The brawling of a sparrow in the eaves,

鸟雀喧争，在这檐落之上，

The brilliant moon and all the milky sky,

如洗的夜空，皎洁的明月，

And all that famous harmony of leaves,

还有树叶齐声的和谐咏唱，

Had blotted out man's image and his cry.

早已涂抹掉人的幻像、他的哭咽。

A girl arose that had red mournful lips

如同普世的伟业饱含泪水，

And seemed the greatness of the world in tears,

一位少女浮现，红唇衔着哀惋，

Doomed like Odysseus and the labouring ships

她的命定，一如奥德修斯多劫的船队，

And proud as Priam murdered with his peers;

又有那普利安与国同亡的傲然。

Arose, and on the instant clamorous eaves,

浮现，在这扰攘的檐落之上，

A climbing moon upon an empty sky,

是爬升朗朗夜空的明月，

And all that lamentation of the leaves,

还有树叶齐声的悲唱，

Could but compose man's image and his cry.

却是交织成了人的幻像、他的哭咽。

译注：本诗有两个版本，分别是叶芝在年轻时和年老时所作。个人偏爱后面的改作，故而没有再译第一个文本。

奥德修斯：荷马史诗《奥德赛》中的主人公，曾指挥特洛伊战争, 献木马计,使希腊获胜，后来在外漂泊，十年之后才回到家乡。

普利安：荷马史诗《伊利亚特》中被联军围攻的特洛伊国王，在特洛里城为希腊人攻陷时被杀。