and the wind pushes it around

A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

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sometimes the poem falls 

down 

like a fallen leaf

and the wind pushes it around 

all over the ground on the sidewalk

`

don’t pick them up and show them off

like bond coupons… 

—

October 2022

_

đôi khi bài thơ rơi

xuống

như lá rụng

và gió xô đẩy nó

lăn tăn trên vỉa hè

`

bạn đừng nhặt nó mang khoe

như mấy tờ trái phiếu…

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Lê Vĩnh Tài, the poet and translator born in 1966 in Buon Ma Thuot, Daklak, Vietnam. The retired doctor is still a resident of the Western Highlands and a businessman in Buon Ma Thuot.

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.