One was fire red,

一把火紅，

Hand carved and new—

手工雕製，嶄新——

The local maker pried the wood

本地工匠從教堂拆掉的長凳上

From a torn-down church’s pew,

撬下木材，

The Devil’s instrument

魔鬼的樂器

Wrenched from the house of God.

從上帝的屋宇劫掠。

It answered merrily and clear

它的應答明快而清晰，

Though my fingering was flawed;

儘管我指法生澀；

Bright and sharp as a young wine,

新鮮，尖銳，像一瓶年輕的葡萄酒，

They said, but it would mellow,

他們說，總有一天會甘醇，

And that I would grow into it.

我們將彼此適應。

The other one was yellow

另一把為黃色

And nicked down at the chin,

腮上一處凹痕，

A varnish of Baltic amber,

琴身光潔如波羅的海的琥珀，

A one-piece back of tiger maple

背板是一塊完整的虎紋楓木，

And a low, dark timbre.

音色低沉，憂鬱。

A century old, they said,

有一個世紀那麼老，他們說，

Its sound will never change.

音質將永不改變。

Rich and deep on G and D,

G弦和D弦豐富而幽深，

Thin on the upper range,

高音部略單薄，

And how it came from the Old World

它怎樣從舊世界輾轉至此

Was anybody’s guess—

誰能想像——

Light as an exile’s suitcase,

輕如流亡者的行李，

A belly of emptiness:

腹囊空空：

That was the one I chose

我選擇這一把，

(Not the one of flame)

（而非那把火焰）

And teachers would turn in their practiced hands

老師將奉上他們純熟的手

To see whence the sad notes came.

試探音符的悲傷之源。