Thomas Hood (1799 – 1845)

The Death-Bed

We watch'd her breathing thro' the night,

Her breathing soft and low,

As in her breast the wave of life

Kept heaving to and fro.

So silently we seem'd to speak,

So slowly moved about,

As we had lent her half our powers

To eke her living out.

Our very hopes belied our fears,

Our fears our hopes belied—

We thought her dying when she slept,

And sleeping when she died.

For when the morn came dim and sad,

And chill with early showers,

Her quiet eyelids closed—she had

Another morn than ours.

托马斯·胡德（1799 – 1845）

  弥留之际

我们彻夜守望着她的呼吸，

  那细若游丝浅浅的呼吸，

因为她胸膛里的生命之波，

  一直在不断起伏、升落。

我们都那么静悄悄地说话，

  脚步都那么缓缓地轻踏，

因为我们的气力借她一半，

  帮助她熬过这生死大关。

希望遮盖了我们的恐惧，

  我们的恐惧掩盖了期许——

她熟睡时我们以为是死亡，

  死去时以为她是在梦乡。

黎明到来，暗淡而悲伤，

  更有朝晨的细雨寒凉，

她合上了恬静的眼帘——