as a poet

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

as a poet

you believed you’ve got a firm grasp

but time and again you drop

the tears

and the dreams

then you continue to steal

and pilfer from all around you…

.

March 2019

_____

là nhà thơ

bạn cứ tưởng mình nắm thật chặt

nhưng bạn thường làm rơi

nước mắt

và những giấc mơ

mà bạn vẫn hay ăn 

cắp của mọi người…


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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