A New Vietnamese Avant-Garde, Part Two: Four Poems by Phan Bá Thọ & Lý Đợi

Translation from Vietnamese by Jack J. Huynh

 [The following is continued from a previous posting, in which details are given of an extraordinary & little known development in contemporary Vietnamese poetry & culture, like all true avant-garde art “against the grain.”]

k a f k a c o c a i n e

annotations: 1. to verify these clauses, please contact

cell fone: 0908.376.458 inquiries direct to the devil’s
     assistant phan bá thọ

2. in accordance with his understanding, superficial or
     simply put [of course], there are 999... reasons

dreadfully distorted, namely [several circumstances,
     sporadically cited]:

- as nguyễn hữu hồng minh was at great pains, because
     her motorbike crashed itself

- as the poet nguyễn quốc chánh, because he neglected
     many things + his wife

- the condition of 2 brothers, at pains to go out in the street

a wisp of poison wind passes the lips of the yawning mouth,
     & as such:

the sun is hell [1] or to speak contrarily [thoroughly,

preposterously harshly misused etc. – etc. however
     discretion permits &] it knows that

as humans ® always in motion, changing for the worse

it’s always pursued by implications stuck like glue
     because of its own shadow

this problem is of more use[less] than erroneousness
     / join / the thoughts of very many people

1.5 / aus

looking straight on [except when strolling
     contemplatively some scenes of production] it

always sees straight in the time it displaces

[this fact denounces the original act of fidelitous
     cohabitation, fearful & timorous

its uprightness opposes many things...]

25 / pa.vn

rigorously execute 112004 statutes

[including: the 2003 statue concerning spouses, to rest
     the head neck heart lungs &

densely the terms vague

things turn back once more, fossilized backwards
     underdeveloped descendants,
offspring without prescription pressing tummies

this fact also demonstrates continually, the act of

ill breeding – natural naivety – innate to it & to
     all the many

approvals similarly afflicted with it

33 / beer.humbly base

to summarize, since the time it was discovered
     we: humanity

it also discovered facts: it’s worse than a worm

rotting till not craving knowledge of the statutes
     of people

changing for the worse / inside of it, with a
     squeak of freedom

[thought thats the thing freedom lets pee all over]

hell sparkles shimmering with light & this fact can
     also be contrary ®

worms also follow its shadow

the complex thing to obtain is when, all the worms
     and people don’t distinguish

where’s kafka where is cocaine ®

everything is gloomy obscure / surreptitious /
     entangled and absent of meaning or explanation
     like

the following lines, which often give: 2 rascals,
     open - lips

- mouth – distorted – face [2]

Phan Bá Thọ: “k a f k a c o c a i n”, from Đống rác vô tận (Endless Rubbish Heap)

__________________________

who the fuck are you

a baby girl with 70 years experience zipping in and out of
     alleyways at night

an old daddy wanton & messy in many ways, also inviting

them here, knowing 80% who I am

I, not taking the name rilke or rimbaud

guessing, its not the men women & depraved

not homo [ monetary / consubstantiated ] sexual etc.
     & etc.

[hey, the quality of all the flawless & self-contented
     people]

speaking honestly I, a cow bound tight in a deserted
     house with much comfort

body riddled with holes but flawed, barren of a hole to
     insert

every day, I chew up a blade of green grass & ten dead
     bodies

swallow 30 kilowatts whole but still take more.

 Phan Bá Thọ “mày là ai", from Đồng rác vô tận (Endless rubbish heap)

________________________

Constitution (or the law) for a public restroom

       + inevitably following observations made in HCMC,
and also a gift for Vi Thuy Linh, Hanoi.

                    
                     - Do not put your feet on the toilet seat
                     - Do not flush tampons down the toilet
                     - Do not write nonsense on the wall

                          [especially poetry]

                     - Do not shoot up on drugs, substances

                          which cause addiction or aggression

                     - Do not make use of the private room to leak

                          national secrets

                     - Do not hock loogies, litter, ash cigarettes

                          messily about

                     - Do not masturbate

                     - You can not use condoms [both men and

                          women]

                     - You can not use profanity

                     - You can not forget to flush the toilet

                     - You can not forget to pay money

                     - You can not forget your personal effects and

                          belongings

                   …

                    And finally: PLEASE KEEP PUBLIC HYGIENE

                                    IGNORE PERSONAL HYGIENE

                                    PLEASE KEEP PUBLIC HYGIENE

PLEASE KEEP PUBLIC HYGIENE:

is the terminology pressing the light of life in the substance
     and spirit of my Vietnam

because all same Compatriots

because all same Uniform

because all same Unanimously concentric

Because all same Accomplices

Because all same Coreligionists

Because all same Fellow disciples

because all same Comrades

because all same Sickness

…

Because all same Brass

Because all same Empty unharvested moor

Because all Same same… alike each other

Lazy, ignorant, meddling, disgraced, sullied, falsified,
     misrepresented misled and victimized among ourselves
     ... this is our profession

We live according to the doctrine [magic] law [jungle]

We are a public bathroom

Can’t be this, can’t be that...

But in the end also must: KEEP PUBLIC HYGIENE

Lý Đợi: “Định chế [hay là luật] của cầu tiêu công cộng”

___________________

First Dish: Boiled

                + According to the Northern style of boiled water spinach

When living in Vietnam eating boiled dishes is best

There has yet to be found a thing the Vietnamese cannot boil...

Thus said:

            Living in Vietnam, boiling is best

From boiled hondas, real estate, diplomas, titles of
     office...

From boiled hygiene, food safety regulations, insurance...

From boiled intelligence, aesthetics, culture, human
     nature...

From boiled human rights, freedom, thought, psyche...

There’s yet to be found a thing Vietnam can’t boil

Therefore:

            Living in Vietnam, boiling is best

From boiling to boiled

Everybody thinking about boiling

Every household joining the boiling

Industries test racing boiling...

Really there’s only one reason why we’re boiled: is we’re
     unboiled

As such:

             Living in Vietnam, boiling is best

             Boiled is best

             Boil is best

             Boil best...

Lý Đợi: “Món 1: Luộc”

[biographical note. Lý Đợi, a freelance journalist and poet, is along with Bùi Chát a co-founder and major member of the Mở Miệng (Open Mouth) poetry group.  Phan Bá Thọ is a practicing lawyer and well-respected figure among Sài Gòn’s underground literary circles.]