not because you’re missing in action

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

Con Dao, Vietnam

not because you’re missing in action

your soul is imprisoned

somewhere

waiting

for you to turn around

and smile

_____

không phải bạn mất tích

linh hồn bạn bị giam cầm

nằm đâu đó

vẫn chờ

bạn nở nụ cười

và quay lại…

_____

DECEMBER 2019

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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