when poetry ignites

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

Paris, France

when poetry ignites

don’t hesitate

like blood poetry bleeds

through the valves

a soft quivering sound

at a level

no one could ever hear…

.

May 2019

______

khi thơ bốc cháy…

đừng gầm gừ

thơ như máu chảy 

qua các van tim

tạo nên một âm thanh run nhẹ

tới mức 

không ai nghe…

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.

10 comments

  2. Pingback: REBLOG: when poetry ignites « Scribe Workshop

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