(原版)澳大利亞語文第五冊 LESSON 9
LESSON 9 THE TEAMS
THE TEAMS
This poem was written by Henry Lawson (1867-1923), one of Australia's greatest poets and story-writers. He loved to write of the country and the people away inland—the Outback.
A CLOUD of dust on the long, white road,
And the teams go creeping on
Inch by inch with the weary load;
And by the power of the green-hide ［1］ goad
The distant goal is won.
With eyes half-shut to the blinding dust,
And necks to the yokes ［2］ bent low,
The beasts are pulling as bullocks must;
And the shining tires might almost rust,
While the spokes are turning slow.
With face half-hidneath a broad-brimmed hat
That shades from the heat's white waves,
And shouldered whip with its green-hide plait,
The driver plods with a gait like that
Of his weary, patient slaves.
He'll sometimes pause as a thing of form
In front of a settler's door,
And ask for a drink, and remark, "It's warm,"
Or say, "There are signs of a thunderstorm";
But he seldom utters more.
But the rains are heavy on roads like these;
And, fronting his lonely home,
For weeks together, the settler sees
The teams bogged down to the axletrees ［3］ ,
Or ploughing the sodden loam.
And then, when the roads are at their worst,
The bushman's children hear
The cruel blows of the whips reversed;
While bullocks pull as their hearts would burst,
And bellow with pain and fear.
And thus, with little of joy or rest,
Are the long, long journeys done;
And thus—'tis a cruel war at the best—
Is distance fought in the mighty West,
And the lonely battles won.
—HENRY LAWSON
* * *
［1 ］ green-hide: Whip of untanned hide.
［2 ］ yokes: The wooden pieces by which oxen are connected in pairs.
［3 ］ axletree: Axle; the pole on which a wheel turns.
