a red apple

A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photographer: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

a red apple

houses the worms

in time

the worms consume the apple

from the inside out

now we have

nothing

but worms

_____

một trái táo màu đỏ

che giấu những con sâu

lần hồi

những con sâu ăn rỗng ruột trái

táo

bây giờ chúng ta

không còn gì cả

ngoại trừ những con sâu…

_____

JANUARY 2021

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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.