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Good Grace

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Translated by Andy Kale

 

My heart does not dare to take though the hair is dark
For still longing for a shadow in eternity
Love wakes up with inconsiderable self-pity and resentment
Is there still the rain in the spot of hateful sunlight ?

Time does not know that one has stopped
The eyes follow and the body interrelates with itself
Which boundaries have died when I stop?
On your lips how many times the kiss is still lingering

Those two hands clap to send the tune of the soft words
You run away your hair straight, unmoved
It's the wise sword swishing through the innocent love
You give in to the melancholic wind

The same grass and plants welcome me from the remoteness
You are faraway, too far for me to reach
As the lonely stream embraces the rock wearily waiting
As ever remains the echo of parting grace

Nguyen Duc Batngan

Original title: Tu An
From: "Binh Minh Cam" (Shrouded Dawn)
A collection of poetry written in 1975
published in 1985.

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