A poem in Vietnamese by Phan Nhiên Hạo
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Art: Đinh Trường Chinh

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Fish in a well

When we were young, my younger cousin 

would catch perch, fry them till their skin were nice and crisp

the fish spared were dropped into a well,

the water was muddy and not very deep,

he said, “These are the lucky ones.”

–

But day in and day out 

they’re pushed around 

shoved down by an iron bucket,

I know this is hell on earth for those 

who had survived.

–

It was a time when my uncle was gasping for air in a re-education camp.

—

May 2022

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Cá trong giếng

Khi còn nhỏ em họ tôi

câu cá rô, chiên giòn

còn vài con thả giếng,

nước đục và không sâu,

nó nói, “Đây là những con cá may mắn.”

–

Nhưng mỗi ngày 

hàng chục lần gàu sắt

giáng xuống,

tôi biết đây là địa ngục trần gian

của những kẻ sống sót.

–

Thời gian đó chú tôi đang ngáp ngáp trong trại cải tạo.

2009

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Phan Nhiên Hạo, the poet and translator born in 1967 in Kontum, Vietnam, currently works and lives in Illinois, the United States of America.

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.