Coming Back

Tears on hands when coming back
With the night dejected and the day dried
Now the homeland has been out of sight
Will there be any doubt from now on?

Coming back I met the nothingness again
Finding hovered and broken, relatives' hands
Coming back here the dry and worn out land
Coming back here the strange sun still dazzling my heart

The way is burdened with destined love ties
Rivers and mountains spread with void heart
Somewhere in the midst sat the melancholic mermaid
The soul sings calling the grace to fly along

The way is sweet-smelling in the poor homeland
The areca and the banana gardens are still haunted with the absent
When coming back, I perched on fragments
The noon rooster crowed late across the desolate sky

Original title: Buoi Ve (Ben Bo O Lau)
From: "Binh Minh Cam" (Shrouded Dawn)
A collection of poetry written in 1975
published in 1985.
Translated by Andy Kale