Afternoon in Vi Xuyen - Poem by Thy Nguyen

Rain longer than pain
Mom still sits there, missing me more and more.
The sound of the battlefield echoes
Where did you go in your youth, mother?

ILLUSTRATION: TUAN ANH

The incense smoke is faint and nauseating.
Just keep looking around
Ashes, blood, believers
Anonymous bowed silently, mother leaned on all sides.

Mother thinner than numbness
The afternoon frost is falling, who will come to pick it up?
Every grain of sand has a pain
Vi Xuyen owes the wind a thousand redundant verses.

The debtor mother farewell
Debtor Vi Xuyen many broken springs
The silence of the thousand reeds melts
Bowing down, I pay homage to Vi Xuyen...

Rows of tombstones lie in meditation
Silently choking on sobs, dear mother!
Mother's back is bent, time is running out
Words of incense, words of grass, carrying mother's lullaby...