SUFFERING

          My sincerest condolences to the families

          of the 9-11-2001 victims

On that Tuesday morning

The sky was blue and the sun yellow,

Autumn had just begun,

All living beings were each a fellow.

Suddenly the two buildings collapsed

In a space of nihility,

The capital fell into stun

By the inhuman manslayers’ ability.

Thousands of lives seized with grief

In the immense sea of fire

Without a last will

Or a complaint, without ire!

Children bereaved of parents in panic,

Wives deprived of husbands in pain,

Grooms gave up brides in bitterness,

Brothers and sisters lost siblings in bane.

Sufferings rushed in repeatedly,

With tears, bones and blood,

Thousands of humans extirpated,

Wrath rose throughout America in flood.

In this dutiful and loyal seventh month

When Buddha absolves the guilty dead,

Why to the innocent people

They had the heart distress to spread!

I implore the Almighty to bless mankind

To live safe and sound in whole,

Especially of the recently perished,

Save and free from suffering each soul.

Vietnamese poem by TỊNH NHƯ

English translation by THANH-THANH