vietnamese lullaby for the fallen (part i)

by Liam “Lee” Balmeo

a contrapuntal after the original lullaby my bà ngoại gave to me (the Vietnamese lyrics)

ngày này năm xưa là lingering like memories, les phénix dans les photos

em còn bé thì theo my footsteps drenched avec le diluant à peinture

nằm gần bên mẹ in blood, mixing the time et le feu du pays, grandi

em nhớ con mèo in my home, forgotten dans les flammes du sud

vietnamese lullaby for the fallen (part ii)

by Liam “Lee” Balmeo

italicized lyrics are from the Vietnamese folk song, “Thằng Cuội” by musician Lê Thương my bà ngoại gave to me

//

bóng trăng trắng ngà, / crescent moon, glinted grin upon her / forsaken children scaling the falling

barriers / có cây đa to / bearing the fruit inedible to / the human mouth—caverning the desolate

stomachs with / a primal need for flesh. / có thằng cuội già / whom may ravage until there is /

nothing to give & all that was never / given—hope embodying / machine-gun tongues— / ôm một

mối mơ / to dwell upon the land of the living when / rubble & bodies tally up / lặng im ta nói cuội

nghe / because the natural pierce with scream, / demanding to be freed but refuse / to abandon their

motherland. / ở cung trăng mãi làm chi / when nothing can be / recollected—why save the ones who

are dying / when their deaths are inevitable? / bóng trăng trắng ngà / their goddess reflects the

crimson stain, / carnage rifting lands apart & / có cây đa to / growing within shadow— / có thằng cuội

già / atop the land of the forgotten / without the bruised bodies, / ôm một mối mơ / to stay alive / to

stay safe / & live within / another reverie.

vietnamese lullaby for the fallen (part iii)

by Liam “Lee” Balmeo

italicized lyrics are from the traditional Vietnamese children’s song, “Kìa con bướm vàng” my bà ngoại gave to me

kìa con bướm vàng...

amongst the hueys

always lifted into a static vibration

because when

a city crescendos with cries

& a sky is invaded with noise

we are forced

to listen to it

crumbling

kìa con bướm vàng...

across a muted countryside

empty

it will erupt in gunfire

ricocheting off the echoes

of the mekong

its inhabitants sang

the tune of american

hymnals prayers lingering

in the sound

of the dead

xòe đôi cánh...

as a grenade stutters

its pin a metal tongue

licking the fear off a good soldier

its heart will explode

in a forest of whispers

ringing the thrum

as an enemy ambush

xòe đôi cánh...

as it invades

its flutter daring

the soldiers

to follow

the hum of

a folk song in solemn mouths

the click of rifles in rough hands

bướm bướm bay hai ba vòng...

from hanoi

to thanh hóa

to vinh

to đông hới

to huế

to qui nhơn

to nha trang

to đa nẵng

to quảng trị

& sài gòn

bươm bướm bay hai ba vòng...

in each southern city

a breath of false hope

sounded an unspoken alarm

the way we know defeat

by the dropping of munition

em ngồi xem...

a mother quiets her screaming child

as the vibration of tanks

disrupts a silent warning

a mournful tune slipped

between still teeth

& em ngồi xem...

AUTHOR’S NOTE

vietnamese lullabies i, ii, and iii are a reflection of my heritage, which unfurls the childhood melodies that were taught in my mother tongue. Navigating through poems depicting the gruesome war that rifted my family across continents, the suite acts as a violent dissolution. I hope to share this legacy with the readers that refuse to compromise its linguistic complexity - songs that have stood the test of time, that utterly demonstrate our tender resolve spanning generations.