A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
we will return
to sing the song of yesteryear
“to greet each other, with the rave of a sand storm…”
we’ll be patient
silent like a child learning to speak
ignoring the scars
not just the recent bombs in Sri Lanka
nor flying bullets of an April long ago
the children in fear held their breath
they sat waiting
for the angels to drop in
dangling
a hook in our throats
to pull us all up…
.
April 2019
rồi chúng ta sẽ quay về
hát bài ca ngày xưa
“gặp nhau mừng như bão cát…”
chúng ta đã kiên nhẫn
lặng lẽ như đứa trẻ chưa biết nói
bỏ mặc những vết thương
không chỉ là bom vừa nổ ở Sri Lanka
hay đạn bay chíu chiu trong tháng 4 đã cũ
những đứa trẻ nín thở vì sợ
chúng ngồi chờ
những thiên thần bay đến
hạ thòng lọng xuống
móc vào cổ
kéo tất cả chúng ta lên…
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 
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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“ a hook in our throats
to pull us all up”
Wow that’s one heck of a metaphor to end such a troubling poem. It’s also much more troubling because you read angels, you think they’re here to save them. Yay, victory, happiness. But the fish dies when it is pulled by the hook in its throat. Thank you for sharing this piece my friend!
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You are welcome 26. ❤
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Very nice
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Thank you very much my friend. ❤
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