I am not a big poetry person, but I do like some poets and poetesses. One of them is Dieu Dinh, who I would like to introduce in this post. Dieu writes poetry about the little things she observes in life. From a lonely winter day in the park, to the small gestures of love, Dieu expresses those quiet moments of life that are both subtle and potent. Sometimes she takes pictures, sometimes she writes, and sometimes she makes art, all of which are a curation of her thoughts and dreams. “After Bei Dao” is one of her poems that I like very much.

Image courtesy of Unsplash

After Bei Dao

(Bouquet)

Between me and the world
you are an echo, a cathedral,
a silence between two breaths,
a murmur, a photograph,
a hidden word at the center of my dream.

Between me and the world
you are an eclipse, a blade,
a tree I would like to climb,
a halo, a mosaic,
a childhood toy lost then found.

Between me and the world
you are a soliloquy, a blanket,
a deep well among the sands,
a bell, a lighthouse,
a map leading me home.

Between me and the world,
you are a lullaby, a flickering flame,
a smile masked by night,
a prism, an etching,
a book of secrets never read.

Between me and the world,
you are a carousel, an arabesque,
a hesitation before the leap,
a cliff, a constellation,
a sky revealing everything.