LÝ ĐỢI

Nhà thơ Lý Đợi (Ảnh: Họa sĩ Phạm An Hải)

in Vietnamese by Lý Đợi
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

[chuyên đề TÌNH YÊU VÀ TÌNH DỤC TRONG VĂN CHƯƠNG]

Lý Đợi (1979), Born in 1978 in Khuc Luy village, Dien Minh commune, Dien Ban district, Quang Nam province. Bachelor of Literature, 2001. As of 2008, after five years of writing, he had published three solo works and approximately twenty-five collaborative works in Vietnam and abroad. His poetry and translated poems have also appeared in several literary magazines and websites in Vietnamese and English. He has also participated in poetry performances, presentations, documentary films, workshops, and exhibitions at the Goethe Institute in Korea, China, Germany, and Vietnam. A key member of the Open Mouth group, which includes Bùi Chát, Khúc Duy, Nguyễn Quán, Lý Đợi and others. He co-initiated and promoted the photocopied work printing movement in Vietnam. He co-founded the Paper Scraps Publishing House. He currently lives in Saigon and works as a journalist.

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.

NGUYỄN MAN NHIÊN

A poem in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Man Nhiên
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Nguyễn Man Nhiên is a poet and digital artist who currently lives in Saigon, Vietnam.

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.

NGUYỄN HOÀNG VĂN

Sydney Opera House. Photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Nguyễn Hoàng Văn, born in 1965, Vietnam. The writer, journalist and essayist currently resides in Western Sydney, Australia.

Kiều rơi vào tay Tú Bà & Mã Giám Sinh [805-1056] | Nguyễn Du

photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A Tale by Nguyễn Du
An adaptation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Kiều sold herself to pay off her father’s debt – Kiều bán mình chuộc cha [573-804]

Chẳng ngờ gã Mã Giám sinh,
Vẫn là một đứa phong tình đã quen.
Quá chơi lại gặp hồi đen,
Quen mồi lại kiếm ăn mồi nguyệt hoa.
Lầu xanh có mụ Tú bà,
Làng chơi đã trở về già hết duyên.
Tình cờ chẳng hẹn mà nên,
Mạt cưa mướp đắng đôi bên một phường.
Chung lưng mở một ngôi hàng,
Quanh năm buôn phấn bán hương đã lề.
Dạo tìm khắp chợ thì quê,
Giả danh hầu hạ, dạy nghề ăn chơi.
Rủi may âu cũng sự trời,
Đoạn trường lại chọn mặt người vô duyên.
Xót nàng chút phận thuyền quyên,
Cành hoa đem bán vào thuyền lái buôn.
Mẹo lừa đã mắc vào khuôn,
Sính nghi rẻ giá, nghinh hôn sẵn ngày.
Mừng thầm: “Cờ đã đến tay,
Càng nhìn vẻ ngọc, càng say khúc vàng.
Đã nên quốc sắc thiên hương,
Một cười này hẳn nghìn vàng chẳng ngoa!
Về đây nước trước bẻ hoa,
Vương tôn quý khách là đua nhau.

[805-828]

[805-828]

Hẳn ba trăm lạng kém đâu
cũng đà vừa vốn còn sau là lời
miếng ngon kể đến tận nơi
vốn nhà cũng tiếc, của trời cũng tham
đào tiên đã bén tay phàm
thì vin cành quít cho cam sự đời
dưới trần mấy mặt làng chơi
chơi hoa đã dễ mấy người biết hoa
nước vỏ lựu, máu mào gà
mượn màu chiêu tập lại là còn nguyên
mập mờ đánh lận con đen
bao nhiêu cũng bấy nhiêu tiền mất chi?
mụ già hoặc có điều gì
liều công mất một buổi quì mà thôi
vả đây đường sá xa xôi
mà ta bất động nữa người sinh nghi”.
tiếc thay một đoá trà mi
con ong đã mở đường đi lối về
một cơn mưa gió nặng nề
thương gì đến ngọc, tiếc gì đến hương
đêm xuân một giấc mơ màng
đuốc hoa để đó mặc nàng nằm trơ.

[829-850]

[829-850]

Thôi rồi , một đóa trà mi – con ong đã tỏ đường đi lối về

nỗi riêng tầm tã tuôn mưa
phần căm nỗi khách, phần dơ nỗi mình
“tuồng chỉ là giống hôi tanh
thân ngàn vàng để ô danh má hồng
thôi còn chi nữa mà mong
đời người thôi thế là xong một đời”.
gian duyên tủi phận bời bời
cầm dao nàng đã toan bài quyên sinh
nghĩ đi nghĩ lại một mình
một mình thì chớ, hai tình thì sao?
sau dầu sinh sự thế nào
truy nguyên chẳng kẻo lụy vào song thân
nỗi mình âu cũng giãn dần
kịp chầy thôi cũng một lần mà thôi!”
những là đo đánh ngược xuôi
tiếng gà nghe đã gáy sôi mái tường
lầu mai vừa rúc còi sương
Mã sinh giục giã vội vàng ra đi
đoạn trường thay khúc phân kỳ
vó câu khấp khểnh, bánh xe gập ghềnh
bề ngoài mười dặm trường đình
Vương ông mở tiệc tiễn hành đưa theo
ngoài thì chủ khách dập dìu
một nhà huyên với một Kiều ở trong
nhìn nhau lã chã giọt hồng
rỉ tai nàng mới giải lòng thấp cao
“Hổ sinh ra phận thơ đào
công cha nghĩa mẹ kiếp nào trả xong?
lỡ làng nước đục bụi trong
trăm năm để một tấm lòng từ đây.

[851-880]

[851-880]

xem gương trong bấy nhiêu ngày
thân con chẳng kẻo mắc tay bợm già
khi về bỏ vắng trong nhà
khi vào dùng dắng, khi ra vội vàng
khi ăn, khi nói lỡ làng
khi thầy, khi tớ xem thường xem khinh
khác màu kẻ quý người thanh
ngẫm ra cho kỹ như hình con buôn”.
“thôi con còn nói chi con
sống nhờ đất khách, thác chôn quê người”.
Vương bà nghe bấy nhiêu lời
tiếng oan đã muốn vạch trời kêu lên
vài tuần chưa cạn chén khuyên
mái ngoài nghỉ đã giục liền ruổi xe
xót con lòng nặng chề chề
trước yên ông đã nằn nì thấp cao
“chút thân yếu liễu thơ đào
rấp nhà đến nỗi dấn vào tôi ngươi
từ đây góc bể bên trời
nắng mưa thui thủi quê người một thân
nghìn tầm nhờ bóng tùng quân
tuyết sương che chở cho thân cát đằng
cạn lời khách mới thưa rằng:
“buộc chân thôi cũng xích thằng nhiệm trao
mai sau dầu đến thế nào
kìa gương nguyệt nhật, nọ dao quỉ thần”.
đùng đùng gió giục mây vần
một xe trong cõi hồng trần như bay
trông vời gạt lệ chia tay
góc trời thăm thẳm, ngày ngày đăm đăm.

[881-910]

[881-910]

nàng thì dặm khách xa xăm
bạc phau cầu giá, đen rầm ngàn mây
vi lô san sát hơi may
một trời thu để riêng ai một người
dặm khuya ngất tạnh mù khơi
thấy trăng mà thẹn những lời non sông
rừng thu từng biếc xen hồng
nghe chim như nhắc tấm lòng thần hôn
những là lạ nước lạ non
Lâm Truy vừa một tháng tròn đến nơi
xe châu dừng bánh cửa ngoài
rèm trong đã thấy một người bước ra
thoát trông nhờn nhợt màu da
ăn gì cao lớn đẫy đà làm sao?
trước xe lơi lả han chào
vâng lời nàng mới bước vào tận nơi
bên thì mấy ả mày ngài
bên thì ngồi bốn năm người làng chơi
giữa thì hương án hẳn hoi
trên treo một tượng trắng đôi lông mày
lầu xanh quen lối xưa nay
nghề này thì lấy ông này tiên sư
hương hoa hôm sớm phụng thờ
cô nào xấu vía có thưa mối hàng
cổi xiêm lột áo chán chường
trước thần sẽ nguyện mảnh hương lầm rầm

[911-936]

[911-936]

đổi hoa lót xuống chiếu nằm
bướm ong bay lại ầm ầm tứ vi
Kiều còn ngơ ngẩn biết gì
cứ lời lạy xuống mụ thì khấn ngay:
“cửa hàng buôn bán cho may
đêm đêm Hàn thực, ngày ngày Nguyên tiêu
muôn nghìn người thấy cũng yêu
xôn xao anh yến, dập dìu trúc mai
tin nhạn vẩn, lá thư bài
đưa người cửa trước, rước người cửa sau!
lạ tai nghe chửa biết đâu
xem tình ra cũng những màu dở dang
lễ xong hương hỏa gia đường
Tú bà vắt nóc lên giường ngồi ngay
dạy rằng: “con lạy mẹ đây
lạy rồi sang lạy cậu này bên kia!”

[937-952]

[937-952]

nàng rằng: “phải bước lưu ly
phận hèn vâng đã cam bề tiểu tinh
điều đâu lấy yến làm anh
ngây thơ chẳn biết là danh phận gì?
đủ điều nạp thái vu qui
đã khi chung chạ, lại khi đứng ngồi
giờ ra thay bậc đổi ngôi
dám xin gửi lại một lời cho minh”.
mụ nghe nàng nói hay tình
bấy giờ mới nổi tam Bành mụ lên
“này này sự đã quả nhiên
thôi đà cướp sống chồng min đi rồi!”
bảo rằng: “đi dạo lấy người
đem về rước khách kiếm lời mà ăn
tuồng vô nghĩa, ở bất nhân
buồn mình trước đã tần mần thử chơi
màu hồ đã mất đi rồi
thôi thôi vốn liếng đi đời nhà ma!”
“con kia đã bán cho ta
nhập gia phải cứ phép nhà tao đây

[953-972]

[953-972]

lão kia có giở bài bây
chẳng văng vào mặt mà mày lại nghe!
cớ sao chịu tốt một bề
gái tơ mà đã ngứa nghề sớm sao!
phải làm cho hết phép tao!”
giật bì tiên rắp sấn vào ra tay
nàng rằng: “trời thẳm đất dày
thân này đã bỏ những ngày ra đi
thôi thì thôi có tiếc gì!”
sẵn dao tay áo tức thì giở ra
sợ gan nát ngọc liều hoa
mụ còn trông mặt, nàng đà quá tay
thương ôi, tài sắc bậc này
một dao oan nghiệt dứt dây phong trần
nỗi oan vỡ lở xa gần
trong nhà người chật một lần như nêm
nàng thì bằn bặt giấc tiên
mụ thì cầm cập mặt nhìn hồn bay
vực nàng vào chốn hiên tây
cắt người coi sóc, nước thầy thuốc men
nào hay chưa hết trần duyên
trong mê dường đã đứng bên một nàng
rỉ rằng: “nhân quả dở dang
đã toan trốn nợ đoạn tràng được sao?

[973-996]

[973-996]

số còn nặng nghiệp má đào
người dù muốn quyết, trời nào đã cho!
hãy xin hết kiếp liễu bồ
Sông Tiền Đường sẽ hẹn hò về sau”.
thuốc thang suốt một ngày thâu
giấc mơ nghe đã dàu dàu vừa tan
Tú bà trực sẵn bên màn
lựa lời khuyên giải mơn man gỡ dần
“một người dễ có mấy thân
hoa xuân đương nhụy, ngày xuân còn dài
cũng là lỡ một lầm hai
đá vàng sao nỡ ép nài mưa mây
lỡ chân trót đã vào đây
khóa buồng xuân để đợi ngày đào non
người còn thì của hãy còn
tìm nới xứng đáng là con cái nhà
làm chi tội báo oan gia
thiệt mình mà hại đến ta hay gì?”
kề tai mấy nỗi nằn nì
nàng nghe dường cũng thị phi rạch ròi
vả trong thần mộng mấy lời
túc nhân âu cũng có trời ở trong
kiếp này nợ trả chưa xong
làm chi thêm một nợ chồng kiếp sau
lặng nghe ngẫm nghĩ gót đầu
thưa rằng; “ai có muốn đâu thế này
được như lời thế là may
hẳn rằng mai có như rày cho chăng
sợ khi ong bướm đãi đằng
đến điều sống đục sao bằng thác trong’
mụ rằng: “con hãy thong dong
phải điều lòng lại dối lòng mà chơi!

[997-1028]

[997-1028]

mai sau ở chẳng như lời
trên đầu có bóng mặt trời rạng soi”
thấy lời quyết đoán hẳn hoi
đành lòng nàng cũng sẽ nguôi nguôi dần
trước lầu Ngung bích khóa xuân
vẻ non xa tấm trăng gần ở chung
bốn bề bát ngát xa trông
cát vàng cồn nọ, bụi hồng dặm kia
bẽ bàng mây sớm đèn khuya
nửa tình nửa cảnh như chia tấm lòng
tưởng người dưới nguyệt chén đồng
tin sương luống những rày trông mai chờ
bên trời góc bể bơ vơ
tấm son gột rửa bao giờ cho phai
xót người tựa cửa hôm mai
quạt nồng ấp lạnh những ai đó giờ?
Sân Lai cách mấy nắng mưa
có khi gốc tử đã vừa người ôm
buồn trông cửa bể chiều hôm
thuyền ai thấp thoáng cánh buồm xa xa
buồn trông ngọn nước mới sa
hoa trôi man mác biết tà về đâu?
buồn trông ngọn cỏ dàu dàu
chân mây mặt đất một màu xanh xanh
buồn trông gió cuốn mặt duềnh
ầm ầm tiếng sóng kêu quanh ghế ngồi
chung quanh những nước non người
đau lòng lưu lạc nên vài bốn câu.

[1029-1056]

[1029-1056]

Kiều mắc lừa Sở Khanh [1057-1274]

Nguyến Du [1766-1820] courtesy name Tố Như and art name Thanh Hiên, is a celebrated Vietnamese poet and musician. He is most known for writing the epic poem The Tale of Kiều.

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.

909 TERCET | Nguyễn Hưng Quốc

A BOOK OF POEMS in Vietnamese by Nguyễn Hưng Quốc
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm and other translators

Congratulations (I know it sounds ostentatious, but bear with me, I am unapologetic) to anh Nguyễn Hưng Quốc and Pháp Hoan ( Mai Cong Lap ). Your books of poems will be the very first two books of poems published in English on nguyenthiphuongtram.com.

It will be a constantly evolving piece of living text. A piece of living art I’m very excited and proud to announce and share with my readers.

You have given me an unexpected goal in completing the translation of your books of poetry.

I am momentarily on cloud nine.

Quý mến,

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

September 19, 2022

909 BÀI THƠ

BA DÒNG

1.
Một chân ở Việt Nam, một chân ở Úc
Dưới háng là
Mây bay

One foot planted in Vietnam, and the other in Australia
Shifting endlessly beneath the crotch —
The clouds
*
One leg in Vietnam, one leg in Australia
Drifting between those legs
Endless clouds

2.
Thơ ra đời
Từ lãnh cung
Của những đóa hoa hồng

Poetry is born
From the exile imperial chamber
Of every (forbidden) rose

3.
Khi hai phần hạ thể đụng vào nhau
Ngọn núi nghiêng mình tránh
Một chiếc lá rơi

When the two abdomens collide
The mountain shifts its weight to give way to
A falling leaf

4.
Mỗi người ra đi
Trời đất phúng điếu bằng
Một hạt bụi bay

For every person who passes away
Flying is the offering of heaven and earth
A grain of dust

5.
Mỗi đóa hoa là một bản dịch
Nhan sắc của Eva
Lúc còn ở vườn địa đàng

In the garden of Eden
Each flower is a translation
Of Eve’s beauty

6.
Tình yêu là
Một biến tấu
Của lửa

Love is
An altered form
Of fire

7.
Trăm đứa con Thị Nở
Mỗi đứa
Một màu cờ

One hundred of *Thị Nở’s children
Each and every one of them
Have their own flag colour

*Thị Nở is a character representing
humanity’s ugliness and ignorance
in Nam Cao’s short story

8.
Những chiếc lá rơi
Không để lại
Di chúc

The falling leaves
Left not a single
Testament

9.
Xin lỗi ánh trăng: Phải kéo màn cửa lại
Nàng không muốn ai nhìn thấy
Chuyện vợ chồng ầu ơ

Utmost apologies to the moonlight: The curtains must be drawn
The lady does not want anyone to witness
The married couple putting each other to sleep

10.
Nhà thơ
Buông ngòi bút xuống
Thành Phật

The poet
Drops his pen
Upon the embodiment of Buddha

11.
Tôi yêu những cái đầu ngẩng cao
Bất khuất trước
Những giọt sương khuya

I adore the chins held high
Unyielding against
Drops of evening dew

12.
Những chiếc lá đỏ run rẩy dưới nắng
Gió thốc lạnh
Người thiếu phụ ngồi cháy cả mùa thu

The quivering red leaves beneath the sunlight
Chilled by the wind
Autumn ignited by the residing young woman

Red leaves shivered in the sun
As the young wife sat there burning up an entire autumn
Cooled down by a sudden gust of the wind

13.
Cả đời tôi cứ rượt theo hoài
Những làn mây
Vô tổ quốc

I’ve been chasing my entire life
The clouds
Without a country

14.
Những bãi cỏ xanh ngắt
Đồng ký tên vào
Bản tuyên ngôn của mưa

The greenest of lawns
Agreed on signing
The rain’s manifesto

15.
Những ngọn cây rướn cao lên trời xanh
Để viết hiến chương
Cho mặt đất

The treetops reaching for the blue sky
To note the charter
Of the ground

16.
Những chiếc lá đẹp như hoa
Nhắc nhở:
Đừng tin vào vĩnh cửu

The leaves as pretty as flowers
A reminder:
Nothing last forever

17.
Các vì tinh tú xa xăm
Đêm đêm dõi mắt nhìn địa cầu
Tìm một nhà thơ thất lạc

All those faraway stars cast their eyes
Upon the earth night after night
Looking for a misplaced poet

18.
Vầng trăng xanh ốm nghén
Mơ có con
Với một nhà thơ

The moon is green with morning sickness
Dreams of having a child
With a poet

19.
Hắn muốn kết hôn với một giấc mộng
Giấc mộng bị ám sát
Hắn ở goá

He wanted to tide the knot with a dream
The dream is assassinated
He lives on as its widow

20.
Giữa thiên đàng và địa ngục
Tôi chọn cái ở giữa:
Trần gian

Between heaven and hell
I choose what is in the middle:
Earth

21.
Các giáo chủ yêu loài người đến độ
Họ sẵn sàng
Nói dối

Religious leaders love humanity
So much so that they are ready
To lie

22.
Người phụ nữ có duyên nhờ tiếng cười
Nhưng sâu sắc
Nhờ nước mắt

A woman’s charm depends on her laughter
But in terms of depth
She needs her tears

23.
Nhà thơ là những kẻ thích
Gây sự với
Hư không

Poets are the kind of people
Who likes to pick fights with
Nothingness

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch lại thơ Nguyễn Hưng Quốc sau khi đã đọc Kiều:

A poet’s nature is their delight
In the opportunity to tease
A beautiful woman
.
Em thích nhất
Là những cơ hội
Được gây sự với anh

24.
Không phải ai cũng hiểu được
Nỗi cô đơn của
Những dòng sông góa chồng

The loneliness of the rivers
Who have lost their husbands
Are impossible to grasp by mere mortals

25.
Sáng sớm hồ nước ở trần
Phơi ngực cho đám sương mù
Ấp ủ

The lake lay naked upon dawn
Baring its chest waiting for
A blanket of fog

26.
Nhiều bài thơ chết yểu
Vì các chữ
Quyên sinh

So many poems dying young
Because the letters have
Ended their lives

27.
Mỗi ngày biển viết hàng ngàn bài thơ
Rồi
Tự xoá hết

The sea composes thousands and thousands of verses of poetry a day
To then
Wipe them from existence

28.
Mùa xuân, ngày thơ giật mình
Nghe tiếng cành cây
Nẩy lộc

The spring, a startling moment for poetry
Discerning
The budding bounty

29.
Mùa thu, nghe thơ nhạc nhắc
Lá buông cành
Rơi

The autumn could through music and poetry discern
From the branches, the leaves letting go
Falling so so

30.
Em đi rồi
Mùi hương
Treo cổ anh

Your scent, like a noose
Left me breathless
As you left

the smell of you
like a noose around my neck
left me breathless as you walked away

31.
Hắn ngơ ngác đi tìm một bài thơ thất tán
Nó trốn đâu đó
Dưới ánh trăng

He’s been looking for a poem that has been disbanded
It’s hidden somewhere
In the moonlight

32.
Những bài thơ viết về tình yêu
Là khói sương
Hắn chỉ chấp bút

The poems about love
Mere fog
He appeared to have made a note of it
(Lê Vĩnh Tài)
The poems about love
Are mere fog and mist
All he did was made a note of it
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

33.
Thiếu em, những bài thơ anh viết
Bị truỵ thai
Xanh mét

Without you, the poems I wrote
Miscarried black and blue
Void of oxygen

34.
Những đóa hoa hắn yêu thích nhất
Đều lần lượt
Tự tử

All the blooms dearest to them
One by one
Kill themselves
(Đoàn Duy)
All the flowers he cherish most
Would eventually one at a time
Commit suicide
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

35.
Hắn đọc phúc âm nàng
Chữ nào cũng có lửa
Đốt cháy cả màng trinh

He Gospel of Maiden read
With sparking words
Putting maidenhood in flames
(Đoàn Duy)
Reading her scripture
The words are all on fire
And even burning is her hymen
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

36.
Loài người rợn ngợp̃ trước cái Vô Hình
Cần chỗ vịn
Dù chỉ một cây nhang

O mortals, whelmed with awe at the intangible,
Yearn to lean on things,
Even on an incense stick.
(Đoàn Duy)
Humanity is overwhelmed by the invisible
Need to lean on
Even just one incense stick
(Lê Vĩnh Tài)
People are overwhelmed by what they can not see
They need always something to lean on
Even something as humble as an incense stick
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

37.
Ánh trăng chứng kiến mọi cuộc ngoại tình
Nó chỉ kể với
Những giọt sương khuya

The moonlight is the witness
To all infidelity
And the night dew is its only confidant

38.
Họ hôn nhau, khoảng cách giữa hai cái lưỡi
Bằng chiều ngang
Một tiếng thở dài

Oh a tender kiss have they,
With the spacing of tongues
Echoing the breadth of sighs
(Đoàn Duy)
They kissed, the gap between their tongues
The width
Of a long sigh
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

39.
Đừng hy vọng: Không có tiếng gào nào
Vang tới được trời xanh
Kể cả Holocaust

Hope not: There’s no scream
Loud enough to reach the high heaven
Including the Holocaust

40.
Trước sự quyến rũ của những trái táo
Bao giờ hắn cũng đầu hàng
Như tổ phụ ngày xưa

Facing the allure of an orchard full of apples
He will without fail surrender
No different from his ancestors

41.
Những chiếc lá nho trên tay Eva
Làm một nửa nhân loại
Trằn trọc

Sleepless is half of humanity
Upon Eve’s caress of the leaves
On those grapevines
*
The grape leaves
In the hand of Eve
The sleeplessness in the other half of the human race

42.
Nằm trên bãi cỏ
Dưới tàn cây
Nàng thất thân với những sợi nắng chiều

Sunlight fell across the lawn
Under the canopy
She is lost in the afternoon light

43.
Con đường chánh đạo dẫn đến hạnh phúc
Nằm ở giữa
Hai đùi

The virtuous path towards happiness
Lies between
The thighs

44.
Một cánh chim bay đi
Để lại tiếng hót
Làm vàng hoàng hôn

A bird flew away
Left behind its birdsong
Painting yellow the sunset

45.
Ngọn gió mang theo mùi thuốc lá
Lọt qua cửa sổ
Phá trinh nàng

The scent of cigarette smoke carried via the wind
Penetrated the window
Broke her hymen

46.
Các thi sĩ được rửa tội
Bằng
Thơ

Poets have the honour
Of being baptised
By poetry

47.
Cuộc sống quá ngắn ngủi
Để làm được
Một câu thơ thật hay

Life is way too short
To write
A really good poem

48.
Một bài thơ hay là một
Sợi lông nách
Của Chúa

A good poem is the armpit
Hair
Of the Creator

49.
Ánh trăng dịu dàng và thơ mộng đến nỗi
Làm bao nhiêu góa phụ
Mang thai

The moonlight soft and dreamy so much so
That there are an uncountable number of widows
Are now with child

50.
Bài thơ biết bí mật của tình yêu
Nhưng nó lại không biết bí mật của chữ
Chữ trả thù: Bài thơ chết non

The poem knows the secret to love
But it knows not the secret of the word
The vengeance of the word: The premature death of a poem

51.
Viết văn ở hải ngoại là cuộc hành lạc đau đớn của những
Gã đàn ông
Bất lực

Writing abroad is a painful sexual experience
For impotent
Men

52.
Phần lớn những nhà thơ kém may mắn
Chỉ mân mê những chữ
Bị thiến

Most poets lack good fortune
Fidgeting with words
That has been castrated

53.
Nhìn những vì sao xa xăm
Hắn nghe tiếng thở dài của một
Trinh nữ già

Looking at the stars far away
He could hear
The sigh of an aging virgin

54.
Bài thơ không có gì ngoài chữ
Chữ giao cấu với chữ
Đẻ ra nhà thơ

Poems consist solely of words.
Through the copulation of language,
Poets are formed
(Bạch Xuân Phẻ)
A poem is nothing other than words
making love
and give birth to the poet
(Lê Hồng Vân)
A poem is merely words spilling out,
Words breed, from their union
Begetting a poet.
(Đoàn Duy)
A poem has nothing but words
When words bed words
A poet is conceived …
(Viet Pham)
Poems are words
Word pair word
and a poet is born
(Nguyễn Vân Hà)
A poem has nothing but words
The copulation of words
Gives birth to a poet
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)
A poem is just a bunch of words
Words fucking words
And the poet is their fucking child
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

55.
Bài thơ lội trong mơ
Tất cả những gì ở ngoài giấc mơ đều
Hư ảo

Beyond a poem
Wading through a dream
Everything is a misconception
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)
Save for poetry
Anything outside of your dreams
Is unreal …
(Viet Pham)

56.
Ở đó, người ta không bao giờ thấy mặt trăng
Cả bầu trời bị
Đánh cắp

They can never see the moon there
Wholly stolen is their
Horizon

57.
Nụ hôn chưa dứt, nàng đã ra đi
Hắn đứng nút lưỡi giữ hư không
Cái lưỡi lạnh ngắt

The kiss was barely there and she was gone
He stood there pressing his tongue against nothingness
His tongue was like ice

58.
Loài người bị thời gian rượt đuổi
Bằng một chiếc đồng hồ
Không có kim

Humanity is constantly being chased by time
By the tick tock tick tock of a clock
Without the hand to count the second, minute or hour

59.
Chúng ta có quá nhiều chữ
Chữ bị lạm dụng
Kể cả để giết người

We have too many words
We have used and abused them
Even in the assassination of the people(we love)

60.
Từng ngày từng ngày từng ngày
Cái bóng dưới chân hắn mòn đi và
Mất hết gai góc

One day after the other
The shadow beneath his feet fades away
Losing all his grip on reality

61.
Bầu trời lúc nào cũng sổ mũi
Nắng bị cúm
Tháng giêng bế kinh

The horizon suffers from chronic rhinitis
The sunlight suffers from influenza
January is late with period cramps

62.
Ánh trăng tàn nhẫn rọi sáng
Cả những sự phản bội
Trong lòng các cặp tình nhân

O the moon casts its cruel light
On lovers’ betrayals
Bosomed within their souls.
(Đoàn Duy)
Cruel is the moonlight
Illuminating the betrayals
In the heart of lovers
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

63.
Trong thơ, hắn thích đi nhất
Trên những con đường
Ngược chiều

When it comes to poetry
What turns him on the most is to drive
Down the wrong side of the road

64.
Một con cá chờ chết trong dòng suối cạn
Nằm mơ về
Đại dương

A fish waiting for its last breath in a shallow stream
Dreams
Of the ocean

65.
Chúa không làm thơ, Phật cũng không
Chỉ khi đối diện với cái chết
Thơ mới lên tiếng

Neither God or Buddha compose poetry
Only in facing death
Poetry speaks up

66.
Sương mù. Bầu trời sụp xuống
Suýt đụng
Ngọn cây cổ thụ

Fog. The collapsed sky
Barely missed
The tip of an ancient tree

67.
Sáng tự dưng thấy hiu hắt
Mùi cà phê
Làm bài thơ thở dài

Morning discerning just a hint
The scent of coffee
Giving the poem a long sigh

68.
Không có hoa, hắn nâng niu những chiếc lá
Tâm hồn nào cũng cần nhiều
Màu xanh

Without flowers, he nurtures the leaves
All minds yearns for
What is evergreen

69.
Tất cả các chữ đều là nạ dòng
Nhà thơ mang lại
Trinh tiết

The poet returns chastity
To all the characteristically
Climacteric words

70.
Thơ làm mới ngôn ngữ
Ngôn ngữ làm mới cái nhìn
Cái nhìn làm mới con người

Poetry refreshes the vernacular
The vernacular refreshes the point of view
The point of view refresh anew the human race

71.
Nàng thích những bài thơ có vần
Trong những ngày
Rụng trứng

She likes the verses that rhyme
On the days
Her eggs drops

72.
Mọi phụ nữ đều cười giống nhau
Họ chỉ khác ở
Tiếng khóc

Every maiden has the same smile and laughter,
Only when their tears flow
Their selves emerge.
(Đoàn Duy)
The laughter of women is much the same
They are only different
When they cry
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

73.
Trên thiên đường, bức tường nào cũng
Ướt đẫm
Tinh dịch

In heaven
All the walls are drenched
In ejaculation

74.
Em đi, gió cũng nhớ
Nó thở khắp nơi
Mùi hương trong nách em

You walked away and even the wind misses you
Breathing in the scent of your armpit
The air of you

75.
Quên đi những trận dông bão
Tình yêu chỉ là cơn mưa phùn
Đủ để quần lót em ướt

Forget about the storms
Love is nothing but a light shower
Just enough to wet her underwear

76.
Sáng, một tia nắng cong
Ôm hôn
Những hạt bụi

Came morning, a ray of light
Kissed and wrapped itself
Around a speck of dust

77.
Những ngọn sóng hung hãm đập nát
Bóng trăng
Máu phun tung toé

One after the other the waves violently
Violated and destroyed the reflection of the moon
The blood spattered everywhere

78.
Hắn bị sập bẫy
Một đoá
Hoa hồng

He was caught
Red handed in a trap
Of a rose

79.
Hắn đào bới thịt da nàng
Cố tìm
Những nụ hôn mất tích

He deliberately dug and dug at her flesh
Trying to find
The missing kisses

80.
Chỉ những kẻ ngoại tình mới hiểu
Những nỗi niềm giấu kín
Trong trái tim của biển

Fornicators are the only ones who will see
The pain hidden to a great degree
At the very heart of the sea
*
The fornicators are the only ones aware
Of the pain hidden deeply
At the very heart of the sea

81.
Hắn lục tìm trên trang giấy
Thấy nàng thấp thoáng
Ở cuối dòng thơ

He searched the entire page
To find her barely there
At the end of a poem

82.
Tất cả mọi người đều là những tù nhân
Thơ là sự cứu rỗi
Cuối cùng

We are all
Prisoners
Poetry is our last hope

83.
Máy chém là một di sản cần gìn giữ
Để mọi người biết quý
Cái đầu của mình

The guillotine should be a cherished commodity
A good reminder of how one should
Try to keep one’s head

