「读诗」所见之处，皆属于我| I am monarch of all I survey
William Cowper: "The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk"
English poet William Cowper (1731-1800) helped popularize the story of sailor Alexander Selkirk, who quit the privateer ship on which he was a second mate to live on a deserted island off Chile. See Hermitary article. Selkirk regretted his decision almost at once, but spent four years on the island ingenious in survival before another British ship happened to anchor there. The poem is spoken as if by Selkirk. His solitude is framed negatively by Cowper, projecting Selkirk's misgivings into a reflection on the entire subject of solitude.
THE SOLITUDE OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK
I am monarch of all I survey;
My right there is none to dispute;
From the centre all round to the sea
I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms
That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,
Than reign in this horrible place.
I am out of humanity's reach,
I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech;
I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts that roam over the plain
My form with indifference see;
They are so unacquainted with man,
Their tameness is shocking to me.
Society, Friendship, and Love
Divinely bestow'd upon man,
O, had I the wings of a dove
How soon would I taste you again!
My sorrows I then might assuage
In the ways of religion and truth;
Might learn from the wisdom of age,
And be cheer'd by the sallies of youth.
Ye winds that have made me your sport,
Convey to this desolate shore
Some cordial endearing report
Of a land I shall visit no more:
My friends, do they now and then send
A wish or a thought after me?
O tell me I yet have a friend,
Though a friend I am never to see.
How fleet is a glance of the mind!
Compared with the speed of its flight,
The tempest itself lags behind,
And the swift-wingèd arrows of light.
When I think of my own native land,
In a moment I seem to be there;
But, alas! recollection at hand
Soon hurries me back to despair.
But the sea-fowl is gone to her nest,
The beast is laid down in his lair;
Even here is a season of rest,
And I to my cabin repair.
There's mercy in every place,
And mercy, encouraging thought!
Gives even affliction a grace,
And reconciles man to his lot.
诗人简介摘自：https://www.hermitary.com/literature/cowper.html
梭罗在《瓦尔登湖》里引用了这首诗，Bunny非常喜欢，并屡次带着自己的学生细读。买不起房的年轻人，也可翻到这一段，看看同样买不起房的年轻人梭罗，如何在农庄别墅前散步，观察一草一木，将农场的精华吸收，比生活在这里的人更加享用这里的一切。还可以假装要买农场，与农场主攀谈，讲价。
所见之处，皆属于我。凯撒说veni, vidi, veci，他是征服者，实实在在地拥有，可是梭罗并不在乎这种形式的拥有。自然的一切，皆属于我。我就是最富有的人。
I am monarch of all I survey;
My right there is none to dispute;
诗歌韵律知识
陈才忆. 英语诗歌的韵律与类型. 四川人民出版社, 2008: 11-12.