A poem in Vietnamese by Tô Thùy Yên
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Art: Đinh Trường Chinh

The coronation of love

1

Me embracing the diminished spring.

Rotting the awry leaves.

But my tears, have not the energy to relive it.

2

I acted out every action of my life, I have lived in a glasshouse.

People viewed me as a rare species. Is there a person who actually understands me and knows my real name?

3

My head is usually buried in bony hands, a mouse buried under its soul, trying to dig it up.

Discovering upon the bricks and mortar the decay was covered in velvety moss from the despair of the last era. Upon the sinewy lava, nature’s fury. Upon the stalactite corridor, the timeless patience of the will to change is overwhelming.

Boiling in the mercury sunlight were the slender blades of…