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POETRY/THƠ

Lê Vĩnh Tài | AN EPIC ODE OF UKRAINE – 23/43 – those who managed to get married in time

Lê Vĩnh Tài, the Vietnamese poet and translator born 1966 in Buon Ma Thuot, Daklak, Vietnam. The retired doctor is still a resident of the Western Highlands, a businessman in Buon Ma Thuot.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, born 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.

zelenskiy.official/photos

By Lê Vĩnh Tài, translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

March 8th, 2022

…

those who managed to get married in time

had consummated before the onslaught of bullets

had dawned before the bright firework

had bloomed roses before the bloodshed

.

the lovers have all headed for the battlefield…

—–

những người yêu đã kịp cưới nhau rồi 

đã tân hôn trước khi lửa đạn 

đã bình mình trước khi pháo sáng 

đã hoa hồng trước lúc máu rơi 

.

những người yêu đã ra trận hết rồi…

By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

There's magic in translating a body of work from one language to another.

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