garfieldDec 3, 2018
Show me a poem you love
Show thread🐚 ms_xenophora 🐚Dec 3, 2018

@garfiald

"From tooth and claw they never cower.
Who can tell which nipped the other?

Proud as stags, they lunge and joust.
Royal tigers, they rear back and roar.

Shrinking and creeping with stalk and glower,
crouching to leap from window to floor,

their only thought is to pounce on a mouse
then croon from rooftops arousing meows."

-- "Vinh mieu (meo)," Ho Xuan Huong (translation by John Balaban)

book link: https://tinyurl.com/ybwc69ky

Copper Canyon Press: Spring Essence by Ho Xuan Huong translated by John Balaban

Show threadgarfieldDec 3, 2018
@amylsacks wow there's such a strong sense of place and atmosphere in this one
Show thread🐚 ms_xenophora 🐚
@garfiald I think what's nice is the original Vietnamese is right across the page so even Whitey McWhiterson Me can attempt to get a feel for the sounds and beats in their original form.
Dec 3, 2018 at 1:43amWeb