Swiftly walk over the western wave,

你敏捷轻盈的跨越西方的波浪，

Spirit of Night!

黑夜的精灵！

Out of the misty eastern cave

飞出烟雾弥漫的东方的洞穴；

Where, all the long and lone daylight,

在那漫长而孤寂的白昼时分，

Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear,

你在洞中织着欢乐和恐惧的梦，

Which make thee terrible and dear, ──

使你变得恐怖而又可亲，──

Swift be thy flight!

你呀，轻盈地飞行！

Wrap thy form in a mantle grey,

你身披一件灰色的斗篷，

Star-inwrought!

上面镶满星辰，

Blind with thine hair the eyes of Day,

你用头发蒙住白昼的眼睛；

Kiss her until she be wearied out,

亲吻她，直至把她吻得精疲力竭，

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

然后飘荡于城市、海洋和陆地，

Touching all with thine opiate wand ──

用魔杖点触一切，催其入眠，

Come, long-sought!

来吧，我对你饥渴难忍！

When I arose and saw the dawn,

当我起身，看见了黎明，

I sighed for thee;

我便对你思慕；

When light rode high, and the dew was gone,

当阳光四射，露珠消散，

And noon lay heavy on flower and tree,

当正午沉重地压着花木，

And the weary Day turned to his rest,

当倦怠的白昼该去休歇、

Lingering like an unloved guest,

又像讨厌的客人滞留此处，

I sighed for thee.

我便对你思慕。

Thy brother Death came, and cried

你的兄弟死亡走来，高声叫喊：

`Wouldst thou me?'

难道你不要我？

Thy sweet child Sleep, the filmy-eyed,

你的爱子睡眠，两眼浑浊，

Murmured like a noontide bee

像中午的蜜蜂嗡嗡地说：

`Shall I nestle near thy side?

我能否在你身边偎依，

Wouldst thou me?' -And I replied

难道你不要我？我回答说：

`No, not thee!'

不，你不要碰我。

Death will come when thou art dead,

当你逝去，死亡就会来临，

Soon, too soon──

很快，很快驾到，

Sleep will come when thou art fled;

等你飞走，睡眠就会光顾，

Of neither would I ask the boon

可是两者都不是我的需要，

I ask of thee, beloved Night ──

我只需要你，心爱的黑夜，

Swift be thine approaching flight,

愿你加快翱翔，迅速飞近，

Come soon, soon

尽早、尽早降临！