11. BITTER HAPPINESS

 

Amid the four walls, solitude ravages
In clusters falling in the dark,
Straight asea, the love boat glides
Steering in spite of waves so high.

Sadly on the other shore
You toss in bed once more
Thinking of the reunion time
With bitter happiness, you sigh.

Searching for you on the Net
I find only void and distress
Sending you a thousand mute calls
Where are you, dear all?

I want to break all precepts
Freeing myself from tenets
Building another tower
To shackle myself forever.

Translated by BinhNhung
08-24-03 LA
---------------------

 

13/ Em Ở Đâu
Trong Đêm Mắc Gió


Thoắt bên trái, rồi trăng bên phải
Dõi ta chi về núi quạnh hiu
Dốc quanh co, oan ương, trầm ngải
Đường một chiều, không thể không theo

Trăm ngã rẽ về đâu ai biết
Ngàn trạm ngừng bỏ cuộc sao đang
Chạy lếch thếch, chạy không dám mệt
Buồn hay vui thì cũng nhớ nàng

Em ở đâu trong đêm mắc gió
Không điện thư, không một cú phôn
Thuốc đắng nghét hút chừng cháy cổ
Thở xanh um từng đám mây buồn

Trăng tọc mạch dòm qua cửa sổ
Ta dang tay nằm kiểu xong đời
Lòng băng hoại trôi trong bể khổ
Em ở đâu, rừng nản, đêm vơi...

hahuyenchi

13. IN THE WINDY NIGHT

Escaping on the left,
I see the moon on the right,
Pointing to the mount so desolate
Through injustices and twists of fate
One direction, inexorably.

Bifurcations to unknown destinations
Halting at determined stations
I run breathlessly, ignoring fatigue
Always remembering you.

Where are you in the windy night
Unreachable by calls or mail?
The bitter cigarette burns my throat
Blowing sadness as blue smoke.

The moon peeking through the window
Views my posture of abandon
My heart bleeds in a sea of torture
In late night, where are you
Amid a forest of desperation…

Translated by BinhNhung
08-25-03 LA
------------------

 

 

14/ Như Đã Có Em

 

Em với hạ hồng toan giết ta

Nắng oan khiên xui buồn nở hoa

Thơ ngâm trong rượu đau lòng chữ

Em có khi nào em nhớ ta

 

Mùa sắp sang mùa, mưa nắng ơi

Cành thương lá nhớ gọi tên người

Tim ta rồi cũng vàng như lá

Rụng xuống thềm rêu mấy ngậm ngùi

 

Trăng hao gầy soi nỗi bơ vơ

Em bỗng xa như vệt khói mờ

Thư em ngắn tủn, hồi âm muộn

Thảng thốt sông vui, nước vỡ bờ

 

Em với bình minh ngọt tiếng chim

Sương mai về hôn đóa ưu phiền

Ta nghe rúng động từng chân tóc

Thấy mơ hồ như đã có em

 

hahuyenchi

15. Blood swirling as smoke

Thoughts of Saturday and the weekend
But only Wednesday lies around
Because you called and e-mailed
I faltered as if gold was found.

At night, I dream of our bliss
Head on arm in the moonshine
Love resounding through the pines
In our hearts melodiously rhymes.

Forgiving all that you provoke
Six days of emptiness, nights of longings
Feeling blood swirl as smoke
Deeply in love as at first seeing.

Translated by BinhNhung
08/26/03 LA

 

16/ Em Nằm Võng 
Trong Hồn Ta Đó

Ta muốn khép ngàn thu mắt đá
Sầu em từng đóa còn y nguyên
Mai em trở gót chừng ta đã
Theo hạc bay về cõi rất riêng

Đêm hoá kiếp trùng trùng bóng tối
Ngày cư tang mây trắng ngang đầu
Tới rất vội, em đi cũng vội
Sông nghẹn dòng biết chảy về đâu

Toan nuốt trọng những lời em hứa
Cũng hề chi vàng đá thay mầu
Hoài công gõ trái tim không cửa
Đời không đau tình nghĩa cũng đau

Mưa rất nhẹ sao thừa dông tố
Gió vô tâm cười nát tịnh yên 
Em nằm võng trong hồn ta đó
Phật là em, ma cũng là em

hahuyenchi

16. Lying on a hammock in my soul

Wishing to close forever stony eyes
Leaving chunks of pain open wide
To morrow, when you change your mind
I may have reached a secluded domain.

