April 30th, 1975

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

April 30th, 1975

April 30th, 1975

The T54 tank masturbated in front of the Independence Palace

in and out in and out many times on the green grass

in ecstatic convulsions

and fervent malarial fever.

It has been a smutty Saigon ever since.

May 2022

—–

30 tháng 4, 1975

30 tháng 4, 1975

Xe Tăng T54 thủ dâm trước dinh Độc Lập

thụt thụi nhiều lần lên thảm cỏ xanh

sướng ngất trong cơn co giật

sốt rét.

Sài Gòn tục tỉu từ đó.

2011

Nguồn: thơ phan nhiên hạo, Radio mùa hè


Phan Nhiên Hạo, the poet and translator born 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.

By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

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

7 comments

  1. This poem sums up Saigon quite nicely ever since all of Vietnam fell under Communist rule back on April 30th 1975.

    My hairstylist and barber is a Vietnamese woman.

    Last time I got my haircut (which was a few weeks ago), she was saying that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is turning Canada into a Communist country like the Vietnam of her childhood that she and her family were forced to flee.

    She’s absolutely right.

    Liked by 2 people

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