Yes, we were bound beyond borders

A poem in Vietnamese by Hứa Hiếu
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Art: Đinh Trường Chinh

Yes, we were bound beyond borders

but the boat was too small

it was not big enough to take the load of a nation

not big enough to carry the vernacular of a country

and death was his fate

plain and simple!

—

July 2022

_

Vâng, chúng ta đã vượt biên

nhưng con thuyền quá nhỏ

không thể chuyên chở đặng một quê hương

và không đủ chất chứa hết ngôn ngữ tình tự dân tộc,

và anh phải chết

chỉ thế thôi!

---

Hứa Hiếu, the poet from Vung Tau, Vietnam, currently lives in Lawrenceville, United States.

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.