A poem in Vietnamese by Lê Vĩnh Tài
Translators: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm & Viet Pham
Art: Trần Băng Khuê
writing poetry is like splitting wood
wood feels no pain
but the reaction force
will cause poetry to bleed …
—
Viet Pham
làm thơ như bửa củi
nhưng mà củi không đau
đến khi củi bật lại
thì thơ chảy máu đầu
writing poetry is like wood chipping
but it doesn’t hurt the wood
until the chip comes flying
splitting poetry’s head right open
—
writing poetry is like splitting wood
but it doesn’t hurt the wood as it should
until the chips come flying
splitting head and poetry is crying
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.
Viet Pham is a prolific translator who mostly shares his translations on social media. He currently lives in Canada.
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm 
Leave a comment