Wherever papa might be | Trần Quốc Toàn

A poem in Vietnamese by Trần Quốc Toàn
Translation: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Wherever papa might be
you’re right behind me
as I cross our boundless bloodline
son, your footsteps shall be scented with our heritage…
.
Wherever papa might be
you’re right behind me
as I quietly cross the mountains and valleys
son, your footsteps shall venture far and wide.
.
Because I am a mountain
a mountain of wind and mist
and you are the fragrant blooming foliage

March 12, 2022
—–

Ba đi đâu

con theo đó
ba đi vạn viên máu đỏ
con đi thơm bước chân hồng…
.
Ba đi đâu
con theo đó
ba đi im lặng núi đồi
con đi vang rộng trời xa.
.
Bởi ba là núi
núi là gió là sương 
con là hoa lá là hương

Trần Quốc Toàn 


Trần Quốc Toàn, the Vietnamese poet born 1992, at Tuy Phước, Bình Định, Vietnam. Prize: Tiền Vệ 2019 Liberal Literature Award for Kinh Đêm, a book of poetry; Văn Việt 2022 Literature Award for the novel Trong Rừng Cây Du Thủ.

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.

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By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

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

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