Explanations on Insects – Poetry from Vietnam
Lam Bang, a poet and writer from Vietnam, the land of Blue Dragon shares his poems
Lam Bang
Bui Van Bang, who writes poetry with the name Lam Bang, was born in 1959 at Ha Binh commune, Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa province of Vietnam. He is Member of Vietnamese Writers’ Association and Vietnamese Journalists’ Association. His 13 books have been published including poetry, memoirs, comics, epics. He has won nine Literary Awards – Short story contest award (1993); Uncle Ho’s Poetry Competition Award (2005); End of Century Poetry Competition Award (1999); Le Thanh Tong Award (2005); Le Thanh Tong Award (2006); Le Thanh Tong Award (2010); Comic contest Award (2007); Comic contest Award (2009) and Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee’s Arts and Culture Award (2018).
Explanations on Insects
Passing through my door is a fisherman
His bare back is full
A gecko is always sounding sleepy
Chronic song.
Outside my door is a river bank
Chaotically stepping away
Chaotically stepping back…
Idle ocypodidae, ocypode telling
Adventure stories…
In the hurry afternoon, the fishing village is so busy
Messy sound, messy young women…
Oh, oh at the riverbank, someone has not returned yet.
My doorway is suddenly satisfactory
The fisherman passes by
Carrying the high-pitched sound of women.
A flash passing by.
The gecko raises its ears
Sounding the song of all time…
***
A young woman
The young woman quietly puts away the vase
She does not use it anymore
Her beloved one is gone.
An ashtray is suddenly lonely
A window is also closed
Full of meaning.
Time is eroding freely
Phalaenopsis branch on the balcony is still nursing
Still reaching out as if not knowing the existence of the vase
And the existence of the ashtray…
An orphaned wind carelessly flipped the window curtains.
***
The gecko on the roof of my house
The gecko on the roof of my house
Every night, he calls out: Tac ke…
It sounds very timely, so funny to hear that.
Sometimes at midnight, it even sounds
– Tac ke Tac ke.
My neighbor’s friend put it in a cage
It refuses to eat
And no more sound
It’s skinny
Fearing it would be died, my friend releases it go.
At night it sounds again behind my house
– Tac ke Tac ke
It is said that even sounds then it is rain and odd sounds it is sunny.
I don’t know if it’s true
There was a time, it was both rain and sunny.
I don’t know where it goes these days
Or someone tried to catch it to soak for medicine, so it was sad to leave…
Lack of the gecko sound is missing.
Every night, I wait for the sound of the Gecko…
***
Suddenly in the morning
She wakes up tired
The dark circles on her eyelids say so
She does not bother to water the flower cluster.
The phone ringing
Urging ringtones
She lazily clicks off.
Night
Lonely
Torturing her soul.
Just know she’s crying
She orders a cup of coffee
She buys a hidden corner
She buys a quiet corner.
She refuses the music
She refuses…
Because she is redundant of tears.
______________________
(Translated from Vietnamese into English by Khanh Phuong)
