I was holding a betel piece, enjoying Quan Ho singing at night, being afraid of missing the rhythm on the way home.
Nguyen Xuan Lai, an eminent poet from Vietnam, the Land of Blue Dragon, shares his poetry
Nguyen Xuan Lai, born in 1954, is the member of the Hanoi Writers’ Association, and the Vietnam Writers’ Association. He has published three poetry collections and two short story collections – with the Vietnam Writers’ Association Publishing House. He received an award from the Vietnam Writers’ Association for prose.
MISSING RHYTHM ON THE WAY HOME
Oh, how you are just like crimson petals
And yet also pink like faded peach blossoms
Perhaps that’s why though the wind is still cold
Already my soul sways in this January and February.
The look in your eyes when your season awakes
How many springs have passed, my dear?
How many men and women sang Quan Ho
About fate in love in their melodious voices.
Why are January and February so loving?
That you dress in beautiful multi-layered traditional clothes
I was holding a betel piece, enjoying Quan Ho singing at night
Being afraid of missing the rhythm on the way home.
***
YOU…
You bring the rain and storm
To make my heart freeze
Fearful that one day spiders will no longer spin silk
The afternoon indifferently passes through the thirsty grassland,
The night sits by the dying fire, waiting for hours to go by.
Somewhere else, my heart is still beating
Still wandering, searching in faraway lands
Longing for you through countless times of burning flames
May you forever be the breath of my soul!
***
ONE-SIDED
Could it be that I don’t stay awake because of you
Here, a horizon that’s far away
The night is cold, and the night is deep
Oh, my love! The sound of waves is crashing in my heart.
The ocean out there seems so tiny
The frozen continents… I don’t care
Only the verse is quietly taking root
Though it pains me to know you’re turning away indifferently
Out there, Yen Tu compares to Ba Vi
Both may tower over the horizon… I don’t care
Only this night, this quiet verse
Flows silently, crashing waves stay awake because of you.
One-sided I am! Though just one-sided I am
A hundred states of loneliness… I don’t care
The night continues to flow with new night currents
One-sided love verse is awake because of you.
(Translated into English by HFT)
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