Waiting

A poem in Vietnamese by Vàng A Giang
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm (link blog)
Art: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Ten years I've been waiting for you 
If you will not show
I will turn into a tree in the forest
So your parents may come and cut me down
turn me into pillars, into trusses
So I may be there for you day and night
Ten years I've been waiting for you
If you will not show
May I be the reeds by the stream
So you can gather me up and weave me 
into your mattress and pillow for the night
If you turn out to be someone else’s wife
May I be the bamboo
Allow your husband to cut me down 
turn me into the fence wrap around your home
If you turn out to be someone else’s wife
May I be the worm or cricket
So I may day and night nourish and soften the soil in your garden
When the buffaloes and cows tries to ruin your harvest
I vow to turn into a boulder to stop the cattle from consuming it
Ten years I've been waiting for you 
If you don't show... Please in this life allow me to be your child.
---
November 2022
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Vàng A Giang, the poet born in 1993, in Lào Cai, Northern Highlands, Vietnam.

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

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