Dedicated to Mr. PTH
- I dream I’ve a beautiful pair of wings
made of pellucid silk
kind of dreamy silk
as transparent as when you look deep into my eyes
Night falls
the clear and bright silk threads suddenly modulate
I feel vibrating and high – falutin’
The wind blows into my hair hundreds of hopelessly entangled matters
that transform themselves into hundreds of waves
shoving over tiled-roofs throughout the night
then suddenly soar up toward the sky
Like gulls wanting to fly toward the sea
flying through the night, through the night
in time to gaze at dawn breaking with foamy waves
Unexpectedly seeing themselves sparkling in the sunshine
Immense, immense are the sunshine and the sea
But my wings are about to turn weary while down below all tiled-roofs are still dim in night gleam
Grayish antennae point to the sky
Where’s the sea?
Where’s the sea while aching all over are my wings, I then suddenly dash down a roof covered
with dark green mossy weeds
I suddenly remember the story that goes that there’s someone lying on the roof
Frightened in a flash, I use all my strength and again fly high to the sky
Dashing up and down, down and up again and again
I am so scared, what’s the purpose of my growing wings?
Being not a bird while no longer a human being
Having neither means to fly far and high nor being able to perch or to walk
I’m on the halfway while being so rolling…
- Retelling the old-time story while in my childhood
standing beside the window I beheld the sparrows
hopping about on branches and flying, flying
I told my mother I also want to fly and hop on branches instead of having to trace squares on the
ground surface by means of a stick and to continuously throw plastic
sandals on squares from 1 to 7
And only from 1 to 7
As I grew a little older, Mother took me to the sea. I’d shivered upon seeing gulls wheeling
around me and whitening the sea. So, sparrows only hop from branches to branches
while gulls throw themselves into the sea sunshine. Immense is the sea.
I wriggled wishing to turn myself into a gull
Back home
The dream of sparrows disappeared
The dream of gulls also vanished from sight
Sparrows are so toddling while gulls are too lonely.
III. I will grow wings all by myself.
(Translated by Vu Anh Tuan)
