Gradations of a Birdsong

(Link to audio for this poem.)


chu-ly, chu-ly, chu-ly
your song like a flute
fills in the many staircases
of leaves and leaning logs
between the dimming sunlight

trừ đi, trừ đi, trừ đi*

even a nameless bird speaks
my native language...
all my worries so trivial
as my breath merges with your song

choose me, choose me, choose me...
I dare not answer your call
as somewhere in the trees
the soft resonant exchange
of another lovebird

listen to me, listen to me, listen to me
around the winding path
I am running faster and faster
to grasp your songs in the wind
only to see them on the bars
of falling whispering pines

truly, truly, truly
you still the rush
of my life with your song
and ask my heart
for the truth of its neverending sadness


Note:  trừ đi, trừ đi, trừ đi* = translated in Vietnamese as "minus."  To say it phonetically, it's almost like saying:  "chu dee, chu dee, chu dee."  In this moment, I thought it was interesting how I was thinking about a million different things, and what was I stressing about for?  This particular bird answered my reply by singing "minus"--that is, to take away all of those worries and enjoy my walking/jogging/meditation at the park.