84.
Đang đi, nàng gục xuống: nỗi buồn quá nặng
Tiếng khóc thẳng đứng
chận ngang những cơn gió

She drops to ground mid-step: laden is her sadness
Her crying stood firm and erect
A barrier to all courses of the wind

85.
Trong bụng mỗi bài thơ là một bào thai
Trong mỗi bào thai là
Một giấc mộng

An amniotic sac resides in each poem
In each amniotic sac rest
A dream

86.
Ánh trăng bao giờ cũng có vẻ lả lơi
Khiến những người cô đơn
Không thể thiền định được

The moonlight is always generally rather slack
So much so that those who are lonely
Could never meditate

87.
Em đánh tráo giấc mơ của anh
Bằng một giọt
Nước mắt

You have cheated me out of my dream
By a single
Tear

88.
Mùa xuân là lễ hội của hoa
Mùa thu là lễ hội của lá
Lúc lá cưới nhau lần cuối

Spring is a festival for flowers
Autumn is a festival for leaves
In the last holy matrimony of leaves

89.
Mọi nụ hôn
Đều không cần
Lời bạt

All kisses
Require not
The afterword

90.
Lá đóng những con dấu
Trên giấy khai sinh
Của gió

The leaves stamping their mark
On the birth certificate
Of the wind

91.
Về Việt Nam, hắn là người ngoài cuộc
Nhữnh tia nắng nhìn hắn
Hằn học

During his return to Vietnam, he was an outsider
The rays of sunlight glared
In vengeance

92.
Con người gào to. Như tiếng chó tru
Tất cả im lìm
Chúa và Phật đều đã chết

Humanity shouting. Like howling dogs
All is silent
Dead are both God and Buddha

93.
Hắn thấy sự run rẩy của từng thanh bằng thanh trắc
Sự ngập ngừng của từng con chữ
Hắn thấy. Bởi hắn là nhà thơ

He feels the quivering of every word by its tonality,
Even its uncertainty
He still feels out. As he the poet is.
(Đoàn Duy)
He sees the quiver of each tone
The hesitation of every word
He sees. For he’s a poet.
(Nguyễn Vân Hà)
He could discern the quiver of each flat and sharp
The semi and quarter pause after every word
He could discern it. Because he is a poet
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

94.
Nàng gục mặt vào bụng gió và khóc
Những giọt nước mắt lẩy bẩy
Tìm vần

She buries her face in the bosom of the wind
The fumbling teardrops came rushing
Tries to find their rhyme and rhythm

95.
Khi con người bắt đầu ngắm cái bóng của mình
Lịch sử bắt đầu
Náo loạn

As mortals peer into their own reflections,
The history’s tide
Stirs in tumult.
(Đoàn Duy)
As soon as humanity begins to study their shadow
It is the beginning of the chaos
In History
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

96.
Nhắm mắt trước những nỗi thống khổ của nhân loại
Bịt tai trước những tiếng kinh cầu
Thượng Đế cũng nói láo

Eyes closed to the pain of humanity
Ears blocked from the sound of prayers
The Creator is also a liar

97.
Đứng trên cầu hắn thấy xác hắn
Trôi bập bềnh dưới sông
Sông mọc đầy mây

Standing on the bridge looking down he sees is body
Floating in the river
The river blooming full of clouds

98.
Thơ là lời thì thầm của trái tim
Thơ là trò chơi của chữ
Thơ là ngón tay đeo nhẫn của Chúa

Poetry is the whisper of the heart
Poetry is a game for words
Poetry is the ring finger of God

99.
Tôi ái ngại cho những kẻ sáng sáng thức dậy
Nhặt các giấc mơ và
Bỏ vào miệng

I’m worried for those upon their wake at dawn
Pick up their dreams from the floor to then proceed to
Put them in their mouth

100.
Tôi dắt con cá đi bộ
Nó đòi bay
Mà trời thì đầy nước

I took the fish for a walk
It wanted to fly
But the sky was full of water

101.
Về Việt Nam, thích nhất là những tiếng cười
Nhưng sợ nhất là những cái nhìn
Từ những cặp mắt không có con ngươi

The highlights of the trips to Vietnam are the laughter
The lowlights are the death stares
From pupil less eyes

102.
Nhân danh thơ, nàng ở truồng
Những sợi lông bay phấp phới
Như những lá cờ

In the name of poetry, she wears no underwear
Her pubic hair
Fluttering like flags in the wind

103.
Chỉ trong thơ mới có
Những giọt nước mắt
Biết khóc

Only in poetry could one find
The tears
That weeps

104.
Đến với hắn, nàng giấu
Nụ cười
Trong tử cung

As she came with him, she hid
a smile
In her womb

105.
Úp mặt vào giữa hai đùi nàng
Nghe gió lùa từ trong
Cõi thiên đường gọi

Face buried between her thighs
Discerned is the wind from within
The call of paradise

106.
Tôi đi khắp thế giới
Đều thấy
Những dòng sông chảy về nguồn

I have travelled the world
Consistently I have witnessed
The rivers’ return journey to the origin

107.
Trời sinh ra
Ai cũng có quyền
Mơ mộng

Children of God
We are all born with the power
To dream

108.
Khuya, ngoài vườn, nàng hổn hển
Làm tình với
Ánh trăng

It’s late, out in the garden, and she’s out of breath from
Fucking
The moonlight

109.
Thơ trở thành nguồn cứu rỗi duy nhất
Sau khi Thượng Đế bị
Truất phế

Poetry will be the last point of salvation
After The Creator has been
Deposed

110.
Cắn vào đôi môi đầy chất độc của nàng
Hắn biến mất
Như một bài thơ dở

Biting her poisonous lips
He disappears
Like a bad poem

111.
Nên từ giã cõi đời như nắng
Đẹp nhất là lúc
Hấp hối

One should leave this life like sunlight
Glorious to the last
Breath

112.
Thấy những người đồng tính hôn nhau ngoài đường
Eva mắc nghẹn
Ăn không hết trái táo

In light of all the same sex couples kissing in the street
Eve was all choked up
She couldn’t finish her apple

113.
Khi một nhà thơ lớn qua đời
Các cuốn từ điển trở thành
Mồ côi

When a great poet passes away
Dictionaries are left behind
Orphaned

114.
Di sản của các nhà thơ là
Những nỗi buồn
Đìu hiu

Solitary
Sadness
The legacy left behind by poets

115.
Em đi, chiều rưng rưng
Buồn dựng sóng
Trời không nỡ xanh

You departed, leaving upon that eve
A rippling mournful sheen,
The sky willed not to be blue.
(Đoàn Duy)
She walked away and the afternoon was overwhelmed with tears
In waves of sadness
The sky was shy from being so blatantly blue
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

116.
Khi cái hĩm lên tiếng
Mọi cơn gió đều im bặt
Dòng sông quay đầu lại nhìn

When the abode speaks up
The wind is stun into silence
Before the river turn back for a look

117.
Tôi đặc biệt thích những đoá hoa
Nở
Trái mùa

I especially like the flowers
That bloom
Against the seasons

118.
Đời sống sau cái chết là tác phẩm hư cấu
Vĩ đại nhất
Của nhân loại

Life after death is humanity’s best
Work
Of fiction

119.
Chết, Nguyễn Du cầm theo Truyện Kiều
Nó quá nặng
Linh hồn ông mang không nổi

In death, Nguyễn Du took The Tale of Kiều with him
And it was a burden too heavy for his soul
To bear

120.
Anh ước chuyện tình giữa anh và em
Thơm hoài
Trong biên niên sử của gió

I hope that our love for each other
May stay fresh
In the annals of the wind

Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia. Photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

121.
Trong văn học, chiến thắng
Thuộc về
Phe thiểu số

In literature, victory
Belongs to
The minority

122.
Bài thơ bị xử bắn
Nó sống
Còn nhà thơ thì chết

The poem was sentenced to be shot to death
It survived
But the poet is dead

123.
Thơ là nơi tôi chôn giấu những nỗi
Không thể nói được
Với bất cứ ai

Poetry is where I bury the emotions
Unspoken
Hidden from all ears

124.
Khi cần tìm chữ cho một bài thơ
Tôi nhìn lên cao
Từ điển là những làn mây

When I’m searching for the words for a poem
I would look up at the sky
The clouds are dictionaries

125.
Hắn giang tay định ôm choàng lấy nàng
Bỗng hụt chân
Té nhào ra ngoài giấc mộng

He opened his arms to embrace her
But he tripped and fell
Out of his dream

126.
Ngôn ngữ của trăng bao giờ cũng thì thầm
Dành cho những trái tim
Mất ngủ

A whisper is the moon’s vernacular
In the heart of those
Who can not sleep

127.
Nương theo ánh trăng
Các nhà thơ bay lơ lửng
Trên đôi cánh chữ

Leaning into the moonlight
The poets are suspended
Flying on a pair of wings made out of words

128.
Chỉ cần một con cá quẫy
Đủ làm tan
Bóng trăng

Only one wriggling fish is necessary
To destroy
The reflection of the moon

129.
Con bướm trắng run rẩy trước
Những bông hoa
Ở truồng

The white butterfly shaking
Facing all the naked
Flowers

130.
Nhân danh tình yêu, người ta
Ám sát
Thơ

In the name of love, they
Assassinated
Poetry

131.
Ánh trăng hôn lên mặt hắn
Lưỡi trăng có vị ngọt
Của một người vừa dậy thì

The moon bestowed a kiss on his face
The moon’s tongue was as sweet
As someone’s on their first menstrual cycle

132.
Dòng sông này nuốt dòng sông kia
Rồi mang ra biển
Thuỷ táng
—
Watery is the interment
A river swallowing a river
Taking each other out to sea

133.
Sự say mê của con người
Làm cho thơ
Nghẹt thở

Humanity’s passionate nature
Left poetry
Choked up
*
Humanity’s fall from grace
Left poetry
Breathless

134.
Cây cổ thụ bên bờ sông
Luôn luôn run rẩy khi nhớ lại
Một người đến treo cổ

The ancient tree by the river
Shiver
Each time it remembers the person who hung themself

135.
Khi loài người bắt đầu làm thơ
Thượng Đế tuyên bố
Thoái vị

When humanity started to compose poetry
The Creator announced
His abdication

136.
Loài người vốn rộng lượng
Dẫu bị Thượng Đế đày đoạ
Vẫn tha thứ

Humanity is rather generous
Even after the wrath of The Creator
They are always ready to forgive

137.
Ngọn núi là vần trắc
Vá dòng sông vần bằng
Còn anh bằng trắc em

Accented is the rhyme of a mountain
Unaccented is the rhyme of the river And I’m unaccented to your accented rhyme

138.
Ra đi, em nhẫn tâm
Đánh cắp
Cả các giấc mơ của anh

You were heartless when you left me
Took with you
All my dreams

139.
Nhà thơ không làm ra chữ
Chính chữ làm nên
Nhà thơ

The poet is not the maker of the word
The word is what makes
The poet

140.
Đọc những bài thơ, người ta đều thấy
Vết máu loang của
Trinh tiết

Reading the poems, people see time and again
The spattered first blood of a shredded
Hymen

141.
Anh nằm trơi vơi trên em
Chính giữa là khoảng trống
Vô tận

I’m lost on top of you
Between us is an endless
Separation

142.
Cuối cùng, mọi mối tình đều đi qua
Cái còn lại là
Những giai thoại

In the end, all the love intrigue shall pass by
Left behind
Are the anecdotes

143.
Những ngọn gió độ lượng
Nhặt mùi hương đàn bà
Tặng cho người hành khất

The kind and generous breeze
Picked up the scent of women
As a gift for the mendicant

144.
Khi em chổng mông lên
Mọi thần linh đều
Biến mất

When you bend over darling
The sacred spirits altogether
Disappear

145.
Có cảm giác thật ngây ngất khi được
Sự im lặng
Hôn vào môi

That amazing feeling when
Silence
Kisses your lips

146.
Những bông tuyết đầu mùa
Đẹp như những
Màng trinh

The first snow is always
As pretty as the untouched
Hymen

147.
Mỗi lần nhớ em, anh hỏi gió
Gió sưu tập
Mọi mùi hương của em

Each time I miss you, implore I would of the wind
The wind would then collect
The scent of you

148.
Trong cuộc triển lãm nắng
Có một sợi đi lạc
Đậu trên tóc em

On an exhibition of sunlight
A lost thread of light
Settled in your hair

149.
Ngọn gió thổi tung mái tóc em
Một sợi rơi
Dính trên nền trời

The wind through her hair
Freed a strand
Plastered across the sky

150.
Đối với các nhà văn
Cuộc đời chỉ là
Một bản nháp

To writers
Life is nothing but
A rough copy

151.
Lần đầu tiên người ta biết tên nhà thơ
Qua bản cáo phó
Đăng trên báo

The first time anyone had ever heard of the poet’s name
Was in an obituary
Published in the local newspaper

His name was listed in the obituary
In the Sunday paper
The first time anyone had even heard of the poet

152.
Trên thiên đường không có đồng hồ
Chúa phải nhìn xuống trần thế
Để biết thời gian

There’s no such thing as a timekeeper in heaven
God had to look down upon humanity
To get an idea of time

153.
Cành cây trĩu lá xanh
Làm cong
Bầu trời

The horizon is curled up
Inside a branch
Laden with green leaves

154.
Ở đâu cũng một tiếng
Mưa rơi
Không quốc tịch

Hither and yon resounds
Raindrops
Beyond any nation.
(Đoàn Duy)
rain is the same
everywhere
it is stateless.
(Viet Pham)
Pitter-patter
Raining everywhere
But country nowhere
(Nguyễn Vân Hà)
The sound of falling rain found
In all corners of the world sound
Without citizenship
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

155.
Con người luôn luôn ở ngoài
Bức tranh
Chân dung mình

People are forever
Beyond
Their portrait

156.
Tiếng cười em
Còn lại mãi
Trong hồi ký của gió

Your laughter
Is forever
Imprinted in the memoir of the wind

157.
Mưa rơi lắc rắc
Làm đầy
Ao nước thơ

The sprinkling rain
Fills up
The mere of poetry

158.
Hắn nằm trên cỏ
Cỏ quấn lấy hắn
Thành một nấm mộ xanh

He lay there on the grass
The grass wraps him up in its creepers
Turns him into a green tumulus

159.
Cái mồng đóc
Không có
Trí nhớ

The clitoris
Has no
Memory

160.
Nụ cười em
Làm dậy hương
Cả cánh đồng hoa hồng

Your smile dear
The awakening scent
Of a field of roses

161.
Nàng dẫm lên thơ
Mang thai
Một cơn mộng

She stepped on poetry
And she was impregnated
With a dream

162.
Những ngọn cỏ nghiêng mình
Ngả đầu vào
Tấm ngực trần của gió

Reeds leaning
Into the naked torso
Of the wind

163.
Thời gian
Bỏ sót
Nụ cười của nàng

Time
Forgot
Her smile

164.
Người ta biết yêu quá sớm
Nhưng hiểu tình yêu
Quá muộn

People are so quick to fall in love
Yet are rather too late in grasping
The idea of love

165.
Không chỉ trời đất mới vô tận
Thử nhìn vào lòng phụ nữ:
Nó cũng không cùng

Endless is not just heaven and earth
Try and look into the heart of a woman:
There is no end

166.
Trong những điều kỳ diệu, ngôn ngữ đứng đầu
Trong ngôn ngữ
Thơ đứng đầu

Within all things marvellous, the epitome is language
Within language
The epitome is poetry

167.
Một bài thơ như tiếng chó sủa vu vơ dưới trăng
Nó khiến người ta giật mình
Thấy ánh trăng đẹp

A poem barking like a dog at the moon
Wakes people up
In time to soak the moonlight

168.
Không có ai tự tử cả
Chính sự tuyệt vọng
Giết họ

There’s no such thing as suicide
Despair is what
Kills them

169.
Họ không hôn nhau: Họ nuốt nhau
Người này lọt vào cơ thể người kia
Và ngược lại

They kiss not each other: They swallow each other instead
One into another
And vice versa

170.
Bài thơ nào cũng lặng lẽ
Như một vết sẹo
Không tuyên ngôn

Each poem quietly does its job
Like a scar
Unannounced

171.
Gió thù lá: Nó quyết ném những chiếc lá xuống đất
Lá vẫn nhởn nhơ bay
Không sợ chết

The wind resents the leaf: It’s set on throwing the leaf on the ground
The leaf unafraid of death
Continues to idly fly

172.
Trong thơ, không có bảng cấm
Mọi sự đều được phép
Miễn đừng dở

In poetry, there’s no warning sign
Nothing is forbidden
As long as it’s not lousy

173.
Hãy nhắm mắt lại khi yêu
Trái tim không cần đúng
Chính tả

With eyes closed love
The heart does not need to be
Spelled out correctly

174.
Thỉnh thoảng những kẻ ăn thịt người tuyệt thực
Chúng ta có
Hoà bình

Now and then
We would have peace
When the cannibals are on a hunger strike

175.
Nhà thơ là kẻ phiên dịch bóng tối
Để ánh sáng hiểu được
Trái tim đêm

A poet is the interpreter of the dark
So light may understand
The heart of the night

176.
Lịch sử nào
Cũng đầy
Tái bút

History no matter where
Is full of
Postscripts

177.
Trên Biển Đông, một con cá bị xử tử
Vì bơi lạc
Vào hải phận một nước khác

In the East Sea, a fish was executed
For illegally swimming
In someone else’s water

178.
Họ chồng lên người nhau
Màn đêm bị những tiếng rên
Xé rách

They’re piled on top of each other
The fibre of the night was shredded
By their moaning

179.
Thương nhất là những bó hoa trên các nấm mộ
Bao giờ cũng
Già trước tuổi

Most pitiful are the flowers on the graves
Always withered
Before it’s time

180.
Tôi thích những bài thơ ở trần
Để người đọc thấy được
Gân guốc

I like the poems stripped bare
So the readers may see
The veins

181.
Làm thơ là đánh vật với chữ
Khi chữ thắng
Tác giả cũng thắng

Composing poetry is a wrestling match with words
When the words wins
The author wins

182.
Tiếng sơn ca từ ngày thơ ấu
Đuổi theo hắn
Như bài thơ giấc ngủ

Childhood songs of the nightingale
Chases him
Like a poem about sleep

183.
Nàng dán nụ cười trên môi
Đẻ khoe
Một giấc mộng đẹp

She stuck a smile on her lips
To show off
A beautiful dream

184.
Mùa xuân đi qua, nàng đánh mất
Mật khẩu
Trái tim mình

Spring passes by and she had misplaced
The password to
Her heart

185.
Hoa biết thần chú mở cánh cửa thơ
Nhưng chúng giữ
Bí mật

The flowers
They know the incantation to open the door to poetry
But they prefer to keep it a secret

186.
Tình yêu là phế tích
Của
Vườn địa đàng

Love is the ruins
In
The garden of Eden

187.
Thơ chỉ là cô điếm già
Đứng ngắm trăng
Trong lúc chờ khách

Poetry is nothing but an old whore
Admiring the moon
While she waits for her next client

188.
Không cần phiên dịch
Hắn cũng hiểu
Những tâm sự của gió

Without an interpretation
He could still discern
The confiding admission of the wind

189.
Lắng nghe. Lắng nghe. Lắng nghe
Chỉ cần im lặng lắng nghe
Mọi tiếng động đều thành âm nhạc

Listen. Listen. Listen
Just listen quietly to each sound
Each sound shall in turn, turns into music

190.
Lần đầu tiên hôn nàng
Hắn nhận ra mùi hương quen thuộc
Từ tiền kiếp

Kissing her for the first time
He could discern a familiar scent
Of an earlier life(an old soul)
(Lê Vĩnh Tài)
As he kissed her for the first time
He could discern a familiar scent
Of someone he had met in a past life
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

191.
Trên thiên đường đầy những người
Ngồi luyến tiếc
Quá khứ

There are plenty of people sitting around in heaven
Reminiscing
On the past

1́92.
Tự do của con người là
Những điểm mù của
Thượng Đế

Humans are free
In the Creator’s
Blind spot

193.
Nửa cái bóng nàng ngả trên
Những đóa hoa
Mãn kinh

Half of her shadow falls over
Menopausal
Flowers

194.
Mỗi đời người là phác thảo của Thượng Đế
Tiếc
Phần lớn đều vụng về

Each human life is a sketch by the Creator
Pity
The majority of them are so clumsy

195.
Hắn làm thơ từ thời u Cơ mới dậy thì
Suốt mấy ngàn năm
Vẫn

He’s been composing poetry
Since the day u Cơ* hit puberty
For thousands of years
*Legendary Mother of Vietnam

196.
Khi hát, người ta cần nhiều người nghe
Còn thơ
Chỉ cần một người

When it comes to singing, people need lots of listeners
While poetry need
Just a set of ears

197.
Mỗi tác giả là một người mẹ
Bài thơ
Không có cha

Each author is a mother
A poem
Has no father

198.
Có những chữ lởm chởm gai sắc
Làm buốt
Thanh quản những bài thơ tình

There are thorny sharp jagged words
Keen in
The larynx of all those love poems

199.
Có những đêm tôi không ngủ
Chữ cũng không ngủ
Cả hai tuyệt vọng nhìn thơ ngủ

Some nights I do not sleep
The words do not sleep
Both hopelessly watching poetry sleep

200.
Cưới vợ, hắn được tặng
Mười giấc mơ
Miễn Phí

The day he married his wife, he was given
Ten dreams
Free of charge

201.
Trong nền thơ cách mạng
Hoa nở
Từ những đống xà bần

Within the foundation of the revolution of poetry
The flowers bloom
From piles of rubble

202.
Nhiều nhà thơ qua đời để lại bức chân dung
Đóng khung thật kỹ
Cái khung đẹp hơn bức họa

Many poets have passed away leaving behind a portrait
Carefully framed
The frame is prettier than the picture

203.
Những ngọn sóng chồm lên chồm lên
Nuốt chửng
Ánh trăng rằm

The waves rising higher and higher
Swallowing whole the light
Of the full moon

204.
Làm thơ, hắn tìm cách phiên dịch
Những bài kinh nhật tụng
Của gió

Composing poetry, he tried to interpret
The sutras
Of the wind

205.
Bài thơ nào cũng đến bất ngờ
Khi tia nắng chạm vào ngay giữa
Trái tim hoa

The verses came suddenly
When the sunlight touches the heart
Of a flower

206.
Tâm hồn tôi lúc nào cũng để ngỏ
Cho ánh trăng tràn vào
Nuôi những giấc mơ

My spirit is always ajar
Ready for the pouring moonlight
To nurture my dreams

207.
Về Việt Nam hắn không biết hắn là ai
Một cây dâm bụt nhắc:
Hắn thuộc về nơi này

He finds himself unrecognisable on his trips to Vietnam
A hibiscus tree reminds him that:
Here is where he belonged

208.
Hắn mất tích trong các bài thơ của hắn
Mọi tìm kiếm đều
Vô vọng

He’s missing inside his poetry
There’s no point in
Looking for him

209.
Mỗi ngọn cỏ ôm một giọt sương
Làm vợ chồng
Cho đến khi giọt sương bị nắng ăn mất

Each blade of grass embracing a dewdrop
Husband and wife
Until the dewdrop is consumed by sunlight

210.
Đi đâu hắn cũng mang Việt Nam theo
Kể cả lúc
Làm tình

Vietnam is with him wherever he’s at
Even when he is
Making love

Squid fishing in Phu Quoc, Vietnam by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

211.
Xuân Diệu và Hàn Mặc Tử tả trăng tuyệt hay
Cả hai đều đã mất. Nhưng tôi biết
Họ hóa thành ánh trăng: Bất tử

Xuân Diệu and Hàn Mặc Tử describe the moon beautifully
Both are gone. But I know
They have turned into moonlight: Immortals

212.
Một phụ nữ lội bì bõm trên con đường ngập nước
Vừa đi vừa khóc
Nước mắt làm mặn cơn mưa

The rain is salty because of the tears
Of a woman battling a flood
In the street

213.
Mỗi bài thơ là một đám cưới của chữ
Phần lớn đều
Tuyệt tự

Each poem is a marriage of words
Mostly without
A heir

214.
Trong khế ước của thơ
Sự thành thực chỉ là điều
Phù phiếm

Within the deed of poetry
Honesty is just
For show

215.
Cô gái với nụ cười lửng lơ
Làm linh hồn hắn
Đột quỵ

The girl with the abandoning smile
Left his soul
Starved of oxygen

216.
Hễ còn nỗi buồn nhớ nhung còn tuyệt vọng
Là còn có thơ
Thơ là tiếng kêu của sự bất toàn

If there’s the pain of yearning and hopelessness
Then there still is poetry
Poetry is the acclaimed imperfection

217.
Ở đó, người ta xây dựng nhiều tượng đài thật nguy nga
Rồi đứng xếp hàng
Thủ dâm

Over there, they build all these magnificent monuments
To then proceed to line up
And masturbate

218.
Trong văn học, con đường khúc khuỷu nhất
Là còn đường nhiều hứa hẹn nhất
Xa lộ là tử lộ

In literature, the most perilous path
It is the path with the most promise
A highway full of death traps

219.
Tôi bị kết án
Phải sống
Cuộc đời mình

I was condemned
To living
My life

220.
Trang giấy trắng nằm ngửa
Tìm chữ
Thụ tinh thơ

The page lay face up
Looking for the words
For the insemination of poetry

221.
Những chiếc lá xanh ngửa mặt
Ký hôn thú
Với nắng

The green leaves lookup to
Sign the marriage certificate
With the sunlight

222.
Bức thư tình chưa gửi
Vẫn còn giấu
Trong mắt

The eyes hid
An unsent
Love letter

223.
Tôi thích những chiếc lá
Cuối cùng
Trên cành cây khẳng khiu

I like the last few leaves
Trying their best to hold on
To the spindly branches

224.
Ngón tay chỉ mặt trăng
Của thiền sư
Cong queo

Finger pointing to the moon
Of Zen Master
is curved
[Lê Vĩnh Tài]
The Zen Master’s crooked finger
Points (accusingly) at
The Moon
[Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm]

225.
Trên bờ biển vắng
Tôi nghe tiếng mặt trời
Lặn

On the deserted beach
I heard the splashing of the Sun
Set

226.
Nàng đi
Ngọn gió theo sau
Cuốn theo bao nhiêu là lá vàng

She goes
The wind follows
A whirlwind of boundless leafy yellows
(Lê Vĩnh Tài)

227.
Con bướm trắng
Cõng Trang Tử trên lưng
Bay suốt mấy nghìn năm không nghỉ

A white butterfly
Carried The Zhuangzi on its back
As it continued to fly for a thousand years without rest

228.
Cám ơn tàn lá rậm
Che làn sáng
Để chúng mình hôn nhau

Thank you to the thick canopy
A shade away from all the light
There for our private kiss

229.
Làn mây ngừng bay
Khi thấy bóng mình
Đứng yên dưới nước

The cloud halted mid-flight
Upon the discovery of its shadow
Standing still at the bottom of the lake

230.
Con chim bói cá
Lao đầu xuống nước
Đụng phải bóng mình

The kingfisher
Plunged into the lake
Happened upon its shadow

231.
Thơ là những nụ hôn
Kín đáo
Xuyên địa lý

Poetry
Discreet kisses
Beyond geography

232.
Một con bướm ngủ quên
Trên bụng hoa
Giấc mơ đầy thiền vị

A butterfly fell asleep
On the belly of a flower
Dreams of escaping all the pain in the world

233.
Để bày tỏ tình yêu
Hắn làm thơ
Còn nàng thì mất trinh

In a display of affection
He composes poetry
While she loses her chastity

234.
Con kiến
Chết khô
Trên bàn tay Đức Phật

An ant
Died in the palm
Of Buddha

235.
Làm tình xong
Nàng ra đi
Để lại mấy sợi tóc

After love making
She left
Behind a few hair

236.
Em đi
Dưới nắng
Đẹp như một bài thơ Đường

You walked away out of sight
In the sunlight
Glorious like a verse by Du Fu and Li Bai

237.
Mùa đông, tiếng thở dài của em
Làm rơi
Một chiếc lá đỏ

Winter, your sigh(love)
Caused the fall
Of a red leaf

238.
Đất nước như bàn tay Đức Phật
Những Tề Thiên Đại Thánh ra đi, đi mãi
Vẫn không thoát

In a land like Buddha’s palm
If Monkey Gods wants to leave, they could walk
Walk forever and never escape

239.
Khi bức màn sân khấu hạ xuống
Ranh giới giữa bi kịch và hài kịch
Biến mất

As the curtain drops
The boundary between drama and comedy
Disappears

240.
Các tín đồ vào nhà thờ
Hắn đến những cánh đồng hoa
Đó là địa chỉ của Chúa

The apostles goes to church
He goes to the meadows, where lies
The house of God

Lake Eakao, Buôn Ma Thuột, Việt Nam by Nguyễn Tấn Vĩ

241.
Vừa viết xong bài thơ
Những con bướm thoát xác
Cuối vườn bay nhởn nhơ

After the poem was written
The butterflies overcame with an out of body experience
Flittered at the back of the garden

242.
Hắn ngắt một đóa hoa
Làm cành cây
Goá bụa

He picked a flower
And the branch was
Widowed

243.
Viết xong bài thơ xuống trang giấy
Hắn bỗng ân hận
Trang giấy vừa tái giá

As soon as he wrote the poem down onto the page
He regretted it
The page turned into a remarried widow

244.
Nhà sư đi khất thực
Xin nhầm một làn hương
Về, mất ngủ

The monk begged for alms
Accepted by mistake a scent
Made him sleepless the entire night

245.
Đời một người thật ngắn ngủi
Mỗi sáng
Hoa vẫn nở

Short is human’s life
Each morning
The flowers continues to bloom

246.
Hắn thèm viết một bài thơ tình chân thực
Không được. Không được
Chữ bẽn lẽn từ chối

He wanted to sincerely write a romantic verse
No. No. No
The letters denied him

247.
Đưa tay hứng tia nắng
Tia nắng thành bài thơ
Bài thơ bay vu vơ

Reaching out to touch the sunlight
The sunlight turned into a poem
The poem from those fingers flew

248.
Ta như con cọp độc
Trong rừng gìa U Minh
Lúc nào cũng một mình

We’re like a tiger
In an ancient jungle in the dark
Always lonely and alone

249.
Tiếng ho của bầu trời
Làm rụng những tia nắng
Mùa xuân lênh đênh

The sky coughing
Rays of sunlight
Setting the spring adrift

250.
Nắng: miễn phí; trăng: miễn phí. Tất cả đều miễn phí
Trời đất tặng
Không tính nhuận bút

Sunlight: free; moon: free. Everything is free
A gift of nature
Without the royalties

251.
Con quạ đen
Mổ nắng
Giữa chiều quạnh hiu

A black crow
Picking at the sunlight
In the middle of a quiet afternoon

252.
Con bướm trắng mất trinh
Bay lảo đảo
Trong vườn hoa đa tình

A white butterfly lost its chastity
Inebriated, flying erratically in the air
In a garden full of love

