By Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
“I was at a loose end (didn’t know what to do -to kill the time)”
so I went off on a tangent read her copied verse
her verse in a language second to mine ( English )
the letters topsy turvy the sentences reverse
it was there – that poem the original
my mother’s tongue my first, his ( Vietnamese )
he meant this she thought what! ( I didn’t want to speak – dumbfound )
I said nothing ( smiled ), she
she went off into some world ( her ego )
…
so passing are the days, since “I went reading it”
I spoke – we ALL smiled ( she may have shed tears )
and the world was that colour ( baby blue )
May 19
The Reluctant Poet 