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Inward

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Translated by Andy Kale

 

I crossed the river many an afternoon knowing that you would never come back
I hung down my arms, you were suddenly like the rain falling abundantly during days of drought
With my poor memory I retrieved every human figure passing through my life
You did not once knock at the door

A remaining fleck of love casually fell by the river
You once were as submissive as mistletoe
I sang out my song of ambition and conspiracy
Your warm breath rolled and rolled over every pointed spike

In some place do you feel me rushing through your hair?
Like the echo of a weary whisper
Be tender in others' pace
Be childlike like a shallow stream

Still with me is the sacredness of the First Day of the New Year
The souls call out to one another to come back in the never-ending smoke from incense sticks
What can I give you ?
Except the misfortune that is ready to break me down

Kiss your child with smiles
Ask the silence to sing for you in tight lips
The waves, like you, spring across the bridge
So is a little moss still our childhood ?

I go along my own corridor many an afternoon
Why are there so many doors open ?
How do I know which one is the happiness of my life
So I just laugh every time we meet again

The wind blasts wide above my head
Following me is you more depressing than life
We follow each other as if we are chasing our own shadows
With nothingness to raise its voice crying out loud

Now the bridge is still here
The road is still here on which once we roamed
And it is still inundated with the cherished fragrance
In the eyes with all the hesitation of the first time

You do not open your door any more
The untold feelings are nowhere to be seen
I choose the road leading to death
Why is it more passionate than the lucid eye ?
Covering my back in a thousandfold earnest

Give up to each other out of silence
some sorrow of the old days
So that my heart becomes joyous with you
It's the yellow bird with its sweet pecking

Is there still one more departure ?
Is there still anything left to each other even though it was only a shadow ?
Fulfill your role in front of the eyes of others
Since if nothing else we have to congratulate the living.

Nguyen Duc Batngan

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

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