253.
Những giọt mưa lất phất
Rửa tội những nỗi buồn
Trên tóc người con gái

The scattered rain drops
The baptism of sadness
On the hair of a girl

254.
Những chiếc lá úa vàng không nỡ
Lìa cành
Khi mùa thu chưa hết

The yellow leaves dare not
Fall
Before the end of autumn

255.
Gõ xuống bàn phím chữ
Nhà thơ quên mất mình
Chữ ùa bay lung linh

Tapping on the keyboard
The poet was lost
In a flow of shimmering words

256.
Hắn vượt biên đã tới bến
Vẫn suốt đời
Lênh đênh

He has gone beyond the border
Settling on a life
Forever adrift

257.
Đức Chúa Trời tạo nên thế giới
Nhưng chính con rắn
Mới làm ra lịch sử

God may have created the world
But the snake was the instigator
Of history

258.
Những chiếc lá màu đỏ
Trên cành
Đẹp như màu tiết trinh

The red leaves
On the branches are as pretty
As the colour of blood shed for the first consummation

259.
Chữ không bao giờ biết cúi đầu
Nhưng người cầm bút thì
Có thể

The words never bow down to anything
But those who hold the pen
May

260.
Tôi yêu những chiếc lá
Đẹp đến giờ phút cuối
Khi lìa cành bay nghiêng

I love the leaves which remain beautiful
To the very last moment
They fall from the branches

261.
Tất cả các nhà thơ đều nhẹ dạ
Trước sự cám dỗ của
Những nỗi vu vơ

Poets are generally weak
Affront the temptation
Of nothing at all

262.
Các nhà chính trị như Mã Giám Sinh
Biến mọi chữ đẹp
Thành đĩ

Politicians like Mã Giám Sinh are like pimps
Turning all that is beautiful in the vernacular
Into prostitutes

263.
In the middle of the misty sky
Nửa đêm hắn đứng nhìn ra vườn
Ánh trăng chết cóng
Giữa trời mù sương

He’s staring at his garden in the middle of the night
The moonlight is dead cold in its tracks
Across a misty horizon

264.
Không ai ngăn được thời gian
Nhưng thơ có thể vĩnh cửu hoá
Một khoảnh khắc

Time can not be stopped by anyone
But poetry could in a moment
Immortalise

265.
Nhà thơ khóc
Bằng mắt người khác
Nước mắt thụ thai

Tears are fertilised
When a poet cries
Through someone else’s eyes

266.
Bài thơ
Xuất tinh
Bao nhiêu người rụng trứng

Eggs are drop in so many
As the poem
Ejaculate

267.
Trong dạ con mỗi người đàn bà
Xanh mướt
Một nhà thơ

Green and fresh is a poet
In the gut
Of each woman

268.
Khi nhà thơ ra đời
Màng trinh phụ nữ
Được vá lại

Mended is the hymen
On the birth
Of a poet

269.
Bài thơ thất tiết
Đẻ ra
Tác giả của nó

The poem unfaithful to its spouse
Gives birth
To its author

270.
Buổi sáng hắn đứng ngắm biển
Thấy mình là sóng xô
Vỗ hoài vào hư vô

He stare at the sea as the sun rises
He sees himself as the waves
Endlessly crashing into nihilism

271.
Mỗi chiếc lá ôm một ẩn ngữ
Chìa khoá
Nằm trong trái tim

Each leaf is holding onto a secret word
A key
In our heart

272.
Thành phố đầy tượng đài
Đến không còn
Lối đi

A city covered in monuments
To the point
There’s nowhere left to stand

273.
Nằm, trong khuya khoắt, hắn nghe
Tiếng nỗi nhớ
Trở mình

Lying there, in the dark of night, he discerns
The shifting
Yearning

274.
Trước khi hắn viết, trang giấy đã đầy chữ
Những câu thơ
Không có địa chỉ

Before he had even put pen to paper
The pages were full of poetry
Without a home

275.
Nhà thơ vô ngôn trước tượng Phật
Chỉ nghe vang lời thuyết pháp
Của im lặng

The poet is speechless facing Buddha
Resounding was the sound of a sermon
Of silence

276.
Rơi tung toé trên tượng Đức Mẹ
Những hạt mưa
Vô nhiễm

Splashing all over a statue of Mother Mary
The immaculate
Raindrops

277.
Chớp mắt em đã mất hút
Sẩy thai
Một cuộc tình

In the blink of an eye and you were gone
Miscarried
Was a love affair

278.
Tôi lục tìm ký ức
Những gì quên hết rồi
Phục sinh thành thơ tôi

I looked through my memories
For all that has been forgotten
Is alive again in my poetry

279.
Bất hạnh lớn nhất của các văn nghệ sĩ
Là chết sau
Các tác phẩm của họ

The greatest misfortune of any artist or writer
Dying beyond
Their body of work

280.
Tiếng dế khóc
Ăn khuyết dần
Bóng đêm

The cricket’s cries
Gnaws away slowly the empty pieces
Of the night

281.
Lạc Long Quân dưới biển
Nghe u Cơ trở mình
Trên đỉnh núi

Lạc Long Quân at the bottom of the ocean
Felt u Cơ turned
Atop of the mountain

282.
Trên con đường thơ khấp khểnh
Chiều, như những chiếc lá chết
Chữ rụng lả tả

Poetry limping in the dying light
Like dying leaves
The words fell one after the other, exhausted

283.
Thơ không cần nước mắt
Thơ chỉ cần
Tinh trùng

Sperm is all
Poetry needs
Tears are unnecessary

284.
Tôi chạy trốn mãi
Không ra khỏi
Cõi mình

I’m running, I’m running still
And I can not seem to escape
My own existence

285.
Nhà thơ
Soi gương
Chỉ thấy người lạ

The poet’s reflection
In the mirror
A stranger

286.
Làm thơ
Tôi tự hóa kiếp tôi
Thành chữ

As I compose poetry
I’m turning this lifetime of mine
Into a lifetime of words

287.
Những ngọn sóng mù chữ
Thì thào với những con ốc
Về triết lý biển dâu

Illiterate waves
Along with the seashells mumbling
Something about the doctrine of catastrophe

288.
Thao thức, hắn quờ tay ôm nàng
Chỉ là cái bóng
Bóng lặn vào chiêm bao

Excitedly, he wrapped her in his arms
Nothing but darkness
Darkness slipping into a dream

289.
Thành phố bị phong toả
Bầu trời không đủ không khí
Chết đứng

The city is under lockdown
Dead is the sky
Starved of air

290.
Tiếng cười em rực ấm
Thổi tắt
Nỗi mùa đông

Darling, your warm laughter
Distinguished
The chill of winter

291.
Tôi yêu những chiếc gai trên cành hồng
Như yêu chất độc
Trên môi một đoá hoa

I love the thorns of the roses
Like the way I love poison
On the lips of a flower

292.
Từ trái tim đến trái tim
Con đường đèo ngoằn ngoèo
Có rất nhiều tai nạn

Heart to heart
A treacherous highway
Littered with accidents at every turn

293.
Nụ cười kéo dài
Qua mấy mùa xuân chín
Ánh trăng mật em

The longest smile
Our honeymoon
The length of a number of tender spring

294.
Trái đất bỗng nhẹ hẫng
Khi đánh mất
Một hơi thở

The earth suddenly a lot lighter
When a breath
Is lost

295.
Sau mỗi chữ là những bài thơ
Thơ là ký ức
Của chữ

Behind each word is poetry
Poetry is the memory
Of word

296.
Đừng hiểu lầm: Thiên nhiên hoàn toàn lãnh cảm
Nó không có
Ký ức

Don’t be deluded: Nature is without a doubt cold
It has no memory
It never grows old

Please, try not to misunderstand:
Nature is without a doubt cold
It has no memory

297.
Không gì hiểu gió bằng những
Cánh buồm
Giữa biển khơi

Nothing understands the wind
As much as a sail
Out at sea

298.
Mặt trời lau khô mọi dòng nước mắt
Trừ nước mắt
Của vầng trăng

The sun mops up all the tears
Accept for the tears shed
By the moon

299.
Một cách dịu dàng và thành kính
Hắn đọc
Những bài thơ phá thể của im lặng

With the most genteel and utmost respect
He lend his voice to poetry through
The silence shattering verses

300.
Một con ruồi bị đập chết trong bãi rác
Linh hồn nó bay chung chiêng
Luyến tiếc cái thiên đường mới mất

A squashed fly, died on a rubbish heap
Its lingered spirit grieved
A paradise just lost

Ruồi bu trong vườn dược sĩ. Macro photography.

301.
Em đi, hương theo sau
Anh theo làn hương ấy
Mê mải vợ chồng nhau

You walked away, followed by your scent
I found myself following the scent of you
Consummated was our marriage

302.
Tuổi già ngại cả hôn
Hương thoảng qua: mặc kệ
Lặng yên khép cửa hồn

Age inconvenient by kisses
The scent of them: ignored
The quiet closure of one’s spirit

303.
Trong các di chỉ khảo cổ ở nước hắn
Người ta tìm thấy
Đầy những âm hộ hạn hán

In all the archaeological sites of his country
They found
These sites were full of sterile wombs

304.
Mấy ngàn năm, Âu Cơ thiếu sữa
Cả dân tộc được nuôi dưỡng
Bằng đôi vú Triệu Ẩu

Âu Cơ couldn’t breastfeed for thousands and thousands of years
The nation was breastfed
By Triệu Ẩu

305.
Nhìn mưa rơi xối xả ngoài cửa
Hắn nhận ra được
Một giọt mưa rất quen

In view of the rain like cats and dogs outside
He recognized
A familiar drop

306.
Dưới những chế độ độc tài
Chữ bị tra tấn đến tàn phế
Phải đi bằng nạng

Under a dictatorship
Words are crippled by the interrogations
To the point where there is nothing left

307.
Tấm gương vu khống hắn
Tội nói dối
Trong những bài thơ tình

He is a reflection of slander in the mirror
Called a liar
In all those verses about love

308.
Hắn mải miết đi tìm lại chính hắn
Sau khi đã đánh mất
Trong những nụ hôn vội vã

Persistently, he is looking for himself
After losing his soul
In the passing kisses

309.
Sóng là chữ ký của biển
Trên tờ kinh
Quạnh hiu

Waves are the signatures of the sea
On a lonely
Page of scripture

310.
Mỗi chữ một viên đạn
Bắn thủng trái tim của
Sự tịch mịch

Each letter is a bullet
Through the heart by design
Rest in peace

311.
Em ngủ, khuôn mặt bình yên
Hơi thở nhẹ như tiếng vỗ cánh
Của một giấc mơ

You’re asleep
You’re an image of tranquillity
Your light breathing is the flapping wings of a dream

312.
Hắn lúng khi khám phá
Trái tim hắn đập lạc nhịp
Với những bài đồng ca

He didn’t know what to do with himself
When his heart fell out of rhythm
With the chorale

313.
Adam trườn lên thân thể Eva
Và phát hiện
Hạnh phúc trần thế thật ngắn ngủi

Adam climbs on top of Eve
To discover that
Happiness is short lived

314.
Trong thế giới ồn ã, hắn thấy mình
Mong manh như chiếc lá
Ửng vàng dưới nắng thu

In this noisy world, he sees that
He is as fragile as a leaf
Yellowing in the autumn light

