Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Vaan Nguyen

The Importance of Being Earnest or Cyprus

Need to pick up the pace, I’m not surviving here
It’s shrinking
It’ll disappear if you don’t pay attention, need to grasp the importance of the matter
Need to add leaves as soft as sleep
As important as lonely children
As lovely as this moment
It isn’t possible that all that will remain are the beaches, RVs, and golf courses
The wind passes by suddenly
Summer is long and the silence rages—enough.
In northern Cyprus wild donkeys
debate the thick blanket
that I’ll never wrap around myself
See, a landscape
Look at me
Look at me already
It passes and we are over there

חֲשִׁיבוּתָהּ שֶׁל רְצִינוּת אוֹ קַפְרִיסִין

חֲשִׁיבוּתָהּ שֶׁל רְצִינוּת אוֹ קַפְרִיסִין

צָרִיךְ לְהַגְבִּיר אֶת הַקֶּצֶב, אֲנִי לֹא שׂוֹרֶדֶת פֹּה
זהֶ מִצטְַמְצםֵ
זֶה יֵעָלֵם אִם לֹא נָשִׂים לֵב, צָרִיךְ לְהָבִין אֶת הַחֲשִׁיבוּת שֶׁל הָעִנְיָן
צָרִיךְ לְהוֹסִיף עָלִים, רַכִּים כְּמוֹ הַשֵּׁנָה
חֲשׁוּבִים כְּמוֹ יְלָדִים בּוֹדְדִים
יָפִים כְּמוֹ הָרֶגַע הַהוּא
לֹא יָכֹל לִהְיוֹת שֶׁנִּשְׁאֲרוּ רַק חוֹפִים, קָרָוָנִים וּמַסְלוּלֵי גּוֹלְף
הָרוּחַ פִּתְאוֹם חוֹלֶפֶת
הַקַּיִץ אָרֹךְ וְהַשֶּׁקֶט סוֹעֵר, דַּי.
בִּצְפוֹן קַפְרִיסִין חֲמוֹרִים פִּרְאִיִּים
מַחְלִיפִים אֶת הַדִּיּוּן עַל הַשְּׂמִיכָה הֶעָבָה
שֶׁלְּעוֹלָם לֹא אֶתְכַּסֶּה בָּהּ,
רְאֵה, נוֹף.
הַבֵּט בִּי. הַבֵּט בִּי כְּבָר.
זֶה עוֹבֵר וַאֲנַחְנוּ שָׁם.
Close

The Importance of Being Earnest or Cyprus

Need to pick up the pace, I’m not surviving here
It’s shrinking
It’ll disappear if you don’t pay attention, need to grasp the importance of the matter
Need to add leaves as soft as sleep
As important as lonely children
As lovely as this moment
It isn’t possible that all that will remain are the beaches, RVs, and golf courses
The wind passes by suddenly
Summer is long and the silence rages—enough.
In northern Cyprus wild donkeys
debate the thick blanket
that I’ll never wrap around myself
See, a landscape
Look at me
Look at me already
It passes and we are over there

The Importance of Being Earnest or Cyprus

Need to pick up the pace, I’m not surviving here
It’s shrinking
It’ll disappear if you don’t pay attention, need to grasp the importance of the matter
Need to add leaves as soft as sleep
As important as lonely children
As lovely as this moment
It isn’t possible that all that will remain are the beaches, RVs, and golf courses
The wind passes by suddenly
Summer is long and the silence rages—enough.
In northern Cyprus wild donkeys
debate the thick blanket
that I’ll never wrap around myself
See, a landscape
Look at me
Look at me already
It passes and we are over there
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
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