The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 5
In the river island of Athelney,
Na ilha fluvial de Athelney,
With the river running past,
Com o rio a correr ao largo,
In colours of such simple creed
Em cores de crença tão simples
All things sprang at him, sun and weed,
Todas as coisas saltaram-lhe ao encontro, o sol e as ervas daninhas,
Till the grass grew to be grass indeed
Até que a erva se tornou verdadeiramente erva
And the tree was a tree at last.
E a árvore foi enfim uma árvore.
Fearfully plain the flowers grew,
Terrivelmente simples cresciam as flores,
Like the child's book to read,
Como o livro de leitura da criança,
Or like a friend's face seen in a glass;
Ou como o rosto de um amigo visto num espelho;
He looked; and there Our Lady was,
Ele olhou; e ali estava Nossa Senhora,
She stood and stroked the tall live grass
Ela estava de pé e acariciava a erva alta e viva
As a man strokes his steed.
Como um homem acaricia o seu corcel.
Her face was like an open word
O seu rosto era como uma palavra aberta
When brave men speak and choose,
Quando homens corajosos falam e escolhem,
The very colours of her coat
As próprias cores do seu manto
Were better than good news.
Eram melhores do que boas novas.
She spoke not, nor turned not,
Ela não falou, nem se virou,
Nor any sign she cast,
Nem fez qualquer sinal,
Only she stood up straight and free,
Apenas se manteve ereta e livre,
Between the flowers in Athelney,
Entre as flores em Athelney,
And the river running past.
E o rio a correr ao largo.
One dim ancestral jewel hung
Uma joia ancestral baça pendia
On his ruined armour grey,
Na sua armadura cinzenta e arruinada,
He rent and cast it at her feet:
Ele arrancou-a e lançou-a aos seus pés:
Where, after centuries, with slow feet,
Onde, após séculos, com passos lentos,
Men came from hall and school and street
Homens vieram de salões, escolas e ruas
And found it where it lay.
E encontraram-na onde jazia.
"Mother of God," the wanderer said,
"Mãe de Deus", disse o peregrino,
"I am but a common king,
"Não sou mais do que um rei comum,
Nor will I ask what saints may ask,
Nem pedirei o que os santos podem pedir,
To see a secret thing.
Para ver uma coisa secreta.
"The gates of heaven are fearful gates
"As portas do céu são portas terríveis
Worse than the gates of hell;
Piores do que as portas do inferno;
Not I would break the splendours barred
Não serei eu a forçar os esplendores vedados
Or seek to know the thing they guard,
Ou a procurar conhecer aquilo que guardam,
Which is too good to tell.
Que é bom demais para ser dito.
"
"
Vocabulary
- Na
- In the, at the (feminine singular contraction)
- ilha
- Island, land surrounded by water
- fluvial
- Of or relating to rivers and river systems
- de
- Of, from, belonging to (preposition)
- Com
- With, in company of (preposition)
- rio
- River, flowing body of fresh water
- correr
- To run, to flow, to move quickly
- ao
- At the, to the (contraction)
- largo
- Wide, broad, at large, offshore
- Em
- In, on, at (preposition)
- cores
- Colors, hues, shades of color
- crença
- Belief, faith, conviction, religious belief
- tão
- So, such, to such a degree
- simples
- Simple, plain, uncomplicated, easy
- Todas
- All, every one (feminine plural)
- as
- The (feminine plural article)
- coisas
- Things, objects, matters, affairs
- saltaram
- Jumped, leaped, sprang forth
- lhe
- To him, to her, to you (indirect object)
- encontro
- Meeting, encounter, collision, going toward
- sol
- Sun, sunlight, solar energy, light
- ervas
- Herbs, plants, grass, weeds
- daninhas
- Weeds, harmful plants, noxious plants
- Até
- Until, till, up to, even
- que
- That, which, what (conjunction/relative pronoun)
- erva
- Herb, grass, plant, weed
- se
- Himself, herself, itself, oneself (reflexive)
- tornou
- Became, turned into, transformed
- verdadeiramente
- Truly, really, genuinely, in truth
- árvore
- Tree, woody plant with leaves
- foi
- Was, went, past tense of ser/ir
- enfim
- Finally, at last, in short
- uma
- A, an, one (feminine singular)
- Terrivelmente
- Terribly, awfully, dreadfully, frightfully
- cresciam
- Grew, increased, developed, were growing
- flores
- Flowers, blossoms, flowering plants
- Como
- How, like, as, in the manner of
- livro
- Book, written work, volume
- leitura
- Reading, act of reading, text
- da
- Of the, from the (feminine)
- criança
- Child, young person, infant
- Ou
- Or, either one or the other
- como
- Like, as, similar to, such as
- rosto
- Face, visage, facial features
- um
- A, an, one (masculine singular)
- amigo
- Friend, companion, ally, mate
- visto
- Seen, viewed, considered, sighted
- num
- In a, at a (contraction)
- espelho
- Mirror, reflective surface, reflection
- Ele
- He, him, masculine singular pronoun
- olhou
- Looked, gazed, observed, regarded
- ali
- There, in that place, over there
- estava
- Was, stood, was located (past)
- Nossa
- Our, ours (feminine singular)
- Senhora
- Lady, madam, female term of respect
- Ela
- She, her, feminine singular pronoun
- pé
- Foot, base, leg, standing position
- acariciava
- Caressed, stroked, petted gently and lovingly
- alta
- High, tall, elevated, loud
- viva
- Living, alive, lively, vivid
- homem
- Man, male person, human being
- acaricia
- Caresses, strokes, pets, touches gently
- seu
- His, her, your, its (possessive)
- corcel
- Steed, horse, noble horse
- era
- Was, past tense of ser
- palavra
- Word, speech, verbal expression, term
- aberta
- Open, opened, unlocked, uncovered
- Quando
- When, at what time, at which
- homens
- Men, male persons, human beings
- corajosos
- Brave, courageous, fearless, bold
- falam
- Speak, talk, say, utter words
- escolhem
- Choose, select, pick, decide on
- As
- The (feminine plural article)
- próprias
- Own, proper, themselves (feminine plural)
- do
- Of the, from the (masculine)
- manto
- Cloak, mantle, garment, covering
- Eram
- Were, past tense of ser (plural)
- melhores
- Better, superior, best, finest
- boas
- Good, pleasant, fine (feminine plural)
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