你敏捷轻盈的跨越西方的波浪，

Swiftly walk over the western wave,

黑夜的精灵！

Spirit of Night!

飞出烟雾弥漫的东方的洞穴；

Out of the misty eastern cave

在那漫长而孤寂的白昼时分，

Where, all the long and lone daylight,

你在洞中织着欢乐和恐惧的梦，

Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear,

使你变得恐怖而又可亲，──

Which make thee terrible and dear, ──

你呀，轻盈地飞行！

Swift be thy flight!

你身披一件灰色的斗篷，

Wrap thy form in a mantle grey,

上面镶满星辰，

Star-inwrought!

你用头发蒙住白昼的眼睛；

Blind with thine hair the eyes of Day,

亲吻她，直至把她吻得精疲力竭，

Kiss her until she be wearied out,

然后飘荡于城市、海洋和陆地，

Then wander o'er city, and sea, and land,

用魔杖点触一切，催其入眠，

Touching all with thine opiate wand ──

来吧，我对你饥渴难忍！

Come, long-sought!

当我起身，看见了黎明，

When I arose and saw the dawn,

我便对你思慕；

I sighed for thee;

当阳光四射，露珠消散，

When light rode high, and the dew was gone,

当正午沉重地压着花木，

And noon lay heavy on flower and tree,

当倦怠的白昼该去休歇、

And the weary Day turned to his rest,

又像讨厌的客人滞留此处，

Lingering like an unloved guest,

我便对你思慕。

I sighed for thee.

你的兄弟死亡走来，高声叫喊：

Thy brother Death came, and cried

难道你不要我？

`Wouldst thou me?'

你的爱子睡眠，两眼浑浊，

Thy sweet child Sleep, the filmy-eyed,

像中午的蜜蜂嗡嗡地说：

Murmured like a noontide bee

我能否在你身边偎依，

`Shall I nestle near thy side?

难道你不要我？我回答说：

Wouldst thou me?' -And I replied

不，你不要碰我。

`No, not thee!'

当你逝去，死亡就会来临，

Death will come when thou art dead,

很快，很快驾到，

Soon, too soon──

等你飞走，睡眠就会光顾，

Sleep will come when thou art fled;

可是两者都不是我的需要，

Of neither would I ask the boon

我只需要你，心爱的黑夜，

I ask of thee, beloved Night ──

愿你加快翱翔，迅速飞近，

Swift be thine approaching flight,

尽早、尽早降临！

Come soon, soon