A poem in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Nhật Ánh
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
Photography: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Her four greatest seasons

In love, we climb every mountain
Your place on the ninth floor, an easy decision not
One step forward and two steps back
Looking up, I say: maybe I should stop!

Save me a place after-noon
Save me a place in love thus
Save plus a place where I may stand
When life is lonesome next to you

The heart lives inside our body
Unlike our clothes ready to show
If you continue to resent me
Đông village couldn’t say, Đoài village said what!

Seeing you for a minute to then leave
What is there more to say after that
Your heart is latched and tightly shut
Even in spring will the buds bloom if they must

Tomorrow when we’re apart
Don’t forget I was right here next…