I am not like you | Lê Vĩnh Tài

Vietnam, I forgot where. Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

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

I am not like you

since you
can just leave
when you can no longer use me

as for me?
me?

me
how can I possibly leave
this body has been given to me
by my parents…

tôi không thể như bạn

vì bạn
có thể rời bỏ tôi
khi đã hết vui

còn tôi?
tôi?

tôi
làm sao có thể từ bỏ
xác thân mẹ cha
đã ban tặng cho mình…
____
MAY 2020


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.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm's avatar

By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

There's magic in translating a body of work from one language to another.

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