I can't find my way, there are no stars.
Blinking in the sky wrapped in a shroud,
Even the wind did not bring a whisper,
No one alive has spoken, and I
There is only one sound, like music,
Like a solemn old song that has been lost,
When the angel's fingers are woven at will
Garland, no roses, only dead leaves.
No, don't flash, don't shout,
People welcome it while welcoming it with anxiety.
A terrible night,
Because through everything, beyond everything,
I got the news of a distant time,
I feel the light coming.
(translated by Zhao Yiheng)
This sonnet was published as children of the night in 1897. Through this poem, the poet expounds such a theme-no matter how depressing and suffocating the air in the real world and surrounding environment is, as long as you firmly believe in the existence of gods and calmly assume the situation given to you by life, faith will inspire you to rise to a higher level in practical actions and experiences.
In the first four sentences of this poem, the poet is in a dark night. In this scarred world, there is no avenue or even path to the light. There is not a trace of God in the vast sky, as if an unsympathetic body hung over the head. There is a dead silence and lifelessness here, and even the wind is unwilling to stir this uninhabited valley of death. All the creatures in the world fell asleep silently and died. Faced with such a modern wilderness scene, the poet felt confused and at a loss. But at this time, the poet did not feel deeply, but calmly turned to the following four sentences like a bystander-he heard a voice, a musical voice, which once existed in distant times, but has been ignored by today; In this "solemn ancient music", angels are still weaving beautiful garlands. Although all their materials are just dead branches and leaves, they firmly believe that their fingers can create beautiful works, and their every movement is writing a solemn movement. At this time, the poet felt that the gods still existed, and the "solemn ancient songs" and the weaving of angels aroused his confidence in exploring in the endless wasteland. In the second verse, the poet expressed his mentality and actions in this long night: like people, he didn't shout curses at the top of his lungs, but "greeted with sorrow", worrying about when the long night would bottom out, but he encountered the challenge of fate and the suffering of existence. Because this is an inseparable part of our life, we can't escape it, so we should face it squarely, struggle through the experience, overcome it in the struggle, and rise to a higher realm full of "solemn ancient songs" and twinkling stars through a long test. The worries that flashed at that time were only the accompanying emotions in the process of transcendence. He firmly believes that after the night, it will be the dawn. With this creed, the poet trudges step by step and rises from every encounter and experience. Finally, he was inspired by the gods in the cycle of years, saw that the dawn was sending away the night, and "felt the coming light." This is the power of creed, which urges the poet to overcome the harsh reality, transcend the humble world, preserve his innocence and bring him into a more sacred palace.
This poem is one of the early representative works of the poet. The theme of the poem sparkles with the afterglow of transcendentalism, full of optimism, and mixed with melancholy feelings about the bleak real world.
This poem is written in a typical Italian sonnet style, solemn and simple, connecting the past and the future, and comprehensive. But the poet was not bound by this ancient form, but devoted himself to a bigger theme, which was written by many famous modernist poets later, such as the hesitation, despair and optimism of modern people. This poem, written at the turn of the century, to some extent represents the position of Love A Robinson in the history of American poetry.
(Qiu Haiming)