Published in Overland Issue 237 Summer 2019 · Uncategorized In this letter, i can finally grammar yourself into a poem Duy Quang Mai dear Quang, don’t forget you are already here, sky-clean in light. doesn’t matter when this city less flame, i tell you that we stay yes, we do. so by writing you this i’m chiseling these syllables to our heart’s music. remember that sometimes, our punctuations fall apart for a reason. i think ‘chaos’ in our mother-tongue has another body, turning to ‘chào’ or vietnamese for hello. & hello a cliché that harvests the spring in your mouth you are here to give life, Quang so get up. been a while but i hope you earn a nice day (?) sorry so much for your patience (?) & everything kind regards,,,:; – (maybe a hyphen could help this continue / go on / outstretch / please / p l e a s pl e a s e p lea se / live / live / live x 10^100^10000) i miss you into a famine. i really do? Read the rest of Overland 237 If you enjoyed this piece, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four brilliant issues for a year Duy Quang Mai Duy Quang Mai is an international student in Sydney, originally from Hanoi, Vietnam. His poems have been published or are forthcoming in The Lifted Brow, Cordite Poetry Review and Rabbit. More by Duy Quang Mai › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 5 June 20265 June 2026 · Friday Fiction Hobo portraits: Treadly Tim & the falling star Patrick Holland We crossed the half-buried railway line and the crazy man known as Treadly Tim turned a corner around the van park on Simeon Street and came toward us on his Malvern Star bicycle. 3 June 20263 June 2026 · Reviews The past in the object: Vanessa Berry’s Calendar Courtney Powell In her latest book, Calendar, Vanessa Berry explores the relationships that are formed between people and material culture, both fleeting and sentimental, and how they can come to represent us.