A poem in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Đình Toàn
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Art: Đinh Trường Chinh

Your return
A black winter
An abandoned home
Mouldy and damp
Your return
Hands cupping the tears
At the dusty threshold
Your childhood passes by
–
Your return
Upon the grave of a lover
Rocks strewn with flowers
Underfoot are the ticklish grass
Cold wind
Flickering of a match
Flickering of a match
Igniting sadness
–
Old dreams
Lit up once more
Old photographs
Burnt out once more
Upon your return
Hands of scented smoke
Dissipating bygone sorrow
Speak, say anything, anything at all my love…
–
(December 2021)
_____
Nỗi buồn và bàn tay
Khi em trở về
Trời mùa đông đen
Căn nhà không người
Và mùi ẩm mốc
Khi em trở về
Tay đầy nước mắt
Trên thành cửa bụi
Tuổi thơ đi qua
–
Khi em trở về
Mộ người yêu đó
Hoa trên phiến đá
Cỏ buồn ngón chân
Và cơn gió rét
Que diêm bật lên
Que diêm bật lên
Nỗi buồn thắp lên
–
Những mơ ước cũ
Sáng lên một lần
Những hình ảnh cũ
Tắt đi một lần
Khi em trở về
Bàn tay khói hương
Buồn xưa sắp hết
Nói gì đi em…
Nguyễn Đình Toàn first penned under Tô Hà Vân, born September 6th, 1936 at Gia Lâm, by the Red river, outside of Hanoi. Left for South Vietnam in 1954, there he became actively involved in the arts, literature, poetry, plays, and music, in association with literary magazines like Văn, Văn học. He collaborated with Trần Phong Giao for many years in the selection of literature for Văn Magazine. He took up the position as the editor of Saigon Radio after that and became known for the Music program in the early seventies. He was captured twice after 1975 and was imprisoned in a re-education camp for nearly six years. He and his wife, Madame Thu Hồng, settled in the United States of America at the end of 1998. A retiree, he currently resides in Southern California with his family.
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.
Beautiful words…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person