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THE WRITERS POST (ISSN: 1527-5467) VOLUME 7 NUMBER 2 JUL 2005
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NGUYEN
LUONG BA _______________________________ TSUNAMI
TSUNAMI Translated by Do Vinh When
I first learned how to read, to write, to listen
see and understand, to imagine, to re- member
my life drifting afar to a place
that is suffering a natural disaster The
first time I heard tsunami tsunami
tsunami, tsunami tsunami Oh,
south asia where I am familiar, had
come to pass, had made landfall and so Many
love, Ladang, Penang Galang Indonesia, when I on a boat crossing the
seas on a voyage The
horrible waves after waves and I know That
I have died on a stormy night Oh
but to let the boat sink Oh
the great storm quickly passing powerfully
and naturally without question And
I imagine the horror but how could
I imagine such horror when the
waves like the heavens crashing down on
the beautiful beaches like a dream where There
are people enjoying the pleasures
of the world so it begs the question where is God’s mercy for a tsunami as such? (a
Christmas had just come to pass) Too
many people had been killed in a single day
quickly disappearing, quickly dissolving while
they were speaking and smiling in this life. Life
remains virginal Let’s
look to the Southern sea and the mother holding
her child in Banda Aceh had died but truly not knowing what to say! But
the sea is now calm, is that right? TRANSLATED BY DO VINH 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
© Nguyen
Luong Ba
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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