the tumulus of April

A poem in Vietnamese by Dư Đằng Duy
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm


Dư Đằng Duy by Nguyễn Nam

T H E   T U M U L U S   O F   A P R I L

Across the sky came the chill of April 

A mournful wave of icy wind

A mad horse had trampled across

What was left of this diminished horizon

The mask of a nation in exile

Stupefied by an ex-lover’s cold shoulder

A flag covered in the shades of remains

Saigon in the history books washed away by the blood of its people

As we meandered its streets mid-spring 

Each and every aching step hid the tumulus of April

—–

April 2022

M Ộ  P H Ầ N  T H Á N G  T Ư

Tháng tư về úa lạnh trời

Đầy tay gió buốt dạt khơi sóng hờn

Cạn trời cuối đất tang thương

Ngựa cuồng vó vấp cuộc tàn núi sông

Cố hương đắp mặt lưu vong

Ngẩn ngơ đất cũ lạnh lùng tình xưa

Cốt xương lấp kín màu cờ

Sàigòn đâu nữa máu mờ sử xanh

Ta đi giữa phố mùa xuân

Bước đau dấu cỏ mộ phần tháng tư.

Dư Đằng Duy

Dư Đằng Duy, the poet from Vietnam currently lives in Sydney, Australia.

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.

By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

There's magic in translating a body of work from one language to another.

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