A Noiseless Patient Spider

A noiseless patient spider,

I marked where on a promontory it stood isolated,

Marked how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,

It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,

Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

And you O my soul where you stand,

Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,

Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,

Till the bridge you will need be formed, till the ductile anchor hold,

Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

譯文：一隻沉默而耐心的蜘蛛

一隻沉默而耐心的蜘蛛,

我注意它孤立地站在小小的海峽上,

注意它怎樣勘測周圍的茫茫空虛,

它射出絲,絲,絲,從它自己之小,

不斷地從紗綻放絲,不倦地加快速率.

而你——我的心靈啊,你站在何處,

被包圍被孤立在無限空間的海洋裡,

不停地沉思,探險,投射,尋求可以連結的地方,

直到架起你需要的橋,直到下定你韌性的錨,

直到你丟擲的遊絲抓住了某處,我的心靈啊!