A poem in Vietnamese by Bùi Kim-Anh
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
there’s no bad intent
a late bloomer
a belated love
blatantly obvious
and silent
there’s no chance of ever being
by each other side tonight
the moon hid behind the clouds
Hanoi diffused with sunny showers
there’s no place for a moon
oh infatuated moon
do you not have a single word for this flower
fully bloomed
on the eve of your full moon
too late for a poem
the tea is now cold
the flower unaware
the regret
out of place
RẰM THÁNG BA
có trách gì nhau đâu
một đóa hoa nở muộn
một tình yêu đến muộn
lặng lẽ thôi
biết rồi
có được ngồi với nhau đâu
đêm nay rằm
trăng luẩn quất trong mây
Hà Nội ngày tháng giao mưa nắng
trăng về đâu
vầng trăng say đắm
sao không hẹn lời cho hoa nở
lúc đêm rằm
thơ đến muộn
chén trà muộn
hoa vô tình
ta tiếc nuối
không đâu
Bùi Kim Anh, the poet born in 1948 in Thái Bình, graduated from Hanoi Teacher College, a teacher at a few high schools in Hanoi(Cổ Loa, Bạch Mai, Trần Phú). She is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association. Bùi Kim Anh together with her journalist husband Trần Mai Hạnh currently lives in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Hanoi with their eldest daughter and grandchildren, including Thiện Nhân, from Mount Thành, Quảng Nam, abandoned by his mother and adopted by Trần Mai Anh, the poet’s daughter.
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 