A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
the pain never budging
mostly unmoving
unless it’s obliterated into dust
by machined bullets
you touch it
and know its eyelids are made of coral
more beautiful than jade
you wonder
what if, it could cry
December 2018
_____
nỗi đau thường không di chuyển
nó đứng yên
cho đến khi đạn đại liên
biến nó thành bụi
bạn chạm vào
và biết mí mắt của nó
bằng đá san hô
đẹp hơn cẩm thạch
bạn nghĩ
giá như nó có thể khóc
Lê Vĩnh Tài, the poet and translator born in 1966 in Buon Ma Thuot, Daklak, Vietnam. The retired doctor is still a resident of the Western Highlands and a businessman in Buon Ma Thuot.
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.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm 