A poem in Vietnamese by Thanh Dang
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

ancestral offerings and prayers
give thanks to the Gods of the Land
thank God for you
thank you for those who love

TRUE

is the wandering vernacular
the indefinite drawn together
a coincidental portrait
of fate say

a play of words recycled as they may
and your love for life is the light
I will follow, live for, I will fight

home day after day
upon your sleeves true
a budding season
colour of spring

CÚNG

Chiều nay cúng rước ông bà
Cảm ơn Thổ Địa, cảm ơn đất trời
Cảm ơn em ở bên đời
Cảm ơn người khắp nơi nơi hữu tình

RẤT THẬT

Chỉ là chữ nghĩa rong chơi
Không, là tinh mật mù khơi kết thành
Chỉ là chữ nghĩa làm tranh
Không, từ gió bụi phúc lành nhân duyên

Chỉ là chữ nghĩa đảo điên
Không, từ muôn kiếp hiện tiền giống nhau
Em còn một cõi tình say
Tôi còn vĩnh quyết dài ngày bước theo

Còn em về với mỗi ngày
Mùa xuân rất thật trong màu áo xanh

Thanh Dang, the poet from Vietnam currently resides in Houston, Texas, U. S. A.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, poet, and translator, was born in 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.

10 responses

C. Tien

Feb 4, 2025

I often find myself baffled whether “xanh” indicates blue or green color in Vietnamese literature. I assume it’s green for the most part (correct me if I got it wrong).
In the song “Tình xanh”, at the end, the lyrics goes “dù đời ngăn cách, tình vẫn còn xanh” meaning if life keeps us apart, our love is still as fresh, with the green color “xanh” symbolizes the freshness and youth as in the beginning.
In this post, màu áo xanh is probably the green color of Vietnamese soldiers’ outfit. From your English version, “xanh” being translated as the color of spring gives me more certainty that it must be green, the original color of a leaf, the beginning of a life, just like the beginning season of the year.

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Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Feb 4, 2025

Oh? Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts my dear.

Trust your instinct, intuition. Since poetry is more of a dream than the daily grind. I don’t believe it is my place to correct you. You must find your own way.

Spring isn’t always the first season of the year, hence time and anything substantial like leaves is even less substantial.

Poetry is more of a feeling than any actual quantifiable meaning like green or blue or leaves or spring or things.

“Xanh” could simply be a childhood memory, a new beginning, a way to turn over a page to start afresh, and in some of my translations I have used “fresh” in place of “green”.

Hence one short poem can have an infinite number of interpretations. Mine is simply one, the one that had gave me joy, or a better way I like to put it is, that it was a lovely conversation I had with the author of the poem.

My translation is simply a moment in time. And in time in our mind the memory changes and fade, I might translate it again and again.

So you are right, whatever your conclusion might be.

Năm mới tôi chúc em mọi sự an lành hạnh phúc như ý.

T.

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BINNZYtheWRITER

Feb 21, 2025

👏🏾👏🏾🖤

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1. Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
  
  Feb 21, 2025
  
  ❤
  
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jonicaggiano

May 17, 2025

This is a splendid moment of time. A testimony. I really enjoyed hearing your perspective Trâm. ❤

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1. Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
  
  May 17, 2025
  
  I think so too.. so sweet Joni. Enjoy your weekend yeah ❤
  
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  1. jonicaggiano
    
    May 17, 2025
    
    You too kind one.
    
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  2. Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
    
    May 17, 2025
    
    ❤ ❤ ❤
    
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Tra Italia e Finlandia

Jun 6, 2025

Very fine poems.
Thanks for visiting my blog.

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1. Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm
  
  Jun 6, 2025
  
  you are welcome and thank you ❤
  
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