the prison island of Côn Sơn / a poem by Thép Xanh
We promise one another - poems from an Asian war /
Don Luce selected , introduced ...
the prison island of Côn Sơn
a poem by Thép Xanh
You ask me where on earth
People cannot live as human beings ,
Where people with heart and soul
Live like beasts ,
And I remember the days of Côn Sơn ,
The days of my youth
The beautiful blossoming days of my manhood
Still engraved in my heart with hate ;
I engrave in this burning heart
The days of starvation at Côn Sơn
Meals of eight spoonful of rice
Burning my stomach ,
One cup of water for five people
Burning my throat .
Do you know the neausous smell of rotten shrimp paste ?
Despite my empty stomach, the bile flow bitter
And I spit out ' Human Rights' to the Second Republic !
Yet listen to them
' Eat and lie flat on your back for twenty-four hour .
Remember , son ,
Raise your head and we' ll break your ribs ;
Unbutton you shirt and you' ll eat lime dust .'
You ask me where is Hell
Deep in my heart I remember night at Côn Sơn
The echo of a creaking door
The beatings
The crying out at midnight
The shouting of guards
' Damn it ! Ask for medecine
And we' ll send you to the cemetery of Hàng Dương '.
The beating of clubs on my back.
Oh , my heart, how it aches
Yet I still have the heart to ask
Whether they are human beings .
I ask all of you ,
I ask the rgime of the Republic
Who are they ? Those whom the regime has trained
To ' reform' the prisonners at Côn Sơn .
You are responsible Regime of the second Republic ,
Responsible to all of the people ,
To each of us
Today
In this Twentieth Century
the century of human progress . []
THÉP XANH
( We promise one another - poems from an Asian war / selected, translated , introduced
by Don Luce, John. C. Schafer & Jacquelyn Chagnon . ( published by Indochine Moblile
Eduaction Project / Washington, D.C . / U.S.A / 1971 - p. 106-107)
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