Beyond the Lines of Your Poems
Beyond the lines of your poems—
the ones you once wrote,
the summers you spread across the page, blazing with noon sunlight;
the Saigon alleyways you walked, canopied with flame-red blossoms;
the tender first love that chilled every rainy afternoon;
the startled wings of birds flying against the wind;
the fragrance you pressed into words, learning to draw charms like the ancients.
.
Beyond the lines of your poems—
the ones you once wrote,
the paths you walked between letters of dream and truth;
your footsteps carrying the whisper of Nha Trang’s restless waves;
the nights behind the curtain where you met Princess My Nuong laughing in the rain;
the verses still echoing four thousand years of legends;
the deep sadness, the pipa’s tremor of the Dragon King remembering Au Co.
Beyond the lines of your poems—
the ones you once wrote,
the days you stood in parched fields reading verses to summon rain;
the days you copied children’s rhymes across endless new pages;
the ink still heavy with sorrow from a season-strayed wind;
the l?c bát spells you wrote to invite the apricot blossoms to bloom;
and I still stand beside the stone horses of the Ly and Tran dynasties,
my legs weary from an ancient race.
Beyond the lines of your poems—
is Minh the sun,
is minh the day,
so that ink and paper shimmer between dream and real?
Beyond the lines of your poems—
is Minh the moon,
is minh the crescent light,
so a half-moon glows forever in your poetry?
Beyond the lines of your poems,
beyond the lines of your poems.
--- Phan Tan Hai. Dedicated to poet Nguyen Thi Khanh Minh
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
