A poem in Vietnamese by Bùi Kim-Anh
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
days locked up in the public garden
shrubs and trees silent
empty footpaths yearning for the clatter of feet
a small dog perched watching
I’m inside looking out
as the days passed by
I’m old so be told
time has turned its back on me
but by my side
there is always poetry
CHỦ NHẬT 30/5
công viên những ngày khoá lại
cỏ cây im lìm như ngủ
lối không người qua nhìn thèm
con chó nhỏ nằm trên sân nhỏ nhìn ra
ta ngồi trong nhà nhìn ra
mỗi ngày như thế trôi qua
ta đã là người già
thời gian ngoảnh mặt với ta
chỉ có thơ mãi ở lại
#bka21
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 