Man finds Vietnamese note while cleaning 10-year-old couch. Decoding it sent him spiraling
'That river still flows for a thousand lives. Because in adversity, I had to leave you...'
Sometimes dusting off and cleaning a random thing from your house can reveal something you have never seen before. Tautari Sanders, who goes by his Reddit handle u/ItsTheGaijin, was cleaning his 10-year-old couch's cover when he discovered something that left him confused. Sharing a photo on Reddit, the person sought help from online users to decode the text written under the cushion, only to find a shocking detail on November 19.
Tautari Sanders and his partner always found their 10-year-old couch the most comfortable furniture. "We purchased it from a friend who was moving abroad 10 years ago," Sanders told Newsweek on November 22. However, what they were unaware of was that their favourite place of comfort held a surprise underneath. It all began when they decided to clean the outer cover of the couch, and they stumbled upon a text written on the inner part of the cushion. Sanders, who felt it was "strange," first reacted, "We were worried it was going to be a cry for help from someone in poor working conditions."
Unable to decode what was written on the couch, which was made in Vietnam, Sanders turned to Reddit and wrote, "My partner was giving our 10 y.o couch a thorough clean and came across this message written on the inner cushion. The couch was made in Vietnam. Translation apps are offering nonsensical gibberish. What does it say?"
Online users who stumbled upon Sanders' post quickly chimed in to help him decode the mystery behind the note. Interestingly, it turned out to be a poem written by someone who had been working on the furniture. u/FreshOffTheBoeing wrote, "'That river still flows for thousand lives. Because in adversity, I had to leave you. I still miss you when you're far away. I miss your eyes and your smile.' Scribble of a young worker in the sweat shop. This kind of poem is usually shared over beer mugs among young guys in 'Nam." Another user, u/Sannya1803, explained that it was a popular type of Vietnamese poem that is usually hard to translate. "This is actually a popular type of Vietnamese poem with rules and rhythm that is hard to translate. But it doesn't follow the rules perfectly and the words that should rhyme actually don't rhyme, so it doesn't seem to be written by a professional. My bet is the guy actually composed this and didn't copy from a book."
The comment continued, "This type of poem is literally called 6-8 (lục bát) based on the number of words of each line and it should have even number of lines. The sixth word of the 6-line should rhyme with the 6th of the 8-line, and the 8th/last word of the 8-line should rhyme with the 6th/last word of the next 6-line. This poem does not follow it, still, the sincerity can be felt."
Sanders, who was excited to learn the meaning behind the writing, said, "We were relieved to find out it was some lovely poetry." He also wondered why a "personalized message" ended up in a place that would never be seen. However, the couple also found another clue from another part of the couch cover, which revealed a Vietnamese name. "We would love to find the person who wrote it," he said, although they don't plan on digging for more details.
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