poetry did, in a hotel slept with a man

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

poetry did

–

in a hotel slept

with

a man

–

and poetry knew

he would

never

love poetry…

_______

điều liều lĩnh

mà thơ đã từng làm

–

là ngủ trong khách sạn

với

một chàng

–

mà thơ biết

chàng không

bao giờ

yêu thơ…

______

December 2019

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.

15 comments

  2. Right sleeping seems to be meant in a figurative sense like “staying with” or “being with”. But in the photo, it looks like you were literally about to sleep or woke up from sleeping haha

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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