18 on 30/4 | Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

James Cases, photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

18,
That day Hitler died(1945)
Saigon fell(1975)

You were born kid(1999)
A pale baby,
Your heritage, the isles of Philippines

Born on the island of Australis
Skin deepened
In the land of giant birds

A smiling baby
Brooding young youth
To shouldering the world

You are just 18:
Much to learn
Ego to earn
Infinite paths

You are but 18.

Happy birthday kid.
[A poem for James Cases 2017]

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.

14 comments

  3. There are alot of interesting details in this short poem 👍😄.

    I didn’t know Australia was also known as Australis and also referred to as the land of giant birds 📝. But when you mentioned that it’s a poem for James Cases 2017, do you mean that you actually made this in 2017 for James Cases?

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    Reply

      1. Awww that’s incredibly touching 💞☺️.

        Good to hear where he is now in life and it’s awesome knowing that his earlier years were shared with you 💙💙🤗

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      3. I had zero knowledge about the the Chinese/Vietnamese zodiacs but thanks to google, I was able to look it up, and I can confirm that my birth history does align with these Chinese and Vietnamese zodiacs of great significance 😆😁💙

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      7. I get where you are coming from, I am much the same too. I find the zodiacs interesting in general but I know next to nothing about zodiacs and don’t really believe in anything that is perceived to able to tell the future lol

        But in this case it was really cool how your guess about the rabbit in the chinese zodiac/ and the cat in the vietnamese zodiac possibly being related to me in some form or fashion was a good guess haha

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