第29章 Ebony and Ivory乌木键和象牙键
晚安心语
we must accept finite disappoi，but we must never lose infinite hope
我们必须接受失望，因为它是有限的，但千万不可失去希望，因为它是无穷的。
in the spring of 1983，margaret patribsp;arrived at the southeast senior ter for indepe living to begin her physibsp;therapyas millie mchugh，a longtime staff member，introdubsp;margaret to people at the ter，she notibsp;the look of pain in margaret&039;s eyes as she gazed at the piano
“is anything wrong？”asked millie
“no，”margaret said softly“it&039;s just that seeing a pians babsp;memoriesbefore my stroke，musibsp;was everything to me”
millie gnbsp;at margaret&039;s useless right hand as the bbsp;woman quietly told some of the highlights of her musibsp;career
suddenly millie said，“wait right herei&039;ll be babsp;in a minute”
she returned moments ter，followed closely by a small，white-haired woman in thibsp;gssesthe woman used a walker
“margaret patrick，”said millie，“meet ruth eisehen she smiled“she too pyed the piano，but like you，she&039;s not been able to py sinbsp;her strokemrseisenberg has a ght hand，and you have a good left，and i have a feeling that together you two bsp;do something wonderful”
“do you know chopin&039;s waltz in d ft？”ruth askedmargaret nodded
side by side，the two sat on the piawo healthy hands-oh long，graceful bbsp;fihe other with short，plump white ones-moved rhythmically across the ebony and ivory keys
sinbsp;that day，they have sat together over the keyboard hundreds of times-margaret&039;s helpless right hand around ruth&039;s back，ruth&039;s helpless left hand on margaret&039;s knee，while ruth&039;s good hand pys the melody and margaret&039;s good hand pys the apa
their musibsp;has pleased audienbsp;on television，at churches and schools，and at rehabilitation and senior citizen tersand on the piano bench，more than musibsp;has been shared by these towfor it was there，beginning with chopin and babsp;ahoven，that they learhey had more in on than they ever dreamed-both were great-grandmothers and widows，both had lost sons；both had mubsp;to give，but her could give without the other
sharing that piano bench，ruth heard margaret say，“my musibsp;was taken away，but god gave me ruth”
and evidently some of margaret&039;s faith has rubbed off on ruth as they&039;ve sat side by side these past five years，because ruth is now saying，“it was god&039;s mirabsp;that brought us together”
and that is our story of margaret and ruth，who call themselves ebony and ivory
虽然她们身体已不再健康，但她们携手合作，跨越了疾病带来的障碍，两人一左一右，肤色一黑一白，仍然可以在黑白琴键上共奏一首完美的曲调。
fingal 译
1983年春，玛格丽特·帕特里克来到美国东南部的老年独立生活中心，开始进行她的物理治疗。工作人员米莉·麦克休是一位老员工，当她把玛格丽特介绍给中心里的人们时，她注意到当玛格丽特凝视着钢琴时眼神里流露出的痛苦表情。
“有什么问题吗？”米莉问道。
“没事儿，”玛格丽特轻轻地说，“只是，我一看到钢琴就会想起往事。在我中风之前，音乐是我的一切。”当这位黑人老妇静静地向米莉诉说自己音乐生涯中的光辉事迹时，米莉瞟了一眼她那不能动的右手。
米莉忽然说道：“在这儿等一会儿，我马上就回来。”
片刻之后她就回来了，紧随其后的是一位个子矮小、戴着厚眼镜片、头发花白，并支着助步架的女人。
“玛格丽特·帕特里克，”米莉介绍道，“这位是露丝·艾森伯格。”然后，她笑了笑，说：“她也会弹钢琴，但和你一样，自从中风后就无法再弹了。艾森伯格夫人的右手行动自如，而你的左手也是，我有一种感觉，你们俩在一起，可以弹奏出一些美妙的音乐。”
“你知道肖邦的《降d大调圆舞曲》吗？”露丝问道。玛格丽特点点头。
两人并排坐在钢琴凳上。两只健康的手——一只是纤长而优雅的黑手，另一只是短而胖乎乎的白手——有节奏地在乌木琴键和象牙琴键之间跳跃。
从那日起，她们两人坐在琴键前一起弹奏了数千次——当露丝用健康的右手弹奏歌曲时，她那无助的左手就搭在玛格丽特的膝盖上；而当玛格丽特用健康的手弹奏伴奏时，她那无助的右手则搂着露丝的背。
在电视、教堂、学校、康复中心以及老年人中心，她们的音乐让观众们愉悦满意。
在钢琴凳上，她们俩分享的不只是音乐。因为就在这儿，她们从肖邦、巴赫和贝多芬开始，了解到两人有很多共同点，甚至比她们曾经想象的还多。两者都是曾祖母，并且都是寡妇，都已经失去了儿子，都奉献了很多，但没有对方的支持，两人都无法再奉献。
她们俩一起坐在钢琴凳上时，露丝听到玛格丽特说：“我的音乐被夺走了，但上帝给了我露丝。”
她们并肩而坐，度过了五年时光，很明显，玛格丽特的某些信仰影响了露丝，因为露丝现在会说：“这是上帝的奇迹，使我们走到一起。”
这就是玛格丽特和露丝的故事，她们自称乌木键和象牙键。
轻英语
古诗词译文欣赏
1we wish eabsp;other a long life so as to share the beauty of this graceful moon light，even though miles apart
但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。
2a lonely stranger in a strange nd i am cast，i miss my family all the more on every festive day
独在异乡为异客，每逢佳节倍思亲。
3a bosom friend afar brings distanbsp;near
海内存知己，天涯若比邻。
4the endless river eastward flows；with its huge waves are gone all those galnt heroes of bygone years
大江东去，浪淘尽，千古风流人物。