Needle and Thread

A poem for kids in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Lãm Thắng
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm


Needle and Thread

Kim và Chỉ

Needle is older
Thread is smaller
Thread is soft
Needle is hard
When there’s a hole
In our clothes
Ready to mend is needle
And thread
Needle is short
Thread is long
But thanks to
Tiny tiny hands
Aptly needling
And threading
The clothes are then
Whole again.
—-
May 2023
______

Kim là chị
Chỉ là em
Chỉ thì mềm
Kim thì cứng
Quần áo thủng
Chỉ kim đây
Hãy vá ngay
Cho lành lặn
Kim thì ngắn
Chỉ thì dài
Nhờ bàn tay
Cô chủ nhỏ
Kim nhọn mỏ
Cứ lách luồn
Chỉ theo luôn
Không ngần ngại
Thật là giỏi
Áo lành ngay
Quần đẹp thay
Nhờ kim chỉ.


Nguyễn Lãm Thắng

Born August 14th, 1973, writes under many pseudonyms: Nguyễn Lãm Thắng, Lam Thuỵ, Trà Thị Kim Xuyến and as a children’s author: Nguyễn Trần Bảo Nghi, Du Lãm, Nhật Quang, Nguyễn Trần Khải Tú…

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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