so many countless high-minded barricades

A poem in Vietnamese by Trần Thiên Thị
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Oh such a verse has passed through so many countless high-minded barricades
Settled within one’s eyes are the uncountable scars
Along with the grass
After so many times being stomped upon
I promised her
Tomorrow it will be greener
Ahead of us will be
The spring

January 2022

Ôi câu thơ này đã chui qua không biết bao nhiêu lớp hàng rào luân lý
Nằm lại trong mắt người với bao nhiêu vết sẹo
Cùng với cỏ
Sau bao lần giày xéo
Ta hứa với nàng
Ngày mai sẽ xanh
Phía trước chúng mình
Mùa xuân


Trần Thiên Thị, a poet from Danang, Vietnam.

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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