timelessly love shall belong to us

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

as you slept

a storm brew up high in the clouds

March 8th the wind was cold 

.

– was that a haiku?

.

when Romeo and Juliet couldn’t simply watched each other sleep

the breeze of time

blew away your memories

.

you kept saying love is sweet

I’ve never known

such breeze of time

these constant gentle breeze

scents of lilac

.

time and time again

love shall belong to us

because I touched

your soul with my finger

.

we’ll love each other till it’s possible

no mention of

August third…

.

Romeo Romeo where art thou Romeo?

the remaining idiot

curled up inside a cavity of your heart…

_____

nằm ngủ

đám mây đang mưa gió trên cao

gió lạnh ngày tám tháng ba

.

– đó có phải là bài thơ haiku?

.

khi Romeo và Juliet vẫn nhìn nhau không ngủ

cơn gió của thời gian

thổi bay những ký ức của bạn

.

bạn cứ nói tình yêu ngọt ngào

tôi không bao giờ biết

những cơn gió của thời gian

cứ nhẹ nhàng thổi

mùi tử đinh hương

.

mãi mãi

tình yêu sẽ thuộc về chúng ta

vì tôi đã chạm vào

và tâm hồn bạn đã chạm ngón tay tôi

.

chúng ta yêu nhau đến khi nào có thể

không kể

tháng tám ngày ba

.

Romeo Romeo đang ở đâu?

chỉ còn rô-méo-ô

đang nằm chèo queo trong tim bạn…

_____

MARCH 2020


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.

8 comments

  1. This poem is stupendously sensual — kudos to the writer 👏💯👌😄.

    The featured image was a great choice — you yourself are like those extra-pretty flowers in this “field” of poetry 😆🤭💞💞

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 😂😍 awww, I am glad you feel that way🌹✌️😆. You are welcome and I hope you had a great Good Friday 🙏😃🤗

      By the way, what does LVT mean? 🤔; pardon my pitiful ignorance🤭🤣

      Liked by 1 person

  2. 😂😂 hahaha, right! of course it was🤦‍♂️😅🤣. I should have known it meant, the one — thee only: Lê Vĩnh Tài! LOL.

    I am delighted that LVT appreciated my feedback and that you have mercifully given me a second chance 🙌😃😆.

    Liked by 1 person

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