Le Thanh Binh, a renowned poet and scholar from Vietnam, the land of Blue Dragon, shares his four poems

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Thanh Binh is a Senior Lecturer of Faculty of the International Communication & Culture; Former Director, Dean of Faculty of The International Communication & Culture, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Hanoi. He has also served as Minister Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission at Vietnamese Embassy in Norway. He is member of Executive Committee Friendship of Vietnam – Japan and Vietnam Denmark Association. He is author of 26 monographs and reference books.

He has published some collections of his own poems (in Vietnamese and English), including: Singing (1996); Song of Harmony (2003); Melodious Poetry (2008); This world I love (2013); Fluting atop mountain (2019); Haiku poetry& Free style poetry (2020); Three clouds & mountains (2022). He also composed a number of songs about love, his motherland.

Autumn in Hanoi

Autumn has arrived in Hanoi, fantasy reality entwined, flute piping…

Streets full of sunshine, flower girl carrying daisies…

On Phan Đình Phùng Street the leaves were rustling, autumn was giving off its fragrance,

On Nguyễn Du Street the scent of milkwood pine flowers were filling the air.

 

Promenading around Sword Lake, Old Town, Hanoi Autumn passing by leisurely

Sipping on an egg-yolked coffee, watching the streams of lives, up, down, all around,

The gold-apples were yellow with autumn, the green rice-cake, the deep-green lotus leaves,

The inn mistress with youthful hair, hosting a guest with foggy grey hair, nostalgia…

 

Autumn, the season of many images:

The hugging, the kissing, eyes to eyes and someone standing by the steps…

The ballad of deep evening resounding across the waves of West Lake,

Hanoi Autumn, full of tenderly soft sonatas.

 

Autumn’s excitement waking up music, poetry within the artists,

Autumn’s bitter winds rolling around precious friends, aromatic tea…

The Red River streaming along with the drunken clouds up above,

Hanoi golden season was beckoning wayfarer to come visit home.

***

Late night flute music

Late night flute music bound the dreamy moon,

Inviting the wild wind which danced all over heaven and earth,

Late night flute music ignited the courageous heart of heroes,

Who performed boxing stances, practiced legworks to be further trained

Late night flute music made the water-carrying girls step lively,

Carrying the moon and the stars in the wooden buckets of savory country,

Late night flute music consoled the broken-hearted,

Let go of the past and look forward to the lucky encounters by chance,

Late night flute music whispered the whole night through,

Let’s stay up for a while, listening to the sound of a resurging heart.

***

Life’s reasons

Human life contains within a poetic soul

The yearning for heroism, freedom, devotion,

Impartiality, simplicity, tranquility,

Searching for the image of righteousness in the century,

A fair wife, a good book, a close friend,

In one’s heart, the desire, the passion, intoxicating…

 

In times of fleeting winds, drifting clouds,

The red-blooded heart is still shining steady,

Dear friends, dearest friends,

Follow truth, decency, beauty. Nourish your endeavor endlessly.

***

The song of a horse caretaker up the mountain

There’s once a lovesick horse caretaker!

With a jittery longing, a restless longing,

Disheartened as the light burned on, the night descended more…

Climbing a tree, he strained his eyes in the direction of his village,

Slipping and falling, he tore up his brown trousers,

Mounting horse and riding fast, he sang out loud:

My love, don’t cry, the man with the torn trousers is coming back to you!

Torn trousers but eyes still bright, complexion dark from the sun, drenched with monsoons…

Carrying a longing heart, dashing his way back!

I am back,

Back.

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