Quietude | Trương Đình Phượng

Sông Bạch Đằng, Vietnam. Photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm.

A poem in Vietnamese by Trương Đình Phượng
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

tĩnh mịch

flowers bloom, the night floats away with the wind
a ladybug, startled by music
from afar

a wooden cart, abandoned slope
sad horse, hooves beating to smithereens
a lonely path

coachman, whip, time ceasing
a coat of dust, inkier is the night
thinning light
all around
sieving rain

hoa nở, đêm bay theo gió
con cánh cam, giật mình
nhạc xa

xe thổ mộc, dốc vắng
ngựa buồn, chân gõ nát đường
cô độc

xà ích, buông roi, thời gian ngưng
áo bụi, khuya đổ mực, đèn dần thưa
bốn hướng
mưa rây…

2019


Trương Đình Phượng, the poet and writer born in 1984, currently lives in Nghệ An, Việt Nam.

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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