no one has the right to absolution

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


1.

no one has the right to absolution

you’re only forgiven by anyone 

it’s because you did 

what had to be done

2.

I’m drowning in the deluge of all my thoughts about the world

inside my bathtub

3.

I’m walking around

around me you should walk

too frightened to look past

look past what’s too frightful

those cracks on the wall

on the walls were all these cracks

what were you afraid of

you were afraid of what

at the end of it all

we’ll find

from the cracks

when the door opens

the door opens when

the gourd cracking wide open

they come out crawling

their blood colder by the day

pretending to be the people

September 2022

BA BÀI THƠ… 

1.

không ai có quyền tha thứ

nên nếu ai đó tha thứ cho bạn

chỉ vì bạn đã làm

điều bạn cần làm…

2.

tôi chết đuối ý nghĩ về thế giới của tôi

ở trong bồn tắm

3.

tôi đi vòng quanh

vòng tôi đi bạn

sợ phải nhìn qua

qua nhìn phải sợ

vết nứt trên tường

tường trên vết nứt

bạn sợ những gì

sợ gì những bạn

cuối cùng chúng ta

có thể tìm thấy

từ trong vết nứt

khi nào cửa mở

cửa mở khi nào

quả bầu bị vỡ

những kẻ chui ra

máu ngày càng lạnh

giả làm nhân dân

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.

By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

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

4 comments

  1. “no one has the right to absolution”

    Eactly, I often think Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm is the best thing since Vietnamese sliced bread 🙌🤩. But correct me IF I’m wrong 😂.

    Liked by 1 person

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