Walt Whitman
Night on the prairies，
The supper is over，the fire on the ground burns low，
The wearied emigrants sleep，wrapt in their blankets；
I walk by myself—I stand and look at the stars，
which I think now never realized before.
Now I absorb immortality and peace，
I admire death and test propositions.
How plenteous! how spiritual! how resume!
The same old man and soul—the same old aspirations，
and the same content.
I was thinking the day most splendid
till I saw what the not—day exhibited，
I was thinking this globe enough
till there sprang out so noiseless around me myriads of other globes.
Now while the great thoughts of space and eternity fill me
I will measure myself by them，
And now touch’d with the lives of other globes arrived as far along as those of the earth，
Or waiting to arrive，or pass’d on farther than those of the earth，
I henceforth no more ignore them than I ignore my own life，
Or the lives of the earth arrived as far as mine，
or waiting to arrive.
O I see now that life cannot exhibit all to me，
as the day cannot，
I see that I am to wait for what will be exhibited by death.
草原之夜
瓦尔特·惠特曼
草原的夜晚，
晚餐过了，火在地上轻轻地燃烧，
疲倦了的牧民裹着他们的毯子睡着了，
我独自散步——我站着观望星星，
那些我以前从没有注意过的星星。
现在我想着永生与和平，
我羡慕死亡，我思考各种问题。
多么丰饶！多么崇高！多么简明哟！
同样的老人和灵魂——同样的旧有的渴望，
同样的满足。
我一直以为白天最为光辉灿烂，
直到我看见黑夜所展示的一切，
我一直以为这个地球已经足够，
直到在我的周围无声地涌现出千万个其他的地球
现在空间和永恒的伟大思想己占据了我，
我要以它们来测量我自己，
现在我接触到其他星球的生命，这生命跟地球上的生命一样来
自遥远的地方，
或是即将来临，或是已经超越了地球上的生命，
此后我将不再漠视它们，正如我不漠视我自己的生命，
或者那些在大地上跟我一样到来的，
或将要来到的生命。
啊，我现在知道生命不能向我展示出所有的一切，
白天也不能
我看出我得等待那由死亡展示出来的东西。
背景知识
瓦尔特·惠特曼(Walt Whitman)，美国历史上最伟大的诗人，他创作的《草叶集》代表着美国浪漫主义文学的高峰，是世界文学宝库中的精品。《草叶集》在风格上，惠特曼彻底摈弃了古板的格律，用自由体的形式抒发自由的思想。在写意上，他受当时刚发明的摄影技术的影响，除了追求写真外，一行诗句捕捉一刹即遁的时刻，静态中表现出动感。
《草叶集》问世，代表着诗人思想的转变。草叶既不开花，也不结果，即使任人践踏，任野火燃烧，仍遍布于大地，表现出无限的生命。该诗就出自著名的《草叶集》。
单词注解
emigrant [5emi^rEnt] 移居的；移民的
immortality [imC:5tAlEti] 不死，不朽
eternity [i(:)5tE:niti] 永远，永恒
henceforth [hens5fC:W] 今后，从今以后
名句诵读
Night on the prairies，The supper is over，the fire on the ground burns low，The wearied emigrants sleep，wrapt in their blankets；I walk by myself—I stand and look at the stars，which I think now never realized before.
Now I absorb immortality and peace，I admire death and test propositions.
O I see now that life cannot exhibit all to me，as the day cannot，I see that I am to wait for what will be exhibited by death.