Destiny wrapped in darkness
Follows days in mourning
Coming in a sudden, you leave hastily
Blocking a stream so steady.

Trying to live by your promises,
What if your heart plays a game
I waste my time knocking on a closed door
Life goes on, our affection shortchanged

Rain falls softly, building up a storm
Impassible wind ravages the quietude
Lying on a hammock in my soul
You are Buddha and ill spirit in whole.

Translated by BinhNhung
08/26/03 LA

17. SHARING THE GRAIN OF SORROW

Words propelled in the sky
As a cascade of stars, fall
In a shower of rhymes,
Sad and happy rainfalls.

Words scattered in the world
Nostalgia in a storm
Engulf you and I
In a fascinating circle.

Words like an old horse
Carry love without remorse
Across the somber miles
Even stones bitterly cry.

Words burried in sunrays
Fall by mid-afternoon,
In late love, shared equally
Is the grain of sorrow.

Words carry a mask
Meanings lost down the river
Among dead leaves and destruction
Do you feel my distress?

Words are pointed darts
Piercing you and me
Narrow minds and hearts
Are unmatched in jealousy.

Words like gun-powder
Are deep as love and care
How is value gauged
In this changing world?

Words still unwritten
Carry painful messages
My destiny is nothing
You are all that I have.

Translated by BinhNhung
08/30/03 LA
 

18/ Em Ở Đâu?

Mỗi chấm than cho một nét buồn
Lòng chàng rồi sẽ ngùi mưa tuôn
Là em không muốn hay không thể
Ngó lại tình đau, khíu vết thương

Ta lạc rồi chưa, giữa biển sầu
Tới đâu, ai biết sẽ về đâu
Vẫn ta con ếch trong lòng giếng
Thấy mảnh trời đơn chẳng thấy nhau

Hết một ngày qua, biết một ngày
Là duyên, là nợ còn chưa hay
Cái ta trân quý dường vô nghĩa
Em ở đâu trong nỗi nhớ đầy

hahuyenchi

18. WHERE ARE YOU?
 

Each mark to paint sorrow
My heart is harrowed
Don’t you want, or cannot
On close look, the wound hurts.

Lost in the sea of woes
How will be the future?
A frog at the bottom of the well
I watch the world without you.

With each passing day
Unfolds destiny
Treasure along the sideway,
Where are you in this world of longings?

Translated by BinhNhung
09/01/03 LA
 

19. From the Wind's Direction
 

My swan, love and affection
Calling on my soul during migration
Where I live, winds blow high
Through the forest with might.
 
My swan, eternal intrigue
That shares my solitude
Pride in me long-rooted
Fades along the fatigue*
 
Burdened by daily tasks 

Haunted by the country's past
At life's cross paths
I feel at the end of the road.
 
Following the wind's direction
From a nebulous space
You visit this stagnant place
Where lays devastation.
 
You smile as drops of sunlight
Fragrant in early fall days
Your orchid hands, so white
Lull my soul in captivity.
 
Darling, sky under the sky,
By you, living life's chapter
In joy or sadness, all is planned
Since we have fallen for each other.
 
Translated by BinhNhung
09/04/03 LA
* military term for combat outfit

 

20. It is You, You Only

Happiness is having you
In the immensity of longings
Happiness is forgetting
The hardships span remaining

If the boat did not turnover
Who would have me rescued?
Who would be the soft wave
Carrying me to the shore?

Which belief is anchored
Among life’s vicissitudes
A thousand faceted talisman
Showing the opportunity land?

It is you, you only
And no one else
The delicate glass filigree
Crystallized from the grain of sand

Thank you for your arrival
Don’t threaten to leave
Solid as a rock, I am
Alike sinful mortals.

I have chosen solitude
To hone my inner strength
With you to share joy and decrepitude
I am grateful, dear love.

Translated by BinhNhung
09/04/03 LA