To the Cuckoo

O blithe new-comer! I have heard,

I hear thee and rejoice.

O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,

Or but a wandering Voice?

While I am lying on the grass

Thy twofold shout I hear;

From hill to hill it seems to pass

At once far off, and near.

Though babbling only to the Vale,

Of sunshine and of flowers,

Thou bringest unto me a tale

Of visionary hours.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!

Even ye thou art to me

No bird, but an invisible thing,

A voice a mystery;

The same whom in my schoolboy days

I listened to; that Cry

Which made me look a thousand ways

In bush, and tree, and sky.

To seek thee did I often rove

Through woods and on the green;

And thou wert still a hope, a love;

Still longed for, never seen.

And I can listen to thee yet;

Can lie upon the plain

And listen, till I do beget

That golden time again.

O blessed Bird! the earth we pace

Again appears to be

An unsubstantial, faery place;

That is fit home for thee!

致布谷鸟

啊，快乐的新客！

听到你啭鸣，我满怀喜悦；

啊，布谷，是否称你为鸟？

或为妙音，回荡清越？

当我躺在草地上，

听到你的二重唱：

似从这山传到那山，

似在近旁，又在远方。

你的歌声在山谷回荡，

伴着繁华和阳光；

你还把我带到

追忆往事的幻想。

我再三地欢迎

你是阳春的先行。

在我眼中，你可不是鸟，

而是无形的神奇之音。

想当年我还是小学生，

曾倾听同样的鸣声；

我千方百计寻找，

从天上到丛林。

我时常漫游，为了找你，

踩着草地，穿过密林；

如今仍在期待，虽不眼见，

你仍是希望，是恋情。

此刻我躺在平原，

你的歌声仍能听见。

我专心谛听，

直到召回金色的童年。

我们栖息的大地

又显得空灵而神奇；

这是你安家的福地，

啊, 快乐的鸟儿，祝福你！