John Fitzgerald Kennedy / a poem by The Phong ( Asian morning western music and other poems By The Phong/ Dai Nam Van Hien Books, Saigon 1971.)

Chủ Nhật, 26 tháng 2, 2012

ASIAN MORNING WESTERN MUSIC / JOHN F. KENNEDY / a poem by THE PHONG 

Asian Morning Western Music /

poems by The  Phong /trans. by Đàm Xuân Cận 

Dai Nam Van Hien Books, Saigon 1971

            J O H N    F I T Z G E R A L D   K E N N E D Y

                                                        a poem by   THE PHONG

                                                translated from the vietnamese  by  ĐÀM XUÂN CẬN  

 IN  a whole  sad evening

I wander

                casting a glance  at the sea

                        and the horizon

counting every quarter  of an hour

                 while the sun appears and disappears 

                        on the waves

my secret sadness

               refuses to go

I wonder whether there is any meaning for life

in the wood Our Lady with innumerable pebbles

in this place I find no solace at all

the sea today is sad like me

furious waves do not cease rolling 

and breaking on lonely rocks

and rocks seem to be  shattered to pieces of russet color

thousands of years ago

               at the beginning of the universe 

probably this hill was part of the sea ,

               with  billows roaring

after so long a time

              now alone man

              I walk slowly ,  sadly

up and down this place

visit friends and inanimate things ;

              and then depart once more ...

Sitting in the evening shop waiting to be served

looking at nude pictures on the wall

and hearing Western music

suddenly I realize

            Christmas is coming soon 

             in this war-ravaged land 

the hostess

             after collecting money

             leaves the counter

goes into the kitchen

            to prepare roast fish

yesterday the duty cook

            went to the training camp

women replace men in all matters 

            except for  being husbands 

I begin to weep 

            over my lonely state

o my love

            are you happy away from me

today

           for dinner

           I will eat more

thinking of your beautiful hands and body

I ' ll smile in tears 

           in the future of civil we all have burning pains

let us turn away

          not to  see the obscene scene

 a naked GI

          shows his contempt for prostitutes

by going out of the bathroom

          without a dress on

a wife turns away ,  looks at her husband and waits

                                                      for him  to react

head bowed

           he goes on sipping his soft drink

aware that the blue-eyed soldier

thinks all Vietnamese women are keen on seeing naked bodies 

in fact his beastly attitude should only shame

           compatriots of hero Abraham Lincoln

whose statue was carved on a great mountain

as for me I remember the photo of John F. Kennedy

            hero of the world with floating hair

                          assassinated not long ago

since the Vietnamese youth 

            night after night ,

            looks at his picture hung over the bed

            feel  respect and love for him

            champion of New Frontier Policy 

o the obscene jingle full of pretty things

only makes prostitutes laugh   

                           professionally

I will never forget the morning

             I came to the cage- like shop

surrounded by wires for fear of terrorist activities

there were four at the table 

             three Americans and a Viet woman

they seemed to be gallant like Europeans

I sincerely thought so

until the little waiter brought a small plate full of cheese

he stuttered in front of an American ,

" she orders this

         gentleman 

              why you shake your head ? "

not knowing what had happened !

the Viet prostitute went on laughing and talking

even after she admitted she had ordered this extra thing .

her lover still shook his head.

I felt sorry although characteristic of a leading nation in the world

the American woman has her own purse even after she is married

 this Vietnamese woman ,  the prostitute turned temporary 

             and profitable wife

has no money and has begged for a breakfast in vain 

The memory of the GI opening the door              

             of the bathroom to let woman appraise his body aches me

for him Amarican simply means this miserable husband

               with gold-rimmed spectacles who

               walks in the direction of the GI

and speaks softly as if saying prayers 

I at first take him to be a pimp

 but after the quarrel breaks out

I understand  the weeping woman in his legitimate wife

one afternoon

               she had left Saigon for the fresh sea air

but only to feel all the humiliation of her people

After the GI gets out to consult his friends

              on how to right his grievious wrong

ha walks in

              the red cap on his head

losing his arrogance he says softly

" I am sorry

               I ' m  really sorry

               please accept my apologies " 

the a firm  handshake with he husband 

             as an acknowledgement of friendship

like the handshake insignia printed on aid bags  ;

" I am sorry 

            for thinking all Viet women are prostitutes 

            and dollars could  buy everything ". 

 Still another  story

           every time the interpreter goes on leave

he sees on the highway

a love-starved GI simply brandishing his dollar coin

           to find woman he could go ahead with

In my war-torn land

           every night 

flares shines bright in every corner of the country

           deafening sounds of artillery disturb further

           uneasy sleeps of war-weary people

never have I found the image of any man more shinning than

                                                     John Fitzgerald  Kennedy  ' s

now his image

         fades out as bubbles ,

         on the immensity of water

         the wind in his hair

         he seems to  weep .

At the J.F. Kennedy Square in Saigon 

         the man whose wife was mistaken as a prostitute 

         of J. F. Kennedy 's nationality 

cannot find back his bitter tears

 Christmas night

         stars  are shinning brightly

         on  the Saigon Basilica

everything is shrouded in the fog of shame

         war 

               and

                     war ...

  

Cap Saint Jacques , South Vietnam

21 st  , December , 1965 .

THEPHONG

        Asian morning western music By The Phong

Preface by Lloyd Fernando

        1 Used from US$ 312,50 for sale by  Abe Books.com

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