--- P H A N   H U Y E N   T H U

My hand can't reach the year 2,000
can't touch the nearest man.

My hand
latch on to stray clouds
waiting for a rain drop.

My hand
is used up and redundant
now attached to the bedboard
now worn out and sucked

Do you know, brother,
I still stick my hand out

Maybe in the next century 
there'll be a day

			translated from the Vietnamese
			by Linh Dinh