Boat and Sea / Thuyền và biển

I will tell you a story

of the boat and the sea:

"Since who knows when

the boat has listened to the words of the open sea.

The seagull wings and azure waves

guide the boat to countless places.

The boat’s heart has many aspirations.

And the love of the sea is vast.

The boat sails tirelessly,

but the sea remains distant... still distant.

On peaceful moonlit nights,

the sea is like a little girl

silently conveying thoughts

with waves gently beating around the boat.

Sometimes, for no reason at all,

the sea violently tosses the boat.

(For love everlasting,

is there ever a moment of stillness?)

Only the boat truly understands

how vast the sea is.

Only the sea truly knows

where the boat is going and where it returns.

On days when they don't meet,

the sea turns silvery with longing.

On days when they don't meet,

the boat's heart aches with fractures.

If the boat bids farewell,

the sea is left with only winds and waves.

If I have to be far away from you,

my heart only a storm left.

by Xuân Quỳnh

English translation by Vuong Thanh, 12.2023