Bilingual Sestina

A sestina is a poem in which the last words of every line in the first stanza are repeated in a specific order in the ensuing stanzas, following the pattern 123456 / 615243 / 364125 / 532614 / 451362 / 246531. The final three-line stanza uses the pattern

Inspired by “Bilingual Sestina by Julia Alvarez

 

I have things to say
that cannot be said in this English:
hot days welcoming the mua¹,
and a world so far, so close, so different
from this country I don't want to forget-
This new place, the new nha², this America.

Big Mac, French fries, cheeseburger, the new tastes of America
Lure me into saying
those tu³ I always forget,
sliding around my mouth in foreign English.
Smells, tastes, feelings, everything so different
that ban dem⁴, I long for the constant nhip dieu⁵ and familiar air of the mua.

Sometimes, at night, I cry until I can feel the mua
running down my face, so thick I can't see or hear the cars honk or lights that come to define America,
replacing the mat troi⁶ and noise of the nguoi⁷ that have become as distant and different
As the words I try to say.
I search for memories of Vietnam, a culture so beautiful it flows like silk down valleys and along the dong song⁸, flowing over small houses and sheltering people for the night—not this blunt, jagged, cardboard English.

Vietnam, hat mot bai hat⁹ across the ocean so I will not forget-
Make your rain, your mua
fall around me; make me remember the world before English-
Before America.
Vietnam, give me the suc manh¹⁰ to say the words I have to say
as though the ocean makes no difference.

I can't live in a place so different
from my home-I can't live in a world I want to forget.
I can't ignore my heart when it says,
"I need to feel the mua;
I do not want this America,
These cold and ignorant nguoi Anh¹¹."

But over time, the English
spoken around me is no different
than the Vietnamese I can hear in America,
and even my heart
gets the same thrill from the American mua
and forgets all it has said.

I promise these Anh¹² and Vietnamese worlds will not be forgotten.
Co gi khac¹³ between the tall toa nha¹⁴, the rain,
Or the words, in both ngon ngu¹⁵, I can say?

 

1 mua rain
2 nha home
3 tu words
4 ban dem at night
5 nhip dieu rhythm
6 mat troi sun
7 nguoi people
8 dong song river
9 hat mot bai hat sing a song
10 suc manh strength
11 nguoi Anh English (people)
12 Anh English
13 Co gi khac Is there a difference
14 toa nha buildings
15 ngon ngu language

Reviews

[~Mary Ann~]

Melissa,
This is very well done! I can tell you that I read this without the necessary translations.. and I must say kudos! It is hard enough to write poety in English alone. Yet you incoroporate both languages without losing the flow and the beautiful imagery of the piece.

I can identify with the thoughts in this piece..
It was a pleasure to read! Great ink! :)

[Constance]

What beautiful work! I love this. I often like to write in my second language, then translate back into English. It's an interesting exercise.
I think this is one of the best poem's I've ever read on the cafe. The sentiment and feel are very genuine and rich. I'm glad that the contest brought me by to read. And I learned a few new words. :) I love learning other languages, even if only in bits and pieces. Thank you for sharing. Job well done. Bravo!