FROM GULAG TO LOVE
A lover's ballad to him whose name is prisoner-of-conscience
By Uyen Nicole Duong (Như Nguyện)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: April 30, 2020 was the 45th anniversary of
the end of the Vietnam War. Following
the fall of Saigon, hundreds of thousands of South Vietnamese were sent to
labor camps/gulags by the new communist rulers, the winner of the War (North
Vietnamese). These South Vietnamese
political prisoners were later allowed to immigrate to America, an effort
initiated by the Reagan Administration and implemented by President Bush. Their stories became part of Vietnamese
and American history.
In memory of the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon,
30/4/2005, I wrote this poem for the
wife of a political prisoner who had borne his cross and paid his dues, for us
Vietnamese Americans to move on in our new country, the U.S.A. As a ballad, the poem contains quotes from
Vietnamese classical poetic texts, little known to an American audience. The poem was
written bilingually.
UND copyrighted Nov 2004
~~***~~~
In what’s left of a glimpse of life
let me curl up against you
facing the dying sun
feeling your breath upon my hair
in storytelling too sacred to be revealed
the night falls
and the hours pass
I turn to face you
to place my lips on your telling heart
and listen to its beats
tell me tell me please tell me
the heartbeat of life
like sounds of words and sighs
too fragile to render real
yet too real to surrender
It tells me
of all the scars and wounds
“nhung la mau do thit
roi...”
Bloodshed,
and ripped flesh
my fingertips are now confirming
on your burning cells and tissues
They tell me
of hunger, hard labor, and torture
“chem tre dan go tren ngan...”
Chopped
bamboo branches,
and
hauled wood trunks
From mountain to mountain
my silky lips are now confirming
on every breath you draw
It tells me
of stretched nerves, broken veins, diseases, cold, heat,
starvation, all in buried hopes
“Nhung la ray uoc mai ao...”
Longing
to hope, hopelessness back to longing
The vines of my arms are now confirming
on your torso and rib cage
They tell me
of days and nights without sleep and food
“long thuong quan tu om o gay mon”
Love for
such nobleman: starvation and emaciation
The valleys of my hips are now confirming
on your columns of bony legs
They tell me
of humiliation that aims to bend, when legs no longer run
and feet no longer stand
“Nang
vua phuc xuong chang thoi nga ra”
So
she kneeled, for him to fall
No more warrior or nobleman
No more assassin or escapist
No more saint or martyr
Just a being, broken, yet not broken
“Tram nam trong coi nguoi ta...”
A hundred
years' tale…
Solzhenitsyn’s Archipelago, your “Stream of Blood”*
All is here
In silence
and in one held breath
you thrust secrets of human hell onto me
and in me hell bears fruits
then you turn toward the wall
Never talk
Never dream
Just one more day, for the last time
From gulag to love
a thousand footsteps of pain
END
__________
* "Stream of Blood" is the translation for “Suoi Mau,” the name
of a labor camp in southern Vietnam.
UYEN NICOLE DUONG
copyright April
30-2014 November 30, 2005 July 26, 2019
Vietnamese text:
TU` TRAI TAP TRUNG
QUA DEN THUNG LUNG TINH YEU
Bai ca tinh yeu cua nguoi vo tre thuy chung viet cho ngay
tro ve
cua nguoi chong tu nhan chinh tri
DNN C 2004-2019
~~**~~
Trong anh nang cuoi cung cua doi song
cho em cong nguoi ben anh
doi dien cai chet cua mat troi
uong hoi tho cua anh tren toc
ke chuyen lam chi,
thieng lieng chang can boc lo
dem den
va thoi gian troi
Em quay ve doi dien
dat moi len tim anh
va lang nghe nhip dap
noi di anh, ke di anh
nhip dap cua doi song
nhu ngon tu, va tieng tho dai
qua mong manh de thanh thuc tai
qua thuc tai de dau hang, GIA TU VU KHI,
Nhip dap tim ke cho em nghe
Vet the.o va vet thuong
Oi,
nhung la mau do thit roi…
Bloodshed,
and ripped flesh
Dau ngon tay em mon man tren te bao chay xe'm
Te bao tham thi ke chuyen:
Doi khat, kho sai, va cuc hinh
Oi,
chem tre dan go tren ngan…
Chopped
bamboo branches, and hauled wood trunks
From
mountain to mountain
Doi moi mem nhu lua
Tren tung hoi tho
Nhip tho tham thi ke chuyen:
Than kinh cang thang, mach mau vo tan, benh hoan, ret muot,
sot kinh nien, doi khat, tat ca goi tron trong hy vong
Oi,
nhung la ray uoc mai ao
Longing
to hope, hopelessness back to longing
Canh tay moc nha'nh tren vong nguc , ben ca.nh xuong suon
Canh tay ke chuyen:
Ngay, dem, thieu ngu va doi an
Oi,
long thuong quan tu om o gay mon
Love
for such nobleman: starvation and emaciation
Doi nui ben ho^ng, tren hai o^'ng chan xuong xa^?u
Chan ke chuyen:
Nhuc hinh lam cho khuat phuc, khi ca?ng chan khong con vu`ng
chay, va ban chan khong con dung vung
Oi, nang
vua phuc xuong chang thoi nga ra
So she
kneeled, for him to fall
Khong con nua, chien si hay hien nhan
Khong con nua, ke am sat hay nguoi chay tron
Khong con nua, tha'nh hay tha^`n hy sinh
Chi con lai tam than, ga~y ma khong na't
Oi tram
nam trong coi nguoi ta
A hundred
years' tale
HOANG DA?O cua Solzhenitsyn, va ben do`ng Suoi Mau*
Tat ca la day
Trong im lang
Trong cach nin tho?
Anh da^?y vao em dia nguc cua con nguoi
Roi trong em dia nguc no thanh cay trai
Va anh quay mat vao tuong
Khong ke le
Khong mong mo
Mot ngay nua, goi la lan cuoi
Tu trai tap trung qua thung lung tinh yeu
La nghin buoc chan cua sa^`u dau va.n co^?
*Suoi Mau la ten cua mot trai tap trung
DNN copyrighted Nov. 2004
