantern; Child; to light
Your mother through the snow。〃
〃That; Father; will I gladly do:
'Tis scarcely afternoon; …
The minster…clock has just struck two;
And yonder is the moon!〃
At this the Father raised his hook;
And snapped a fagot…brand。
He plied his work; … and Lucy took
The lantern in her hand。
Not blither is the mountain roe:
With many a wanton stroke
Her feet disperse the powdery snow;
That rises up like smoke。
The storm came on before its time:
She wandered up and down:
And many a hill did Lucy climb:
But never reached the town。
The wretched parents all that night
Went shouting far and wide;
But there was neither sound nor sight
To serve them for a guide。
At daybreak on the hill they stood
That overlooked the moor;
And thence they saw the bridge of wood;
A furlong from their door。
They wept; … and; turning homeward; cried;
〃In heaven we all shall meet;〃
When in the snow the mother spied
The print of Lucy's feet。
Then downwards from the steep hill's edge
They tracked the footmarks small:
And through the broken hawthorn…hedge;
And by the low stone…wall;
And then an open field they crossed …
The marks were still the same …
They tracked them on; nor ever lost;
And to the bridge they came。
They followed from the snowy bank
Those footmarks; one by one;
Into the middle of the plank;
And further there were none!
… Yet some maintain that to this day
She is a living child;
That you may see sweet Lucy Gray
Upon the lonesome wild。
O'er rough and smooth she trips along;
And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind。
William Wordsworth '1770…1850'
IN THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Emmie
Our doctor had called in another; I never had seen him before;
But he sent a chill to my heart when I saw him come in at the door;
Fresh from the surgery…schools of France and of other lands …
Harsh red hair; big voice; big chest; big merciless hands!
Wonderful cures he had done; O yes; but they said too of him
He was happier using the knife than in trying to save the limb;
And that I can well believe; for he looked so coarse and so red;
I could think he was one of those who would break their jests on the dead;
And mangle the living dog that had loved him and fawned at his knee …
Drenched with the hellish oorali … that ever such things should be!
Here was a boy … I am sure that some of our children would die
But for the voice of love; and the smile; and the comforting eye …
Here was a boy in the ward; every bone seemed out of its place …
Caught in a mill and crushed … it was all but a hopeless case:
And he handled him gently enough; but his voice and his face were not kind;
And it was but a hopeless case; he had seen it and made up his mind;
And he said to me roughly 〃The lad will need little more of your care。〃
〃All the more need;〃 I told him; 〃to seek the Lord Jesus in prayer;
They are all His children here; and I pray for them all as my own:〃
But he turned to me; 〃Ay; good woman; can prayer set a broken bone?〃
Then he muttered half to himself; but I know that I heard him say;
〃All very well … but the good Lord Jesus has had his day。〃
Had? has it come? It has only dawned。 It will come by and by。
O; how could I serve in the wards if the hope of the world were a lie?
How could I bear with the sights and the loathsome smells of disease
But that He said 〃Ye do it to me; when ye do it to these〃?
So he went。 And we passed to this ward where the younger children are laid:
Here is the cot of our orphan; our darling; our meek little maid;
Empty you see just now! We have lost her who loved her so much …
Patient of pain though as quick as