There are the days when we are simply lost

A poem in Vietnamese by Đinh Thị Như Thúy
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

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The start of a song

Resounding ceaseless harmony of a melody

The bewitching flames

Dancing light

Nocturnal butterflies flying with the rising smoke

Gliding along hypnotised by the scent of flowers

Scent of foliage

Scent of the earth

Gliding along with an arcane mysterious yet named

Ritual

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May 2022

—–

Và tiếng hát đã cất lên

Những hoà âm vang dội suốt mùa dài

Những ngọn lửa u mê

Tung từng chùm ánh sáng

Những bướm đêm lượn vòng theo ngọn khói

Lượn vòng theo mùi hoa

Mùi lá cây

Mùi bụi đất

Lượn vòng theo một nghi lễ bí ẩn

Chưa kịp đặt tên

…

20.5.2022

PS: có những ngày như đi lạc

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Đinh Thị Như Thuý, born 16-9-1965 in Hue,Vietnam. The Vietnamese poet attended high school in Danang, and university in Dalat, then was a literature teacher in Krong Pac district, Dak Lak province. Currently, she works at the Union of Literature and Arts of Da Nang city. She also used the pseudonyms Như Thuý, Như Dã Quỳ.

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.