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By Ngo Tu Lap
Translated by Martha Collins
Time is still there
Only the cold river reflecting clouds
Flows into the June dusk
Time is still there
Somewhere
Shining birds fly over the village well
Feet walk over the old fields at harvest
Tears leave no trace
Along the canal are lapok trees, their leaves
like clouds
Sweat-grass is turning the grave-mounds green
Willow-hair flows silently down
Time is still there
This frightening silence
A silence worse than hopelessness
Even the sound of a leaf makes my body tremble
I stand still but I cannot stand still
My sparse hair is whitening little by little
A constant stream of thought
Has furrowed my brow
Time is still there
It never changes
But it is this world
It is you and I
Our eyes see differently now
Ngo Tu Lap received his Ph.D. in English from Illinois State University in 2006. He is the author of books of poetry, fiction, and essays, as well as a translator from Russian, French, and English.
Martha Collins is the author of White Papers and Blue Front. She is the editor-at-large for Field magazine and has published two collections of cotranslated Vietnamese poetry.
Original text: Ngo Tu Lap, "Đổi Thay" from Con đường trên trần thế. Used by permission of the author.
This poem is published in conjunction with Counterfeits, the 18th volume of TWO LINES, which includes this poem, along with translations of over 30 other international writers. To learn more and order your own copy, visit this page.