A poem in Vietnamese by Phan Nhiên Hạo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photographer: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
I live in a house without a door.
On their back, each visitor lugs their door.
In place, before we sit and talk, then,
take the door with them when they leave.
My privacy is dependent upon
the visits of these people.
Sometimes people turn up empty handed.
These are impoverished people devoid of personality
gamblers and those with no shame
drops by to borrow money, the scoundrels.
At the sight of them from afar, quickly I would leave my house
head off to see close friends.
As I leave, I would also lug a door on my back
(The door I’ve removed from my house
only to enter other people’s houses).
(November 2020)
_____
NHÀ KHÔNG CỬA
Tôi sống trong ngôi nhà không cửa.
Mỗi người đến thăm phải mang theo cửa
trên lưng. Lắp vào ngồi nói chuyện, xong,
khi từ biệt họ ra đi cùng với cửa.
Sự riêng tư của tôi phụ thuộc vào
việc thăm viếng của những người này.
Thỉnh thoảng có những người đến tay không
Đây là những kẻ quá nghèo không còn cá tính
Những tay chơi bạc và bọn mặt rô
ghé qua chỉ để mượn tiền hay giở trò đểu giả.
Thấy bóng những kẻ này từ xa tôi vội rời nhà
lên đường thăm những người bạn thiết.
Khi ra đi tôi cũng mang cửa trên lưng
(Cánh cửa mà tôi tháo ra từ nhà mình
nhưng chỉ để dùng ở nhà kẻ khác).
Phan Nhiên Hạo, the poet and translator born 1967 in Kontum, Vietnam, currently works and lives in Illinois, the United States of America.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, born 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm 
Thought provoking. Is that drops a noun?
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Apologies in advance, but could you explan your question. I don’t know if it’s my Covid foggy brain, but for the life of me, I am unable to grasp any inkling of what you are trying to ask. 😊
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Sorry, I was trying to keep it short, but apparently overshot.
My question concerns line 10, “drops by to borrow money, the scoundrels.”
Since the lines before and after refer to groups of people, my first reaction reading that was “surely they meant to say ‘drop by’, without the s”.
Then I realised that the s turns the verb into a noun, drops, which also makes a lot of sense in that line.
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😊 ah.. English is also my second language. Heheh. Thank you so much for clarify it.
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Also, this anonymity is silly. Hi, I’m Elektra, I hope your Covid removes itself with all haste, being horrible company that no one invited (I’ve had it twice till now).
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Ah.. Wishing you all the best of health Elektra. Trâm.
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