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THE WRITERS POST (ISSN: 1527-5467) VOLUME 7 NUMBER 2 JUL 2005
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MAI VAN PHAN __________________________________ six poems by MAI VAN PHAN (translated by
Do Xuan Oanh) Arrow of darkness From imagination and deep aspiration I pulled out arrows and left to find aim for the day Around me targets stayed motionless Here lotus rhizones huddled in
lake bottom There naked children ran into me over forty years before I vaguely gazed at the confused Each arrow traced a rapid flying line Through dimension of time and space Through outlook of life and world And I believed had hit the target When stooping at the foot of twilight Darkness was seen more piled up than before Suddenly many holes were discovered Lamps were just lit on the river Halt for thinking... ...at a time when steering wheel failed among those cars expired of validity retina suddenly open to shroud death ready where limit continued and ended optimistic and lamentable flashed my spirit swiftly escaped bird wing glossed like sword threw into the
air like dust... worst was when the body had to turn into diamond or platic Bloom suddenly bloomed in memory where souvenirs cramped flower couldn’t tear away from branch fragrance called the soul of things assimilated symbolic picture twined so many beautiful matters grieved and regretted soft finger weaved to old hand always weaved always revolved without it fitted too seductive how could you bear it carried you up and squeezed tighter coming to ore seam to explore memory too far away shivered dizzy of obstacles and dangers imagined you understand me to be loved body had offered Screech from the door Echo in the dream became thunderbolt on the old bed again returned the wide land surface smell of rotten field raised gloomy rain stuck to the sweat of mat and blanket fate of stork sunk in depressed screen sloping furrow just rest on pasted alluvium to fill ear hole palm uproared of
shrimp and fish man walked to blow off earth and crumble bank tried to keep cool and remind in delirium before the sound of thunderbolt was that of
hoe and much before was tree catching abyss sound of thunderbolt left without echo to communicate with abyss nor a narrow path screech from the door paved the way. Prayer No 18
(Excerpt from Prayers) Wind swimming wide hugged
butterfly wing flickered bird song falling frozen enlightened fragrance of motionless
melody scented lips corner trembled dry blood effigy together with effigy
shade turned into fossil. Bottom of deep heart
sucked corpse placenta unsuccessfully filled up space without signboard
alternated altar hung bee hive stained of joss-stick smoke sprayed poison
liquid blurred shade of saint gnawed concrete bottom to pieces corner
confused lamp rhythm not off in time dimly lighted feet traces kowtowed and
waited for rotten fruit to fall into regret. Hanging about dark alley
many looks of square moulded from jaw bone always
in position to scream and oscillate single pendulum in narrow background
percussion noise stopped itself without the cause was known hunted to
terminal panic and turned head to pity the road that only knew how to trace
aimless lightning without being able to tangle and burn. Space dense of dumb
thunder all motions had now been meaningless another life began to sprout
from hard callous surface. Shade struggled back into body eating up
explanation open a time of requiem eyes spread soft corner suddenly appeared
firmament from the way of looking at clock hand got into a fit of quiver even
if screamed or remained silent no way of touching the sap of young fruit. Wish
for resurrection The sea behind border flared up sung in nakedness, misled, bursting tree congealed of resin body without antibody quietly died All had no fear of death Troubled pollen mixed with corpses of butterfly and bee Eyeball exploded outside eyeglass Teengirl tongue slept in artificial denture The kiss returned to hunt empty space Mouth bitter dry in choked laugh Start moving Start forget Turned to bow the coat just hung on the rack So stationary the submerged zones Someone put hand on my forehead in cool water Like inadvertently let drop or willfully break off. MAI
VAN PHAN The Writers Post &
literature-in-translation, founded
1999, based in the US. Editorial
note: Works
published in this issue are simultaneously published in the printed Wordbridge magazine (ISSN: 1540-1723). Copyright
© Mai Van Phan
2005. Nothing in this magazine may be
downloaded, distributed, or reproduced without the permission of the author/
translator/ artist/ The Writers Post/
and Wordbridge magazine. Creating links to place
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documents is copyright violation, and is not permitted.
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