By Lê Vĩnh Tài, translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
I’ve lost a lifetime
consuming scrap
I’m flying
short-sighted, around an Eden
sad and derelict
You’ve escaped
hence you’ve hung me
upside down
so I may look at you from below
lifting up
because I’m
no longer in sync with you
so much so at any given moment stop
to demand food
at the moment you’re weaving a cover
retreating
into a place
no one could penetrate
you’re sighing
within a week, you would swell up
and burst
you realised that
fresh blood
will ooze like flower petals
brilliant parting lips
my feet will then take-off
flying
as you have flown
without an engine stabilizer
or the aid of a pilot
if I want to fly with you
all I need to do is vibrate
since in my pant pocket is the mobile
with your promise:
I’ll message you when I’m done.
_____
tôi đã mất một nửa cuộc đời
chỉ để ăn phế liệu
tôi bay trong trạng thái
cận thị, quanh một khu vườn
buồn và cũ
bạn đã thoát
vì thế bạn đã treo tôi
lộn ngược
để nhìn bạn từ phía dưới
vén lên
bởi vì tôi
không còn cùng bạn di chuyển
thậm chí cứ tùy ý dừng lại
đòi ăn
bây giờ bạn đang dệt một vỏ bọc
rút lui
vào nơi
không ai có thể vào
bạn thở phào
trong vòng vài tuần, bạn sẽ sưng lên
và vỡ
bạn biết
máu tươi
sẽ bơm qua như cánh hoa đang hé đôi môi
rực rỡ
tôi sẽ nhấc hai chân của tôi
và bay
như bạn đã bay
không cân động cơ
hay phi công hỗ trợ
nếu tôi bay với bạn một lần nữa
tôi chỉ phải rung lên thôi
vì trong túi quần tôi
vẫn có chiếc điện thoại mà bạn đã hứa:
khi nào xong em sẽ nhắn tin..
6 replies on “Lê Vĩnh Tài | no. 18:15 – I’ve lost a lifetime consuming scrap”
This ones seems as if someone is about to jump down.
While all they want is to fly upwards.
Trapped in the middle, being tired of waiting.
But if it isn’t then I am sorry and thank you for sharing and translating it here. ❤
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Poetry is interpretive, and your interpretation of the poem could never be wrong. The frustration is there, as all modern-day online relationships are frustrating. Thank you for taking the time to read my translation. Take care.
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Yep, that’s true, about the poetry and the relationships. I just usually want to know what made someone write or do something and how they felt, rather than what I might see in it.
You take care as well. 💜
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LVT is a medical doctor, he has the head of a scientist and the heart of a poet, this might help you see his poetry in a different light. There are many layers of meaning in his poetry. E.G. in this poem, he literally paints her moods due to her menstruation cycle, to him she is beautiful still, but thoughtless when she’s in such a state. I have these insights only of my many translations and research of his poetry over two years, even though I’ve only started blogging since May to help with the frustration of the pandemic. It is beyond my wish that his poetry would have reached anyone. So again, I thank you.
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🤗 ❣️💜
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Thank you for the insight, it really changed the view! 🙂
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