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)