SA BLESSURE NON-SAIGNANTE

Trần Mộng Tú  

(Gửi Tác Giả Mặt Trận Ở Saigon - Ngô Thế Vinh)

Il avait fait adieu à la guerre
Mais la guerre ne l’avait jamais quitté
C’était juste comme un fer chauffé
Pressé rouge ardent contre son sein jusqu’ à son coeur
Il courbait la tête vers sa poitrine et soigneusement pelait les croûtes
Les pelures se détachaient comme des feuillets
Les feuillets remplis de blessures
Les villages désolés et abandonnés
Le terrain ravagé par les cratères des bombes de B52
pas d’ombre d’un seul enfant
Ni même une personne âgée en vue
Y a t’il d’autre chose aussi douloureuse

VẾT THƯƠNG KHÔNG CHẢY MÁU CỦA CHÀNG

HIS NON-BLEEDING WOUND

SA BLESSURE NON-SAIGNANTE

Trần Mộng Tú

(Gửi Tác Giả Mặt Trận Ở Saigon - Ngô Thế Vinh)

 

Chàng đã ra khỏi chiến tranh
He bade farewell to the war
Il avait fait adieu à la guerre
  Nhưng chiến tranh không ra khỏi chàng.
But the war did not get away from him
Mais la guerre ne l’avait jamais quitté
  Như con dấu nung
It was just like a branding iron
C’était juste comme un fer chauffé
  Đóng vào trái tim chàng
Pressed red hot against his chest and deep into his heart
Pressé rouge ardent contre son sein jusqu’ à son coeur
  Chàng cúi xuống ngực mình
  Từ tốn bóc…
He bent down and carefully peeled off the scabs
Il courbait la tête vers sa poitrine et soigneusement pelait les croûtes
  …vết rách thành những tờ rơi
The torn layers turned into loose leaflets
Les pelures se détachaient comme des feuillets
  Những tờ đầy thương tích
The leaflets full of injuries
Les feuillets remplis de blessures
Những ngôi làng trơ trụi bỏ hoang
The desolated abandoned villages
Les villages désolés et abandonnés
Những hố bom B52 cầy nát mặt đất
The B52’s bomb craters pockmarking the earth
Le terrain ravagé par les cratères des bombes de B52

HIS NON-BLEEDING WOUND [To The Battle of Saigon’s author – Ngô Thế Vinh]

Trần Mộng Tú

[ Translated from the Vietnamese by Đặng Vũ Vương ]

He already got away from the war

But the war did not get away from him

It was just like a branding iron

pressed red hot against his chest and deep into his heart 

He bent down and carefully peeled off the scabs

the torn layers turned into loose leaflets

the leaflets full of injury

The desolate abandoned villages

The B52's bomb craters pockmarking the earth

Not a single child glimpsed

Not even an elderly in sight

Is there anything as painful?

is there anything as heartrending?

that amongst the desolation and the ruins

to see a man carrying a corpse on his back

amid a fierce blinding windstorm

in an empty deserted Khmer temple

VẾT THƯƠNG KHÔNG CHẢY MÁU CỦA CHÀNG [ Gửi tác giả Mặt Trận Ở Sài Gòn – Ngô Thế Vinh ]

Trần Mộng Tú

HIS NON-BLEEDING WOUND

[ To The Battle of Saigon’s author – Ngô Thế Vinh ] 

[ Translated from the Vietnamese by Đặng Vũ Vương ]

Chàng đã ra khỏi chiến tranh 

He already got away from the war

Nhưng chiến tranh không ra khỏi chàng. 

But the war did not get away from him

Như con dấu nung 

It was just like a branding iron

Đóng vào trái tim chàng 

pressed red hot against his chest and deep into his heart 

Chàng cúi xuống ngực mình

He bent down and carefully peeled off the scabs

Từ tốn bóc…vết rách thành những tờ rơi

the torn layers turned into loose leaflets

Những tờ đầy thương tích

the leaflets full of injury

NGO THE VINH, THE WOUNDS THAT HAD NOT REALLY HEALED *

Written on the second edition 

of the bilingual collection of short stories “The Battle of Saigon”

NGUYEN THI KHANH MINH

After reading the first story “The Battle of Saigon” which is also used for the title of the book by Ngo The Vinh, my immediate desire is to learn more about the heroes whom he mentioned in the story: like what happened to them, where are they now. I really wish to convey to them, though quite late, my admiration, gratitude and sadness as well. And right away, I also would like to let the author know I fully share the thoughts of the antagonists in the story:

… “Hawk” is the nickname the chief surgeon conferred upon me for my warlike tendency. It appears to me that everyone present is irritated with news of trouble in Saigon...  He continued:

“When you are back there, Hawk, if you meet any discontented students, just pick them up and deliver them to me at Fire Base 7.

Holding his wine glass as though he wants to break it in his hand, Major Binh, the pilot, says in a sharp tone of voice, “Left it to me, you won’t need waste any tear gas grenades and rockets. I’ll need only have a few heavy machine guns set at street corners to await them.

It seems that politics divides us in some fashion.

The major turns to the doctor: “Well, how about you, Dr. Zhivago? What do you think about those students who do nothing other than engage in disturbingdemonstrations?” (The Battle of Saigon pp 270-271)