Letter to Uyên from Mom

Tưởng nhớ đến Kim Phượng, người bạn quý đã ra đi vĩnh viễn

 

 

I am writing this letter to you,

my love, my jewel, my treasure.

you have given me hope, life and faith,

for you were my dearest daughter.

 

you have provided me with strength,

for our mother-daughter bond is an everlasting love.

even though I am now gone forever,

I will still be watching you from above.

 

life is filled with sorrows,

day in and day out.

but the day you were born from my womb,

my life changed, and I took a different route:

 

brightness replaced darkness,

the songs of birds filled the air.

the flowers blossomed with color,

and my heart never experienced a love so rare.

 

when we escaped from Vietnam,

I ran in fear, terrified of what may come.

you were only seven months old then,

and already born into a life more treacherous than some.

 

both of us struggled together through life,

but no matter how tired I was during the day,

holding you in my arms at night,

always made my troubles go away.

 

throughout the years you have grown up.

   our mutual love for one another accumulates.

you were always so obedient and respectful,

I was always able to confide in our fate.

 

I can never forget the day I married John,

for it was the happiest day of my life.

John loves us both dearly,

I was so happy to be his wife.

 

we do not have control over our fate,

for it takes its toll on people at random.

I’m sorry we never got to finish our journey together,

because it seems as if my time has come.

 

I now do not have a chance to take care of you,

to talk to you, to cook for you, to go shopping with you,

to find you a good husband, to attend your wedding…

oh, there are so many things that I wish I could do!

 

please now wipe away your tears.

I might not be with you physically

but during bad times or good times,

my presence will be with you endlessly.

 

life is unpredictable,

it causes us to be split apart.

so, please take care of your dad for me.

in heaven, both of you will always be in my heart.

 

Nguyễn Tài Ngọc