Your
Birthday, Christmastide
(for my defunct younger sister)
The
sky has turned grey and the weather cold,
It
mildly drizzles like the kind of rain in Hue of old.
There
is something to cause longings in the air:
The
year is going to end or the spring to begin fair.
How
many times since the last Christmas fête?
Were
you still alive, we would surely celebrate.
For
your birthday I would, with special complexion,
Make
a cake quite sweet with all my affection.
I
would mix the stuffing with my warm feeling,
Dress
it with thousand mellifluous words appealing,
Adorn
the surface with letters of congratulatory glee
And
laugh resoundingly - how happy should we be!
It
is needless to weigh or measure in order to bake,
Whoever
can instruct how to create a love cake?
I
would add an edge line as a thread of souvenir
To
encompass the multicolored seeds for my dear.
I
would light the candles - how many pieces, well?
But
what’s counting for, since time is in the sequel!
I
only wish that the candles would spark to lighten
Your
way in the misty world, salvation to heighten.
On
your birthday I would write a small poem
And
burn it for you on God’s descent as a proem
So
that at such a distant place you read it loudly
Gnawing
at the cake I prepared for you so proudly.
I
would try to prevent my hot tears from falling
So
you’re not too attached to the earth on recalling,
But,
my cheeks suddenly got wet from nowhere:
It
seems the rain is dripping, I am not even aware.
Translation by Thanh-Thanh