Elm Street

时间：2016-01-13 05:08:48

（单词翻译:单击）

Elm Street

Suzanne Cleary

I am so happy to see the man who lives in the house on the corner

sit on the porch with a guitar on his knee, one arm draped

loosely, as if he patiently scans a vast repertoire¹, choosing

which song to play, or as if he has stopped mid-song

to tighten² a string, then decided³ to listen to Elm Street

and compose a new song, notes his fingers will find and follow,

for Elm Street is a steep hill that draws skateboarders like a magnet,

that makes drivers roll down the truck window and stick an elbow out.

Elm Street has been here since before it had a name, dirt path

from hilltop to river. I am happy if the man is new to the guitar, pauses

in the middle of the only song he knows, because he has lost his place

or lost touch with the touch he has learned to imitate, late nights

in his attic-room rental⁴, this middle-aged⁵ man who works second shift,

home now for the night, which he will fill, perhaps, with song,

or with stray notes that make song of the silence between them,

for sometimes song is beyond our reach, as found the art student

who dutifully copied masterpieces until he saw his true gift: forgery⁷.

For a brief time, he built a life on copying Matisse,

for his simple line, unable to see that the line halted when the painter paused

to look at his model. The line resumed with hesitance, a quaver

the forger⁶ never could replicate⁸, conceding,

I mastered his line, it was his pause I could not master -- finally having seen

that to see the model is to quaver in her presence, is to carry forward

what little you can balance on the tip of the brush.

Silence, big silence that surrounds us, some of us dare to hear you.

Tonight, I am happy it is the man on the corner, instead of me,

who sits in your presence, and readies himself to play.

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1 repertoire
n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表
参考例句：
There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。 He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

2 tighten
v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧
参考例句：
Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。 Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

3 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。 There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 rental
n.租赁，出租，出租业
参考例句：
The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。 We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 middle-aged
adj.中年的
参考例句：
I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。 The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

6 forger
v.伪造；n.（钱、文件等的）伪造者
参考例句：
He admitted seven charges including forging passports.他承认了7项罪名，其中包括伪造护照。 She alleged that Taylor had forged her signature on the form.她声称泰勒在表格上伪造了她的签名。

7 forgery
n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）
参考例句：
The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。 He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

8 replicate
v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的
参考例句：
The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。 It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。