đêm sặc mùi nhớ
nhớ sặc mùi cải lương
tôi đến nhà em
đi qua cây cầu khỉ
tôi đòi hôn lên vú cuả em
đôi vú trắng tinh khiết
hai núm nhỏ bằng hạt đậu

Nap Time Trance

translated by the author

I have known Thành more than five years. He came to America along with his father’s qualifications in the H.O. program. He is kind of good-looking but has …

Nguyen Vien 

And I thought, I must do something for the remaining days, until the moment I get to see you. First, I positioned myself in front of the writing table, typed in the keyboard …

Tran Doan Nho 

Bush

Before leaving Vietnam for Indonesia, Bush said to Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, admiringly:
“Your country is a wonderful place, where people don’t have to waste their energy speaking their mind, just a …

My teddy bear is very old, I do not remember how long I have had him. As a habit, I’d been going to bed with him nightly. I hugged him in my arms when I laid on my side. I tucked him under one of my thigh when I laid on my back. He’s just a little bear but he provides such stability. Maybe this is only a habit of trust, but without him I would feel like I was on the moving boat, and it would be hard to sleep. I hugged him as I hugged my sleep, my dreams or my poems. Both of us are pretty old!

And I thought, I must do something for the remaining days, until the moment I get to see you. First, I positioned myself in front of the writing table, typed in the keyboard these words: “Are you anxious?” Then I clicked the mouse on the send button. But I reconsidered, everything had quieted down over that side of the world, if your yearning for me did exist, it was merely an illusion. What made me believe I can hear the sound of your breathing?

Throughout the night, only three comforting thoughts pass through her restless mind; the old granny panty she is wearing, her unshaven hairy legs, and an absolute sense of respect for his wife.

Of Mice and Subways

translated by the author
from Truyện kể Chuột và Xe Điện (damau.org 12)

At the subway stop of train #9, at the corner of 7th Avenue and 28th Street, in New York City; …

Trăng du đãng ngủ nhờ thềm lạnh
Muốn mời vào nhà không chiếu chăn

The homeless moon sleeps overnight on the steps outside
I really want to ask him in, but where to find the extra floor-mat and blanket?

Tôi đưa nàng trở lại bông giấy cà fê
Tránh khoảng trống tệ nhất sau bữa ăn bụi trước giờ bản tin thế giới
Buổi tối tù khoảng trống bọn đàn ông đầu chỉ còn hộp sọ chất đống xác bong bóng tèm lem mơ đủ mầu

A dude got fucked up on a question mark

The rooftops without question marks
question marks don’t grow on rooftops
last night …

Night Melody

Because I fear the lamp poles might fall,
The wires might catch
And kill our hopes,
I am taking you to a safer …

I had been laying here for 42 years. Glued to the asphalt of this road by the perpetually indestructible gum. Yes, that’s right, I had been rigidly glued. I hadn’t been able to struggle free. My body gradually sank down and was grated to the degree of saturation. As for time? Time, too, was glued tight to the road’s surface, time hadn’t moved since then. Forever.

cái ghe chữ nghĩa đã xa bờ nhiều sải tay, bị sóng gió đánh ngược, suốt buổi chiều và phần còn lại của đêm, mãi canh tư, doi mới đi trên bóng tối mặt nước

Lúc đi
ông mặc áo len màu cổ vịt, quần rộng đũng
tóc cắt ngắn
tay cầm cuốn sách

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giữ kẽ
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