A poem in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Đức Sơn
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Art: Đinh Trường Chinh

A starry night in the trees

In a race to fall upon humanity

A celebration of trees and spirit

On the verge of tears were the boundless dreams

A golden age a river of dreams a sky filled with poetry

I am a man upon my death at the precipice of nothingness.

—–

April 2022

—

Trên bờ hư không

Một đêm sao ở trên rừng

Đua nhau rụng xuống chào mừng nhân gian

Hồn tôi cây cối liên hoan

Rưng rưng tôi thấy trăm ngàn ước mơ

Tuổi vàng suối mộng trời thơ

Lớn lên tôi chết trên bờ hư không.

Thơ Nguyễn Đức Sơn 

---

Nguyễn Đức Sơn, the poet was born on November 18, 1937, in Du Khanh village, Thanh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province, originally from Thua Thien Hue. He began writing poetry very early with the pen name Sao Trên Rừng, and other pen names like Sơn Núi. On the morning of June 11, 2020, passed away at the age of 83.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, was born in 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.