Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
Her bio: Her full name: Nguyen Thanh Thuong. A Teacher, and a Poet, too. Date of birth: May 11, 1968. Living in: Hanoi. There have been many poems printed and published in newspapers and in literary magazines. Vice President of Vietnam Poetry Club.
Seasonal change
The weather in Hanoi today reflects the seasonal change
The sun has turned to a light yellow
Girls in Hanoi are wearing more shirts
They are delicate, gentle, yet still dreamy…
When you did write the poems
Why I do feel as if the music is echoing
The verses keep echoring, echoring
In the space of Poetic Culture…
If possible, I would like to be a sunflower
I would like to have a look reading the living pages you write
With the enthusiasm of a soldier
A bright, moving poetic soul…
Hanoi is chilly in late Autumn and early Winter
The beautiful space with harmonious souls
It is the bridge of poems you write
In a traditional ao dai I carry the Vietnamese soul
Just keep flying with immense nostalgia…!!
Hanoi, November 25, 2022
In a noon dream
I woke up and recalled the noon dream
Your beloved arms, just hugged me
Waltzing in a gentle wind
The kiss you dedicated, and also included a rose
Valentine’s Day was so warm,
Trinh’s melodious music fluttered my heart
Would not leave, a golden dream
All my life, I will carry it with me
My heart remained pure
Forever missing your image
Love is to cherish
Just two words: You and I together…
God granted a miracle
We are compatible, my dear
A precious gift that lasts forever
Sustainable fate and never leaving each other!
Hanoi, February 14, 2023 (Valentine’s Day)
Dear mother… I am back (Mother’s Day)
I come back with so much unrest
Mother’s figure and father’s figure are on every meter of land
The old riverbank holds what’s been lost and gained
Recalling mother, daily carrying water from that pond
After half my life, I still wish
Back in the old days, when mother patched my shirt
As stork wings symbolized whole life of hardship
You went hungry to work, ensuring I was nurtured with enough food
Our family was poor but lived in wonderful gratitudes
In rice fields, the fragrant scent of young rice
The river flowed, the sound of cheers… late at night
The thin mother raised her children with vegetable and porridge
Now I’m back, bringing pain with me
Mother is weak in her old age, unable to resist
Everyone knows the rules of life
But I’m sobbing in my heart…!
First lecture
Recalling the first time I entered the classroom
Innocent children with beautiful faces
“The dawn of human history”
It was the first lecture welcoming me into the classroom
The narrow room but hearts opened wide
Beautiful notebooks, you neatly shaped each line
The lesson today, you already knew by heart
It was the legend of Au Co laying a hundred eggs
Fifty children went to the forest to clear fields
Bringing prosperity to our rice and corn fields
Fifty children went to the sea to look for pearls and catch the fishes
The race of Au Co, descendant of Fairy Dragon!
Oh, the country with four thousand years of history
Where heroes have been born
The Thanh Giong pulled out bamboo poles to fight the enermy
The Hung Kings, founding the South!
Why was the lecture so passionate?
Was it because of
Every mountain
Every river,
Every victory,
And immortal heroes
That made the history so heroic!
Summer love song
The weather in Hanoi is abundant hot
Hot, sweltering summer sun among the Twin Towers
Calling for the heart, echoing ten thousand times
Through the window, gazing at the flying white clouds
Suddenly it rained and the kiss was so passionate
Receiving from you to savor the entire summer
A silent sky without the sound of cicadas
The wind stops, so I can listen to the music…
A poinciana flower keeps burning brightly
Let the cup of precious wine to touch the lips
Walking gently and caressing the couples
Along the lake, the waves ripple and gently pat
A poinciana flower keeps burning brightly,
Letting the cup of precious wine touch the lips.
Walking gently and caressing the couples,
Along the lake, the waves ripple and gently pat
Looking into your eyes, it’s as if you’re whispering softly
Our love, has no age my dear
Like the dawn, radiant at the beginning
The summer love song resonates forever!
Hanoi, June 12, 2023
(Translated to English by Khanh Phuong)
