A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Art: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
the young poet
throws a poem
into the air
–
and they would wait
for the tears
to fall
–
while in the old poet’s eyes
the mere ode
dripping
in alcohol
runs slowly
down the drain
dripping in a line
follows each other down
into the sewers…
—
January 2019
______
nhà thơ trẻ
ném một bài thơ
bay lên trời
–
chờ
rơi
nước mắt
–
trong mắt nhà thơ già
bài thơ
chỉ là
những giọt rượu
chảy
qua cống
xuống
mương
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.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm 