--- M I E N   D A N G

Him nude
Beauty flays along the length of the dirty stain
Petrified in some corner nibbling
Phosphorescent glass shards
Sweet tasting half a curse
The remaining secret part
Groaning behind clenched teeth

Him nude
Slippery inside a body oozing water 
Night is pinned with a million black sesame seeds
Flitting along the fireflies
He is buried alive at the fold
I nudge it out gingerly 
The green scar by chance passes through many springs

Him nude
Skin brownish yellow the color of alluvium
Pores sprouting
The life force splits in two mud cakes
Naked out of the womb



translated from the Vietnamese by Linh Dinh