Dream

Dedicated to Mr. PTH

 

  1. 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…

 

  1. 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)