Linh Dinh reading one-sentence poems at DC HomeStay in Vũng Tàu on 6/25/26

 

One Sentence Poems

I hesitated before the penetrating,
Seasoned, bright, slightly wicked face
Above a smooth, white body,
Perhaps malnourished. 

*

She yearned to be impregnated
By each bold, extravagant mind 
She met on the yellowing page.

*

Each night, without fail, it rang 
At exactly 2:13, but she never
Picked up the phone because
That’s the exact time he died.

*

All morning, a live ant carries 
A dead ant across the vast, 
Cheap, polyester carpet,
In grief or hunger?

*

Before making love, drunk,
After the party, mother and son-in-law
Despised each other.

*

Insolent, stupid or insane,
He declared his occupation as 
Resting, yawning and sleeping. 

*

He wears outdated clothes,
Eats outdated food, lives
In an outdated country.

*

Based on defeats big, small and spectacular,
A lifetime of continuous defeats, he decides to pen 
An instructive book for humanity, to stimulate 
Progress and righteous living, before he dies.

*

Deaf, blind, missing arms and legs,
Caked in blood, he crawls onto the stage
To receive his medal from a draft dodger.

*

Tearing up, puffing, he twisted 
My arm, yanked my hair, before 
He handed me the diamond-
Studded wedding ring.

*

Morning, night, in light or darkness,
I took the initiative, then waited,
Waited and waited, but he wouldn’t
Dare touch me.

*

Though she’s of a different race
And half his age, he likes to bury 
His face in her tangy armpit,
And calls her mom.

*

Though he’s of a different race
And decidedly sunken chested,
She likes to suck his nipples
And calls him mom.

*

Infatuated with women’s traces more 
Than actual women, he’s absorbed 
In collecting every fragment,
Memento, trinket, fossil, souvenir,
Scent, vapor and drip of women. 

*

After sex, she always forgot 
The name of whoever 
Was next to her.

*

The last day on earth, the sun
Doesn’t set but rises, rises
And rises.

*

Out of all sounds and colors, 
He could only hear two notes 
And see two colors.

*

Reading this sentence,
He forgets the previous,
Because his mind can only
Contain one relatively 
Short sentence.

*

Reading this word,
He forgets the previous,
Because his mind can only
Contain one common and 
Not too abstract word.

*

A lifelong liar,
He doubts everything,
Including dogs barking
And birds chirping.

*

To collect a paycheck each week,
He must lie nonstop to everyone,
Including his wife, kids, dogs, birds,
Fish, snakes and horses.

*

He would only eat each dish once,
Talk to each person once,
Sleep on each bed once.

*

Lying alone, naked, wrinkled and ripe,
He still mumbles in satisfaction, Betrayal
Is power.

* 

He’s hyper sensitive 
To every shift, twitch, twinge,
Belch and hiccup of his soul,
And oblivious to the conditions
Of every other living thing.

*

He’s very philosophical about 
The great suffering of others, 
And very emotional about
His minor irritations. 

*

He always sees another’s misfortune
As a consolation, a spiritual boost,
Frankly a personal stroke of good luck.

*

He knows a little about everything,
Except the things he knows nothing about.