garbage

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

GARBAGE

if a poem is a piece of garbage

then so is she

as she covers the wrinkles in the corners of her eyes

the expensive powders and creams

the poem hid behind its pain

the sleeves used to wipe away the tears

behind the cheap grin

garbage

consistently so…

_____

April 2019

RÁC

nếu bài thơ là rác 

thì nàng cũng vậy

trong khi nàng che những nếp nhăn đuôi mắt

bằng kem và phấn đắt tiền

bài thơ giấu đi nỗi đau của nó 

bằng ống tay áo dài kéo lên lau nước mắt 

và nở một nụ cười giá rẻ

rác 

vẫn thường hay như thế…


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.

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