My mother bore me in the southern wild,

在荒凉的南方妈妈生下我来，

    And I am black, but O my soul is white!

我黑，可是啊，我却有洁白的心灵；

White as an angel is the English child,

白得像天使是英国的小孩，

    But I am black, as if bereaved of light.

我却黑黑的，仿佛失去了光明。

My mother taught me underneath a tree,

在炎热白昼的面前坐定，

    And, sitting down before the heat of day,

树底下妈妈把我开导；

She took me on her lap and kissèd me,

她把我抱上膝头吻吻，

    And, pointing to the East, began to say:

然后指着东方说道：

‘Look on the rising sun: there God does live,

“看那上升的太阳，那儿上帝居住，

    And gives His light, and gives His heat away,

散着他的热，发着他的光，

And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive

是他使人和畜，花和树，

    Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday.

中午得欢乐，早晨得安康。

‘And we are put on earth a little space,

“他把我们往小小的地面上一放，

    That we may learn to bear the beams of love;

叫我们学会承受爱的光芒；

And these black bodies and this sunburnt face

这黑黑的身子，太阳烧焦的脸庞，

    Are but a cloud, and like a shady grove.

不过像云彩和阴暗的草莽。

‘For, when our souls have learned the heat to bear,

“有一天我们学会了承受那热，

    The cloud will vanish, we shall hear His voice,

那云彩就消散，我们就会听他说道：

Saying, “Come out from the grove, my love and care,

‘走出林子来，我的亲亲，我的爱，

    And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice.”’

围着我金色的帐幕羔羊般欢跳。'"

Thus did my mother say, and kissed me,

妈妈这么说着，把我吻吻，

    And thus I say to little English boy.

我对英国小孩也这么讲：

When I from black, and he from white cloud free,

等我离了黑云，他离了白云，

    And round the tent of God like lambs we joy,

我们围着上帝的帐幕欢乐如羔羊；

I’ll shade him from the heat till he can bear

我给他遮热，等到他能够

    To lean in joy upon our Father’s knee;

快活地倚着天父的膝盖；

And then I’ll stand and stroke his silver hair,

那时我站着，抚摸他银色的头，

    And be like him, and he will then love me.

我像他，他就会和我相爱。