A poem by James Cases
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Mrs Tran Mrs Tran
If anyone she can
Slaves away 8 to 8
Arrives on time never late
Witty, bright,
And yet polite
A script she’ll prepare
Subconsciously without care
Easy does it easy goes
Reaching 200 who knows?
Mrs Tran Mrs tran
Life wasn’t always this easy
Arriving by sea the ocean breezy
To the land down under is where she arrives
One of many keeping their lives
Arriving with nothing but hope up her sleeve
Hope for what she will soon achieve
Food rationed saved and shared
Even for hunger she’s prepared
Veggies fruits and all from the land
Rotten, spoilt still at hand
Humble starts created a tough exterior
Making others to her inferior
Mrs Tran OH Mrs Tran
Strong and independent just like a man
With that statement she’ll disagree
Difference in capabilities she doesn’t see
Lover of wine, soup, jelly and money
Never to greedy to fill an empty tummy
Simple, easy, short and sweet
Spares she uses for a family to eat
So Mrs Tran Mrs Tran
To some you are a friend or boss
Just mix the veggies with some fish sauce
James Cases, the poet currently working on his apprenticeship in Sydney, Australia
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.
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