A poem in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Văn Gia
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

AS FRAGILE

AS BREATHING

Ashes upon the brow

The fate of dust

Amidst this 

Transient world

.

As fragile as breathing

It may be spring

Tomorrow’s ashes

Remember that.

—

MARCH 2, 2022

—–

MỎNG NHƯ

HƠI THỞ

Xức tro lên trán

Nhớ thân hạt bụi

Bay giữa trần gian

Một đời ngắn ngủi

.

Mỏng như hơi thở

Xuân xanh lúc này

Mai là tàn tro

Người ơi nhớ lấy.

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Nguyễn Văn Gia, the poet and facebooker is a retired English professor who currently lives in 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.