A poem in Vietnamese by Bùi Kim-Anh
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

the cold wind delivered us
stayed
echoed by the hot coffee in an alley at the old quarter
the narrow stairs seemingly perched in the air
the seatings vagrant
eerie
vehicles chewing up the moments
a familiarity
touched upon
the memories of an old Hanoi
.
December 2020
_____
GIÓ LẠNH
.
gió lạnh đưa ta đến đây
trú ngụ
cafe nóng sâu ngõ nhà phố cổ
cầu thang hẹp như treo
góc ngồi lãng du
góc ngồi ma mị
những chiếc xe rỉ nát thời gian
quen cũ
chạm vào nhớ
Hà Nội dáng xưa
Bùi Kim Anh, the poet born in 1948 in Thái Bình, graduated from Hanoi Teacher College, a teacher at a few high schools in Hanoi(Cổ Loa, Bạch Mai, Trần Phú). She is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association. Bùi Kim Anh together with her journalist husband Trần Mai Hạnh currently lives in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Hanoi with their eldest daughter and grandchildren, including Thiện Nhân, from Mount Thành, Quảng Nam, abandoned by his mother and adopted by Trần Mai Anh, the poet’s daughter.
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.
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