Living means gratefulness – gratitude is
beyond the horizon of calculation
gratefulness makes us grown up.

Kneeing in front of a wild flower on the hill at noon
grateful for the hand reaching out
grateful for the poem written last century
a far-away smile, a near-by kiss.

Kneeing in front of the sun waking up every morning
grateful for a bowl of rice when being hungry, for a cigarette
grateful for the indefinite river running through my childhood
name of the hill, the wood’s sudden echoes in my dream
grateful for the lost footsteps, the erroneous heart.

You can’t live without being grateful
grateful for the blank page, for the last line not written yet
Glang Anak two hundred lines – can be discussed for two hundred years
there is still a Cham son to care for the Cham language
yellow leaves fall down so that the tree can grow green buds
grateful for the infinite space, the endless time
even I am nothing / it is still necessary for me to be present

So – grateful for MYSELF.

translated by Phan Nhiên Hạo