A poem in Vietnamese by Bùi Kim-Anh
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

days locked up in the public garden

shrubs and trees silent

empty footpaths yearning for the clatter of feet

.

a small dog perched watching

I’m inside looking out 

as the days passed by

.

I’m old so be told

time has turned its back on me

but next to me 

there is always poetry

.

May 2021

—

CHỦ NHẬT 30/5

.

công viên những ngày khoá lại 

cỏ cây im lìm như ngủ 

lối không người qua nhìn thèm

.

con chó nhỏ nằm trên sân nhỏ nhìn ra 

ta ngồi trong nhà nhìn ra 

mỗi ngày như thế trôi qua

.

ta đã là người già 

thời gian ngoảnh mặt với ta 

chỉ có thơ mãi ở lại

.

#bka21

Bùi Kim Anh, the poet born in 1948 in Thái Bình, graduated from Hanoi Teacher College, a teacher at a few high schools in Hanoi(Cổ Loa, Bạch Mai, Trần Phú). She is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association. Bùi Kim Anh together with her journalist husband Trần Mai Hạnh currently lives in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Hanoi with their eldest daughter and grandchildren, including Thiện Nhân, from Mount Thành, Quảng Nam, abandoned by his mother and adopted by Trần Mai Anh, the poet’s daughter.

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.

A poem in Vietnamese by Bùi Kim-AnhTra
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A stroll around the lake

the lake silent 

boundless

.

Leaves glistening teardrops

blooms are hidden waiting

the light reflection of the Sun

.

Rosy the hues of dusk

a bottomless lake

to farewell this day the Sun in such haste

.

(April 2020)

_____

CHIỀU 

.

Ta đi dạo quanh hồ 

mặt hồ lặng im 

bờ hồ như vô bờ 

.

Những chiếc lá long lanh ngấn lệ 

những bông hoa náu mình chờ

mặt trời soi làn nước hồ chiều 

.

Hừng lên màu hoàng hôn 

đáy hồ như vô đáy

vội vã mặt trời từ giã ngày 

Bùi Kim Anh, the poet born in 1948 in Thái Bình, graduated from Hanoi Teacher College, a teacher at a few high schools in Hanoi(Cổ Loa, Bạch Mai, Trần Phú). She is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association. Bùi Kim Anh together with her journalist husband Trần Mai Hạnh currently lives in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Hanoi with their eldest daughter and grandchildren, including Thiện Nhân, from Mount Thành, Quảng Nam, abandoned by his mother and adopted by Trần Mai Anh, the poet’s daughter.

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.

A poem in Vietnamese by Bùi Kim-Anh
Translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

now I’m weaker

left is the first enthusiastic verse 

shy of such challenges in my youth

deliberation alone in my twilight years

.

literature is like a love affair

an attachment that could never be severed

I’m resigned to write for myself

if it sounds great, let’s hope someone picks it up

.

settling on a dream of meditation

stumbling on a rocky path or side trip

gone were the thoughts by the monks in the temple 

a life of servitude pushed aside by carnal love

.

winter days overwhelmed by glaring sunlight

I’m resigned to wait for a change, in the new year a kinder wind

my hair reflective in a fainter hue

I had never thought that a strand of hair 

could be so sad.

.

December 2020

_____

CHIỀU CUỐI NĂM 2020

.

ta giờ sức đã kém hơn

chỉ câu thơ vẫn sớm hôm miệt mài

lúc trẻ chẳng dám đua tài

già rồi ta cứ khoan thai một mình

.

văn chương như một cuộc tình

bỏ không dứt vương rối tinh mảnh đời

ta ngồi viết cho ta thôi

câu nào nghe được xin người nhặt lên

.

díu dan một giấc mộng thiền

dẫm vào sỏi đá ngỡ miền viễn du

tính lên chùa ở với sư

lòng yêu mang nặng kiếp tu chẳng thành

.

ngày đông trời hửng nắng hanh

ta ngồi đợi ngọn gió lành năm sau

soi gương tóc đã ngả màu

trước ta tưởng sợi tóc đâu biết buồn

Bùi Kim Anh, the poet born in 1948 in Thái Bình, graduated from Hanoi Teacher College, a teacher at a few high schools in Hanoi(Cổ Loa, Bạch Mai, Trần Phú). She is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association. Bùi Kim Anh together with her journalist husband Trần Mai Hạnh currently lives in Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Hanoi with their eldest daughter and grandchildren, including Thiện Nhân, from Mount Thành, Quảng Nam, abandoned by his mother and adopted by Trần Mai Anh, the poet’s daughter.

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.