The Birth of an Ox

Temy Hoang Poems, , , ,

I was born between the seventh heaven
and the night
My homeland was engulfed in flames
and clouds of smoke

The green rice fields were watered with blood
The fruitful lands were soaked with tears
And love was torn
between the South and the North

As I was playing in the cradle
pain free and lighthearted
pains poured down
on everybody’s hearts
like a heavy summer rain

The tears I shed intertwined
with the tears of the mothers
longing for their sons to come home
alive
from the battlefields

I was born on a beautiful early
Autumn day
Looking up
I saw drifting clouds in an S-shaped dragon
soaring into the vast blue sky

*The Ox is among the 12 animals in the Vietnamese zodiac
**Vietnam is roughly S shaped when viewed on a map

18 thoughts on “The Birth of an Ox”

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