From the fence of my house - Poem by Tran Cao Duyen

ILLUSTRATION: TUAN ANH

I remember winters of years gone by

Mother came back from the field with the cold

The bamboo slats on the fence rustle in the wind.

But I felt the warmth in my mother's raincoat.

Like recognizing the smell of muddy field crab soup

The smell of mixed vegetables that mother hastily picked from the ditch

The smell of firewood wafts through mother's hands

That year, the sầu đâu flowers fell white on the porch.

The clouds are also white and tearful in the corner of the sky, sending mother off.

The field of storks flies lazily in single beats

Incense trees on both sides of the road

The wind blows in my heart but the leaves do not shake.

Mother's light creeps into my life in winter

Make each streak of warm spring sunshine

From the fence of my house opens up a wide horizon

The horizon always has mother

In the temple my heart is never without mother.