Honeysuckle

I plucked a honeysuckle where

The hedge on high is quick with thorn,

And climbing for the prize,

was torn,

And fouled my feet in quag-water;

And by the thorns and by the wind

The blossom that I took was

thinn’d,

And yet I found it sweet and fair.

Thence to a richer growth I came,

Where, nursed in mellow intercourse,

The honey suckles sprang by scores,

Not harried like my single stem,

All virgin lamps of scent and dew,

So from my hand that first I threw,

Yet plucked not any more of them.

Note: The name honeysuckle comes from the sweet nectar that the flower produces to intoxicate the greedy bee. Its powerful fragrance seduces the human senses as it pervades the air. The perfume of this passionate plant may turn a maiden’s head, hence wild honeysuckle is a symbol of inconstancy in love.

忍冬

在長滿棘刺的高籬上，

我采摘到一支忍冬花，

為了這個獎賞，

我努力攀爬，

劃破了我的衣衫，

在泥濘的水中弄臟了

我的雙腳，

花朵在荊棘和風中飛落，

我采的花變得稀疏，

然而

花朵如此芬芳美麗，

在甘美氣息的滋養中

我也變得更加嬌艷，

忍冬一簇簇地盛開，

沒有象我手中的那束

被摧殘而凋零，

從我的手中，

所有無暇芬芳的光芒，

漸漸消逝，

從此我再不采擷忍冬花。

注釋：忍冬用產生的甘露迷醉貪婪的蜜蜂，由此而得名(忍冬英文一詞是由“蜂蜜”和“吮吸”兩組成)。當它強烈的芬芳在空氣中彌漫時，也陶醉了人的感官。充滿激情的忍冬所散發的香氣令少女卻步回首，因此野生忍冬象征著愛情的反復無常。