hôm nay ngày buồn

hôm nay ngày buồn,
nỗi buồn
không quen gió ngược.

hôm nay ngày đau,
mùa xuân chăm kim, đẹp thật
những nhánh hoa nở máu
đâm nhồi.

hôm nay ngày khóc
tàn cây dư nắng, chiều
dài, không có trái tim ngồi ngắm
ngày đâu.

hôm nay ngày chết.

hôm nay ngày nó
ngoài tôi.

4.21.2012.
today is the third day of a sad stretch
which began with your refusal
to eat a sandwich.
(i told you already, didn't i ,
that i will bring a gift so bizarre
off the wall, like a jar
of pickled daikon and carrots.)
but now, i really regret having said
anything about friends
or love. i should have left it alone.
on the other hand, you
should have ignored
all that talk,
take the gift for what it is--a gift,
because when i say, "friends feed
each other," i only meant that i feed you,
or "love is eat," i only meant that i
will love while you, eat.  that's all.

but you would not,
so i did. to fill a void (as they
say) the one that you've forgotten about
unwillingly, but don't worry, it will be here
when one day, your memory
should catch up.