一把火紅，

One was fire red,

手工雕製，嶄新——

Hand carved and new—

本地工匠從教堂拆掉的長凳上

The local maker pried the wood

撬下木材，

From a torn-down church’s pew,

魔鬼的樂器

The Devil’s instrument

從上帝的屋宇劫掠。

Wrenched from the house of God.

它的應答明快而清晰，

It answered merrily and clear

儘管我指法生澀；

Though my fingering was flawed;

新鮮，尖銳，像一瓶年輕的葡萄酒，

Bright and sharp as a young wine,

他們說，總有一天會甘醇，

They said, but it would mellow,

我們將彼此適應。

And that I would grow into it.

另一把為黃色

The other one was yellow

腮上一處凹痕，

And nicked down at the chin,

琴身光潔如波羅的海的琥珀，

A varnish of Baltic amber,

背板是一塊完整的虎紋楓木，

A one-piece back of tiger maple

音色低沉，憂鬱。

And a low, dark timbre.

有一個世紀那麼老，他們說，

A century old, they said,

音質將永不改變。

Its sound will never change.

G弦和D弦豐富而幽深，

Rich and deep on G and D,

高音部略單薄，

Thin on the upper range,

它怎樣從舊世界輾轉至此

And how it came from the Old World

誰能想像——

Was anybody’s guess—

輕如流亡者的行李，

Light as an exile’s suitcase,

腹囊空空：

A belly of emptiness:

我選擇這一把，

That was the one I chose

（而非那把火焰）

(Not the one of flame)

老師將奉上他們純熟的手

And teachers would turn in their practiced hands

試探音符的悲傷之源。

To see whence the sad notes came.