“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.”

—  Hồ Xuân Hương

"The Floating Cake" (a metaphor for "woman")
Spring Essence (2000)

Original

Thân em vừa trắng lại vừa tròn, Bảy nổi ba chìm với nước non. Rắn nát mặc dầu tay kẻ nặn. Mà em vẫn giữ tấm lòng son.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Hồ Xuân Hương photo
Hồ Xuân Hương 7
Vietnamese poet 1772–1822

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