As I Walked Out One Evening
by WH Auden
As I walked out one evening, Walking down Bristol Street, The crowds upon the pavement Were fields of harvest wheat.
And down by the brimming river I heard a lover sing Under an arch of the railway: 'Love has no ending.
'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you Till China and Africa meet, And the river jumps over the mountain And the salmon sing in the street,
'I'll love you till the ocean Is folded and hung up to dry And the seven stars go squawking Like geese about the sky.
'The years shall run like rabbits, For in my arms I hold The Flower of the Ages, And the first love of the world.'
But all the clocks in the city Began to whirr and chime: 'O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time.
'In the burrows of the Nightmare Where Justice naked is, Time watches from the shadow And coughs when you would kiss.
'In headaches and in worry Vaguely life leaks away, And Time will have his fancy To-morrow or to-day.
'Into many a green valley Drifts the appalling snow; Time breaks the threaded dances And the diver's brilliant bow.
'O plunge your hands in water, Plunge them in up to the wrist; Stare, stare in the basin And wonder what you've missed.
'The glacier knocks in the cupboard, The desert sighs in the bed, And the crack in the tea-cup opens A lane to the land of the dead.
'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes And the Giant is enchanting to Jack, And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer, And Jill goes down on her back.
'O look, look in the mirror, O look in your distress: Life remains a blessing Although you cannot bless.
'O stand, stand at the window As the tears scald and start; You shall love your crooked neighbour With your crooked heart.'
It was late, late in the evening, The lovers they were gone; The clocks had ceased their chiming, And the deep river ran on.
From Another Time by WH Auden, published by Random House. Copyright ? 1940 WH Auden, renewed by The Estate of WH Auden. Used by permission of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
I go out for a walk at night
In the evenings I go out for a stroll, walking down Bristol Street, and people gather on the pavement like a field of wheat waiting to be harvested.
Along the full river I hear the sentimental singing Right under the arch of the railroad bridge: "Love will not die.
"I will love you dear, until China meets Africa, until the river jumps over the mountains and the salmon sing in the street,
"I will love you until the sea is rolled up and dried, until the Big Dipper quacks and turns into a flying geese in the sky.
"The years will run like rabbits, and I still hold the flowers full of the past, and the first love in the world."
But all the bells in the city began to roar in ensemble: "Oh, don't be fooled by time, it's something you can't win.
"The naked justice dwells in the cave of nightmares, where time peeks in the shadows, and coughs when you kiss him.
"In the headache, the ignorant life leaks out in the anxiety, but time always has his preference in the Ming Dynasty or today.
"The green valley mutates into a terrifying storm; time interrupts the slender dance and the diver's wonderful jump.
"Oh, submerge your hand in the water till it goes over your wrist; stare, stare at that pelvic floor and wonder what you have forgotten.
Desert sighs at the bedside, glaciers crash into cupboards, cracks in teacups open a path to the land of the dead.
Where the beggar sells lottery tickets the giant gets drunk on Jack the white boy growls and Jill sucks and licks behind her.
Oh, behold, look in that mirror, Oh, look at your sorrows; Even if you are powerless to bless life, a blessing remains.
Oh, stand up, stand at the window and the tears start to flow; you will love your deformed neighbor with your deformed heart. "
It was late, deep in the night, the lovers were gone, the bells interrupted their chimes, and the deep river continued onward.
Author / Auden translation / Zhao Lang
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