The Cake That Drifts In Water

Translated by Huynh Sanh Thong

My body is both white and round

In water I now swim, now sink.

The hand that kneads me may be rough—

I still shall keep my true-red heart.

…

Another translation of this Vietnamese poem (“ Banh Troi Nuoc “):

The Floating Cake

Ho Xuan Huong

Translated by John Balaban

My body is white; my fate, softly rounded,

Rising and sinking like mountains in streams.

Whatever way hands may shape me,

At center my heart is red and true.