进入十一月,冬季即将到来,草木还未萧瑟,但枝叶已然转色,秋冬的柳树和春天的柳树很不同,我家附近的河边有一排柳树,当满天秋云的时候,流水黯淡,柳叶比其他树的叶子更细瘦,片片苍黄,垂在长长的枝条上,让人更觉秋深。今天我们读美国诗人William Carlos William的《柳树之诗》。
It is a willow when summer is over,
a willow by the river
from which no leaf has fallen nor
bitten by the sunturned orange or crimson.
The leaves cling and grow paler,
swing and grow paler
over the swirling waters of the river
as if loath to let go,
they are so cool, so drunk with
the swirl of the wind and of the river—
oblivious to winter,
the last to let go and fall
into the water and on the ground.咏柳的诗很多,大多是歌咏春天的柳树,鹅黄的柳叶预示春天的到来,和桃花一起,成为春天的典型形象,而这首诗写秋天的柳树,把它写的富有个性,很值得一读。写诗和写其他文章一样,写出新意比更美的重复前人要高出一个层次。这首诗写柳树就写出了新意。
作者:William Carlos William (1883-1963)是著名美国诗人,意象派运动的代表性人物,他中学 时就立志成为作家和医生,他在宾夕法尼亚大学读医学院,成为一名小儿科医生,他同时创作诗和戏剧,他的诗多和日常景物和普通人的生活有关,语言风格朴素真实。