PotD #217: "My Heart" by Nguyen Chi Thien My heart, that endless story, is something That only a child will understand, love and like He will not fully grasp its profundity or richness But will instinctively share its marvelous quality. My heart? It’s the pen, inkstand and paper tube Of a gentleman-scholar unlucky at the exams Left in a corner to gather dust and dream Of a homecoming procession with chaise and pennants streaming like a river! My heart? It’s a red hot pepper That not many of those used to sweet stuff Dare out of curiosity come close to get a taste For as soon as they lick it they have to pull right back. My heart? It’s a poor roadside inn with winds coming through the cracks Where only lost travelers stop for the night In the thick darkness, in the cold settling dew Missing their way, they will go there to find shelter And a little warmth coming from a tiny oil lamp. My heart is at the bottom of a vale but grass-matted Always ready to help those fallen on bad days Who from their heights used to belittle others To find themselves toppled one day. My heart? It’s an ancient palace Quietly mirroring in the shimmering water A few passers by will understand and bow their heads But no one will actually want to buy it! My heart originally was a mulberry field Which changed itself into a roaring sea Now it is no more than a dune Where the sandcrab has long ceased its work My heart can now be likened to a deep wet field That awaits the floodwaters & rains of July-August So that it can overflow into a thousand waves White-crested ones that will sweep everything away!
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 02:09:29 +0000
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