Mai Van Phan

English trans by Ho Anh Thai and Wayne Karlin

The Arrow of Darkness

From imagination
And aspiration
I draw out my arrows
And search for the day’s aim

The targets surrounding me stand motionless
Here the lotus roots deep-set at the bottom
of the lake
There the naked children I encountered
Forty years ago
I see vaguely through a veiling haze

Each arrow flies in a straight line
Through time and space
Through world and life
And I’m certain it strikes the target

Crouching at the cusp of the sunset
Watching the darkness pile thickly
Suddenly I see holes appear Lamps
have just been lit on the river

From Gallery's Bui Xuan Phai