A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Dear lord, sobering is December!
gone is my ex-lover
that verse is a faded memory
in holy matrimonial mirth is love and poetry
–
followed by a new verse,
December greets its new bride
their new life ran aimlessly the city
December now as they remember it
a smile so painful it no longer hurts
–
December 2018
_____
tháng mười hai ta thảng thốt: trời ơi…
ai người cũ đã thành hun hút
câu thơ cũng nhạt nhòa ký ức
thơ với người phù phiếm cưới nhau
–
theo câu thơ tháng chạp đón dâu
ta đời mới chạy hoang vu quanh phố
tháng mười hai bây giờ ta nhớ
một nụ cười đau đến chẳng còn đau…
–
(December we sigh: heavens…
a former love so far away from
the verse also fading memory
poetry with love in matrimonial mirth
–
followed the verse December greets its bride
their new life ran aimlessly the city
December now they’ll remember
a smile so painful it no longer hurts
–
December we cried: heavens (sigh)…
the former (love) became distant
poetry also a fading memory
poem with love in a matrimonial mirth
–
followed poetry December greets the bride
our new life ran abandoned around town
December now we’ll remember
a smile so painful it no longer hurts…
***
December we cried: ahh (sigh)
your person old became forever
the verse too in fading memory
A person with poetry frivolously unite
–
followed the verse December greets
our new life ran aimlessly the city
December now we may remember
a smile so painful it no longer bites…)
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 