Dignity is a measure of your pride? 

Dignity is a measure of your pride? 

–

My busy predisposition could not confine me 

to the walls of the room 

no matter the glimpses of the glorious South China Sea 

or a lively metropolis. 

–

A diet of watery rice and a runaway gut 

hit with the curse of bleeding 

I planned an escape on the tarmac

–

A few steps onto the uneven footpath, 

flat on my stomach 

my dignity exploded across half a mile radius. 

–

The kindness of people helped me up 

while my pride lay forlorn on the concrete, 

alone I stood up and thanked them… 

–

Eo tròn mông tròn… 

tôi vẫn bước tới vôn vớt dành lại một tí tôi.

–

I hope I’ve managed a smile on your face 

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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.