still causing twists and turns in each night’s dream

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

STILL CAUSING TWISTS AND TURNS IN EACH NIGHT’S DREAM

In the dream, there’s a sadness

I called your name

a modest sound

it is soft

Not as mysterious as the wind

or as the clouds dissolve

the softness is pure

a chardonnay

in every moment raised

crisp

in each sip

light and sweet

and in the inebriation

you’re an apparition

A soft apparition

no mystery

still causing twists and turns in each night’s dream.

______

VẪN TRỞ MÌNH MỖI GIẤC MƠ KHUYA

Trong giấc mơ có một nỗi buồn
ta gọi tên em
một âm thanh giản dị
dịu dàng
`
Không mơ hồ như gió
không vỡ nát như mây
sự dịu dàng trong veo
như rượu trắng
mỗi khi nâng lên
long lanh
mỗi khi uống
dịu ngọt
và khi say
em là ảo ảnh
`
Một ảo ảnh dịu dàng
không bí mật
vẫn trở mình một giấc mơ khuya.

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.

still causing twists and turns in each night’s dream