The rhyme of the poet

诗人的韵

Modulates the king's affairs;

调节君王的事务；

Balance-loving Nature

爱平衡的自然

Made all things in pairs.

成对地铸造万物。

To every foot its antipode;

每一点都为另一点而设，

Each color with its counter glowed;

每一种颜色都有相反的颜色，

To every tone beat answering tones,

每一种声音呼应着另一种声音，

Higher or graver;

或高或低，

Flavor gladly blends with flavor;

各种味道快乐地融合在一起；

Leaf answers leaf upon the bough;

叶子在枝条上相互应和，

And match the paired cotyledons.

还未发芽时它们就是如此亲近。

Hands to hands, and feet to feet,

手挨着手，足挨着足，

In one body grooms and brides;

新郎新娘将同一个身体分享；

Eldest rite, two married sides

古老的仪式，婚姻的双方

In every mortal meet.

在每位凡人的生命里居住。

Light's far furnace shines,

光的熔炉在远处亮闪，

Smelting balls and bars,

它熔化球形与条形，

Forging double stars,

锻造成对的星星，

Glittering twins and trines.

让它们谁也不孤单。

The animals are sick with love,

动物们因爱而癫狂，

Lovesick with rhyme;

因相思而押韵；

Each with all propitious Time

都在恰当的时辰

Into chorus wove.

加入世界的合唱。

Like the dancers' ordered band,

就像舞者的乐队有条不紊，

Thoughts come also hand in hand;

思想也手拉着手现身；

In equal couples mated,

它们成对地表演，

Or else alternated;

时而交换一下舞伴；

Adding by their mutual gage,

彼此帮助，彼此映衬，

One to other, health and age.

不乏智慧，也不乏青春。

Solitary fancies go

那些形单影只的奇想

Short-lived wandering to and fro,

却只能短暂地飘荡，

Most like to bachelors,

就像单身汉

Or an ungiven maid,

或嫁不出去的女孩，

Not ancestors,

他们做不了祖先，

With no posterity to make the lie afraid,

无法留下让谎言恐惧的后代，

Or keep truth undecayed.

也无法让真理永不朽坏。

Perfect-paired as eagle's wings,

像鹰的双翼那样完美，

Justice is the rhyme of things;

万物的韵在于平衡搭配，

Trade and counting use

数学与贸易

The self-same tuneful muse;

同样要求助于和谐的缪斯。

And Nemesis,

奈米西斯女神

Who with even matches odd,

也是让奇数与偶数相配，

Who athwart space redresses

她在天地间驻临，

The partial wrong,

纠正一切失衡，

Fills the just period,

让音符尽善尽美，

And finishes the song.

让歌曲浑然天成。

Subtle rhymes, with ruin rife,

微妙的韵，丰盛的废墟，

Murmur in the house of life,

在生的房子里喁喁低语，

Sung by the Sisters as they spin;

三姐妹一边织，一边唱；

In perfect time and measure they

我们这些轮回中的泥土，

Build and unbuild our echoing clay.

应和着她们完美的音律，

As the two twilights of the day

当黎明黄昏的暗淡天幕

Fold us music-drunken in.

把音乐饮醉的我们掩藏。