all the poems were in sky blue

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

all the poems were in sky blue

only the one that had been raped was red

all the moons were blue

only the sunrise was a watery orange

all the green leaves lowered their heads smiling

human beings were always the ones looking up crying

the day Mother was on the saddle of a golden wind

flying, turned into a silvery star

with a dream that one day all the poems will unite

in a song in blue

—–

April 2022

tất cả các bài thơ đều màu xanh da trời

chỉ bài thơ bị hiếp dâm màu đỏ 

tất cả mặt trăng cũng đều màu xanh 

chỉ có bình minh màu cam pha loãng

tất cả lá cây màu xanh đều cúi xuống mỉm cười 

chỉ con người hay nhìn lên và khóc 

ngày Mẹ cưỡi cơn gió màu vàng 

bay lên trời thành ngôi sao màu bạc

mơ một ngày tất cả bài thơ đều hát 

chỉ một màu xanh


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.

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