It's Hard To Say Poem by VO THI NHU MAI

I never told my father
that the birds spoke for me
those tiny flares of green and red
breaking across the sky
like fireworks
that refused to vanish quietly

He thought I came to watch them
Really, I came to watch him
His stillness
His waiting
His eyes, always
half in the clouds

I wanted to tell him
I understood
how some returns are too brief
how even joy
can ache

But I stayed quiet
and let the birds say it louder
with their riot of wings
and their songs
that made even the mountain
shiver

Copyright @ Vo Thi Nhu Mai