There Was a Child Went Forth Every Day
There was a child went forth every day,
And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.
The early lilacs became part of this child,
And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird,
And the Third-month lambs and the sow's pink-faint litter, and the mare's foal and the cow's calf,
And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pond-side,
And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there, and the beautiful curious liquid,
And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him.
The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him,
Winter-grain sprouts and those of the light-yellow corn, and the esculent roots of the garden,
And the apple-trees cover'd with blossoms and the fruit afterward, and wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road,
And the old drunkard staggering home from the outhouse of the tavern whence he had lately risen,
And the schoolmistress that pass'd on her way to the school,
And the friendly boys that pass'd, and the quarrelsome boys,
And the tidy and fresh-cheek'd girls, and the barefoot negro boy and girl,
And all the changes of city and country wherever he went.
His own parents, he that had father'd him and she that had conceiv'd
him in her womb and birth'd him,
They gave this child more of themselves than that,
They gave him afterward every day, they became part of him.
The mother at home quietly placing the dishes on the supper-table,
The mother with mild words, clean her cap and gown, a wholesome odor falling off her person and clothes as she walks by,
The father, strong, self-sufficient, manly, mean, anger'd, unjust,
The blow, the quick loud word, the tight bargain, the crafty lure,
The family usages, the language, the company, the furniture, the yearning and swelling heart,
Affection that will not be gainsay'd, the sense of what is real, the thought if after all it should prove unreal,
The doubts of day-time and the doubts of night-time, the curious whether and how,
Whether that which appears so is so, or is it all flashes and specks?
Men and women crowding fast in the streets, if they are not flashes and specks what are they?
The streets themselves and the facades of houses, and goods in the windows,
Vehicles, teams, the heavy-plank'd wharves, the huge crossing at the ferries,
The village on the highland seen from afar at sunset, the river between,
Shadows, aureola and mist, the light falling on roofs and gables of white or brown two miles off,
The schooner near by sleepily dropping down the tide, the little boat slack-tow'd astern,
The hurrying tumbling waves, quick-broken crests, slapping,
The strata of color'd clouds, the long bar of maroon-tint away
solitary by itself, the spread of purity it lies motionless in,
The horizon's edge, the flying sea-crow, the fragrance of salt marsh and shore mud,
These became part of that child who went forth every day, and who now goes, and will always go forth every day.
有个天天向前走的孩子，
他只要观看某一个东西，他就变成了那个东西，
在当天或当天某个时候那个对象就成为他的一部分，
或者继续许多年或一个个世纪连绵不已。
早开的丁香曾成为这个孩子的一部分，
青草和红的白的牵牛花，红的白的三叶草，鹟鸟的歌声，
以及三月的羔羊和母猪的一窝淡红色的小崽，母马的小驹，母牛的黄犊，
还有仓前场地或者池边淤泥旁一窝啁啾的鸟雏，
还有那些巧妙地浮游在下面的鱼，和那美丽而奇怪的液体，
还有那些头部扁平而好看的水生植物——所有这些都变为他的
成分，在某个部位。
四五月间田地里的幼苗变成了他的一部分，
还有冬季谷类作物和浅黄色的玉米苗儿，以及园子里菜蔬的块根，
缀满花朵的苹果树和后来的果实，木浆果，以及路边
最普通的野草，
从小旅馆外面厕所里很晚才起来的踉跄而归的醉老汉，
路过这里到学校去的女教师，途经这里的彼此要好的男孩子
和争吵的男孩子，
整洁而脸颊红润的小姑娘，赤脚的黑人娃娃，以及他所到的城
市和乡村的一切变化。
他自己的父母，那个作他父亲的男人和在子宫里孕育并生产了
他的女人，
他们从自己身上给予这孩子的还不止于此，
他们后来还每天都给，他们成了他的一部分。
母亲在家不声不响地把一盘盘的菜端到餐桌上，
母亲言语温和，穿戴整洁，走过时会从她身上和衣服上散发出
健康的芳香，
父亲强壮，自负，魁伟；吝啬，爱发脾气，不公正，
那种殴打，急促而响亮的言谈，苛刻的讨价还价，耍手腕的本领，
那些家庭习惯，语言，交往，家具，那渴望和兴奋的情绪，
那无法否认的慈爱，那种真实感，那种惟恐最后成为泡影的忧虑，
那些白天黑夜的怀疑，那些奇怪的猜测和设想，猜测那现象是否属实，
或者全是些斑点和闪光
那些大街上熙熙攘攘的男女，他们不是些闪光和斑点又是什么？
那些大街本身和房子的门面，以及橱窗里的货样，
那些车辆和畜力车队，铺着厚木板的码头，规模宏大的渡口，
日落时远远看到的高地上的村庄，中间的河流，
阴影，光晕和雾霭，落在远处白色或棕色屋顶和山墙上的夕照，
近处那些懒懒地顺流而下的帆船，缓缓拖在后面的小舟，
纷纷翻滚的波涛，在激扬中立即碎裂的浪峰，
层层迭迭的彩云，孤单地呆在一旁的紫酱色霞带，
它静静地躺在其中的那片澄净的苍冥，
地平线的边缘，飞绕的海鸥，盐沼和海岸泥土的馥郁，
这些都变成那个孩子的一部分，
那个天天向前走的孩子，他正在走，他将永远天天向前。
