aslantwise
by KHAI Q. NGUYEN
rhemum in cat’s eyes falling
Patroclus and Achilles
in course of love they engaged
then done
mirthful and undefylde, simpering
amid
air saturated in dry pear-coloured days
an ant’s wandering around the table leg
drafts buffeted its colony
hair on the floor: languid, raven
pubic
slime left aslantwise
If There is a War
by KHAI Q. NGUYEN
It is raining cats and dogs
outside
Thunders roar
Lightnings flash, illuminating the inky sky
Drops of rain blended with the yellow light
look like mist of surreal power
The candle is flickering in
breaths of the wind
And I am brooding over
which type of conditional I should use
If there is a war…
(Is it right?)
I may lose my parents
my homeland which holds my childhood
my friends, my love
I may lose my legs in a battle
Is it for the peace of my country
or for the power of oligarchies?
I think of some boy
who may be growing up as I used to
whose mother can be as caring as the one I have
who loves ebulliently with youthful vim and vigour
and pure innocence, and quiet desperation, as I love
whose stories may be lost
yet untold
forever
It keeps pouring
As it has done for millions of years now.
An Ivy Arum
by KHAI Q. NGUYEN
dawn is sudden, none
fruits of love unseen
doomed we are so
crepuscular
corpse hung of the cat I slew
eyes falling out
disparu
hither and thither an ivy arum climbs, maroon and green
Khai Q. Nguyen is a poet, translator and editor based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He was educated at Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations. He keeps blog at quangkhainguyen.wordpress.com.
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