Horse and Rider
Melissa Range

Sing unto（到，直到） the Lord a drift of a song,
a song that goes before the Law:

make of your voice a shaft² of flame
shifting into cloud and back again,

a rift¹ in a wave, a crack（裂缝） in a wheel,
a road in the midst of the sea;

make of your voice a staff turned snake
turned brass³（黄铜） turned tambourine⁴（小手鼓） .

Sing of swift colts bolting
from their mares onto the plains of tender sand,

bolts of dyed（被染色的） silk rippling⁵ as they unfurl—
cedar⁶（雪松） , sable⁷（黑貂） , silver, sunset, snow.

Sing of the vacant（空虚的，空缺的） stables, the casks（木桶） of grain;
of the rakes（耙子） and forks that lean against the stalls;

of the stable-boys—all younger sons—
whose charges charge away.

Sing of helmets（头盔） hailed upon the fields,
gold flax and barley⁸ rotting in the bud;

of the bare-headed boys who urge their chariots（战车） on
with surging throats: O sing of their black hair.

Sing of the groomed⁹ hooves（蹄） and flanks（两翼）
and haunches（腰部，臀部） brushed blinding in the glare,

jolting¹⁰ the riders they bear—all younger sons—
until the sand tenders itself unto the sea.

Sing this day of the gift of the Lord: the genesis（发生，起源）
of a song so old it has no attribution;

of a tongue's first poetry—the gleaming shard¹¹
which broke from prose（散文） , from simple speech,

the jagged line which founded epic¹², identity, belief.
Sing of defeat, for without defeat, how could we sing?

Sing of swords, shields, chariots, sifting¹³
down beneath the tangling¹⁴（纠纷，混乱状态） reeds.

Sing of the clear dry heavens, the mottled sea—
cedar, sable, silver, sunset, snow.

Sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously;
He has slaughtered¹⁵ whom He has slaughtered;

He has shown Himself worthy¹⁶ of all our noise:
He has rid the earth of a few more horses, a few more boys.