Written by Kieu Bich Hau, after the 2nd International Poetry Festival: Harmony – Ha Noi – Thai Nguyen
Kieu Bich Hau, a celebrated Vietnamese writer and cultural ambassador, is a member of the Vietnam Writers’ Association. Born in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam, she is a prominent voice in contemporary literature and an editor for Writer & Life magazine (Vietnam), NEUMA magazine (Romania), and Humanity magazine (Russia). She has received numerous accolades, including an honorary doctorate from Prodigy Life Academy (USA) for her extraordinary contributions to literature. Recognized internationally, she serves as the Ambassador of Ukiyoto Publisher (Canada) to Vietnam and is the founder and head of Hanoi Female Translators, promoting literary exchange and empowerment. With 28 published works spanning prose, poetry, and essays, Kieu Bich Hau’s creative achievements have been widely acclaimed. Her works have been translated into 20 languages, including English, Italian, Korean, and French, amplifying Vietnamese literature globally. She has also earned nine prestigious literary awards, such as the ART Danubius Prize 2022 for fostering Vietnamese-Hungarian cultural ties and the Great Award of Korea 2023 for promoting Vietnamese poetry and prose internationally.
HARMONY
Now that you have gone,
I sit in the silence left behind.
My thoughts are jagged shards,
My mind a tangled web,
I lean lonely on the door.
I still hear echoes of Gassanee’s* laughter,
And see Daniel*, restless, pacing the stilt house for wine,
Or was it the girl with the silken hair who snared the poet’s heart?
The “Ancient blood of Lạc Hồng” drew Chen Te Min* back to Ba Bể’s shore.
A night in Hà Hiệu, dizzy on corn-fire,
Where the embers still glow red.
The Sli songs burn so bright they scorched a blush on your cheek.
A poet in white sways as he walks,
The suspension bridge swings, tripping the rhythm of a fevered heart.
Clasping your hand, I ache for the truth of the Then chant.
Midnight in the mountains, yet the sun breaks through,
In the depths of your eyes, I see
Golden petals of light adrift.
I am afraid to wake tomorrow,
Lest this all dissolve like a drunkard’s dream.
Oh, this intoxicating grace!
Tonight, I am a stranger to myself.
The Tày’s Lượn melodies wrap around me like a shroud,
My heart buried deep in the mist of Nàng Tiên Mount.
I see Jang*, breathless, searching for his mother
Where the terraced fields mirror the light of a lifetime.
I see the silver trace of sorrow
In the eyes of the Uzbek searching the hem of heaven.
Is that his daughter’s voice I hear?
Calling for her father through a veil of tears.
Artist Hill, I long to return to your heights,
To find my soul in the shadow of Tản Viên,
In the season where dark clouds braid into the white.
Let the frost dissolve me into those fathomless eyes.
I am a traveller; I cannot know the ancient secrets
Of how the earth and sky, the peaks and rivers, intertwine.
I only know to weave this circle of mercy and love,
So that a weary world may find a place to lean.
*: names of the international poets who attended the 2nd International Poetry Festival: Harmony.
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