315.
Thế giới ngày nay bị chữ đô hộ
Nhìn đâu cũng thấy chữ: Những chữ những chữ
Chữ nhiều như người Tàu

The world today is ruled by words
Everywhere you look there are words: words and words
There are as many words as there are Chinese people

316.
Mùa đông, bầu trời chật đến độ
Không đủ chỗ để
Lá bay

Winter, the sky is tight
Too tight
For leaves to fly

317.
Khi nhà thơ cầm bút
Các chữ xúm lại
Hương khói hắn

As soon as a poet picks up a pen
The letters congregate all around him
Like tinder and flint

318.
Vườn nhà hắn đầy hoa hồng
Đoá nào cũng đẹp
Cả những giờ hấp hối

His garden is full of roses
Always beautiful
To the last perishing moment

319.
Những nhánh cây gầy guộc
Cào lên cao
Làm xước cả da trời

The spindly branches
Scratching for a higher spot
Leaving scratches across the sky

320.
Thơ không cần son phấn
Không cần gia vị
Và không cần cả thơ

Makeup is not a requirement in poetry
Nor is herb or added flavour necessary
Nor the poem

321.
Em nhật thực
Để tôi chỉ thấy em
Một nửa

You are eclipsed
So I can see you
In the half light

322.
Trời lăn tăn nắng
Lòng lăn tăn em
Tôi mùa thu mình

The sky is busy with light
A heart busy with you dear
As I am embodied by autumn

323.
Trái tim thương những sợi tóc bạc
Gặp tình yêu muộn
Chỉ thở dài hắt hiu

The heart ache for the lost of colour in greying hair
To love far too late
All it can do is aimlessly sigh

324.
Thơ
Bí tích hôn phối
Giữa các chữ

Poetry
The sacrament of marriage
Between words

325.
Em làm các con chữ phát sốt
Trên trang giấy nhàu nát dục tính
Bài thơ rất đực

You are the fevered words
On the crumbling lustful page
A poem swollen with testosterone
*
The poem is very male (direct translation)
*
A poem pumped with Viagra (very songngutaitram)

326.
Mọi cuốn sách đều dang dở
Chúng chờ những giọt nắng
Viết tiếp

All books are unfinished
They wait for the rays of sunshine
To shed more light

327.
Dưới đáy hồn anh là em
Chung quanh em
Là trầm tích của kỷ niệm

The bottom of my soul is you
Surrounds you
The sediment of the memory of us

328.
Chưa từng gặp mặt
Anh đã nghe được mùi hương của em
Toát ra từ buồng trứng

We haven’t met
And already I could discern
The scent of your ovaries

329.
Cả đời mơ giấc nắng
Lại mưa phùn hồn mình
Bằng thơ

An entire life dreaming of sunlight
Nothing but sprinkling rain
In my soul the poetry

330.
Những chiếc lá phong Nhật rơi trên những bài lục bát
Ngân lên những tiếng xôn xao
Không ẩn dụ

Japanese maple leaves falling over the Parnassus of lục bát
Without the allegories
Rise in harmony

The Japanese maple leaves fallen across the lục bát verses
A rising harmonious sound
Without the allegories

Autumn in Sydney, Australia by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

331.
Thơ: Những chữ bị đánh cắp
Bởi một giấc mơ
Thủng đáy

Poetry: Stolen words
From a bottomless
Dream

332.
Thơ là tiếng thì thầm
Của những giọt sương mai
Chưa mất trinh

Poetry is the whisper
Of the first morning dew
Not once screwed

333.
Bị các nhà nho trêu ghẹo, nàng xấu hổ
Lấy màng trinh che mặt
Trốn vào giữa các trang sách

Flustered by all the attention from the Confucianists
She uses her hymen to cover up her blushing face
Hid inside the pages of a book

334.
Già thành người ngoại cuộc
Ngỡ ngàng
Với mọi tiếng cười

Growing older, into an outsider
One is easily startled
By all the laughter

335.
Di nguyện của người già
Đựng vừa đủ
Một hũ tro

The last wishes of the elderly
Fit perfectly in a pot
Of ashes

336.
Thượng Đế thích chơi trốn kiếm
Tôi quyết định
Bỏ cuộc

The Creator enjoys playing hide and seek
So I decided to just
Give up

337.
Bài thơ bị sóng cuốn trôi
Đầu thai trên giấy
Vẫn mang vần và nhịp của biển

A verse washed away by the tides
Born again on paper
With the rhyme and rhythm of the waves

338.
Tiếng gió thổi
Làm rách
Những vạt nắng chiều

The howling wind
Across the sky
Rips apart the afternoon light

339.
Từ các xác chết thời chiến tranh
Mọc lên cây cối
Nở đầy hoa. Khắp nơi

Giant trees grew from the dead bodies
From war
Bloomed with flowers. Everywhere

340.
Chữ ăn nằm với chữ đẻ ra thơ
Dưới sự chứng giám của
Những đứa trẻ chưa vào đời

Words sleeping with words giving birth to poetry
Supervised by
The unborn

341.
Khi không làm tình được
Tôi
Làm thơ

When I can’t make love
I make
Poetry

342.
Khi một nghệ sĩ ra đi
Khoảng trống được lấp đầy bằng
Tác phẩm

When an artist passes away
The emptiness is filled up
By their work

343.
Mỗi lần muốn nhìn em cho rõ
Anh đều
Nhắm mắt lại

Each time I want to see you clearly
I would close
My eyes

344.
Cả trời đất buồn
Dự đám tang
Những tia nắng chết

The whole horizon crying
Mourning the death
Of the sunlight

345.
Cắc nhà thơ là những người cuối cùng còn lại
Từ bộ lạc ăn thịt người
Thời nguyên thuỷ

In primordial times
Poets were the only survivors
In a tribe of cannibals

346.
Mỗi cuộc đời bí ẩn
Gió lật từng trang. Từng trang
Toàn những chữ lạ

Each life is a mystery
The wind turning one page at a time
Each page is full of strange letters

347.
Thơ là những đoá hoa
Trễ kinh
Đứng khóc

Poems are like flowers
Late on their period cycle
Standing there crying

348.
Anh gục mặt vào thơ
Để thấy
Thơ có vị ấm của đôi vú

He buried his face in a poem
To discern
The warmth of a pair of breast

349.
Anh hôn em
Cái lưỡi
Rơi mất vào khoảng trống

I’m kissing you
My tongue
Falls away into nothing at all

350.
Những chiếc lá vàng như những bông hoa
Đổi màu từng ngày từng ngày;
Chúng trang điểm thật đẹp để chết

Yellow leaves like flowers
In time with the changing hues
Putting on the prettiest makeup to then die

351.
Đi, nhà thơ được dẫn đường
Bằng ánh sáng
Các con đom đóm

The poet’s path
Lit up by
Fireflies

352.
Thơ bay xuyên đại dương
Bằng cánh
Một con chuồn chuồn

The poem flies across the ocean
On the wings
Of a dragonfly

353.
Được hoà âm bởi tiếng thạch sùng
Mỗi bài thơ là
Một lời nói mớ

Harmonised by the sound of geckos
Each poem
Sleep talks

354.
Anh như con chuột túi
Bụng đầy hoài niệm
Nhảy vào hư vô

He’s like a kangaroo
A pouch full of memories
Jumping into nihilism

355.
Ngôn ngữ gồm nói và im lặng
Ngay cả sự im lặng cũng có
Ngữ pháp

The vernacular comprising of both talk and silence
Even silence has its own
Grammar

356.
Mùa thu, bầu trời nặng xuống
Nỗi nhớ thì bay lên
Chơi vơi

Autumn
The horizon sinks into suspended
Rising longing

357.
Hắn bị trái tim hắn sỉ nhục
Khi ngập ngừng. Ngập ngừng
Trước một ánh mắt

He’s chastised by his heart
Each time he hesitates, avoid looking
Into those eyes

358.
Nguyễn Trãi cầm cái đầu bị chém
Đọc thơ sang sảng
Suốt cả sáu thế kỷ

Nguyễn Trãi holding his severed head
Coherently recites poetry
Consistently for six centuries

359.
Đừng khóc Cao Bá Quát
Hãy thương cho mình
Những thế hệ bị cụt đầu

Don’t cry for Cao Bá Quát
Please save it for yourself
The headless generations

360.
Mỗi bài thơ là một thương tích
Từ vết cắn
Của chữ

Each poem is a scar
The bite marks
Of the words

361.
Mở tập thơ: Chỉ thấy chữ
Gấp tập thơ: Chữ biến mất
Còn thơ

Opened pages of poetry: They’re simply words
Closed pages of poetry: The words are simply gone
Leaving behind poetry

362.
Em quay lưng đi thẳng
Để lại một giấc mơ
Mồ côi

You turned around and left straight away
Leaving behind a dream
Orphaned

363.
Tôi điêu khắc tôi
Khoả thân
Với chữ

I carved a sculpture of myself
A nude
With words

364.
Mưa rơi tiếng mẹ đẻ
Quen thuộc
Mà vẫn ngỡ ngàng

It’s raining my mother’s tongue
Familiar though always
Rather startling

365.
Chọn lựa thơ mộng
Cuối cùng
Nấm mồ hay hũ tro

The last ultimate dream
A choice between
Grave or pot of ashes

366.
Không có bản án nào cả
Tôi vẫn ở trại tạm giam người
Chờ đến ngày mây tiễn đi

There won’t be a judgement
Since I’m still in a holding cell
Waiting for the day the clouds come to get me

367.
Không ai giải mã giùm tôi
Tiếng chim kêu
Mỗi sáng

No one could ever decrypt it for me
What the birds are saying
Each morning

368.
Xuân đến, hoa lá đồng khởi
Những cuộc cách mạng màu
Làm câu thơ lơ lửng

Came spring, the flowers and foliage are in harmony
The liberations of colours
A poem is suspended in the air

369.
Ngày 30 tháng Tư
Tôi nghe
Tiếng nước mắt rơi leng keng ngoài đường

April 30th
The tears I heard
In the street the explosive sound and quick decay of bright crashing cymbals

370.
Tôi phản đối án tử hình
Của gió
Dành cho những chiếc lá úa

I am against
The wind’s death sentence
Reserved for the wilted leaves

371.
Con bồ câu đứng ngó
Ánh nắng chiều
Nằm nghiêng

The pigeon perched there watching
The afternoon sunlight
Leaning into sleep

372.
Ngoái đầu nhìn lại
Xa lắc quê hương
Dấu chân vô thường

Looking back
Home being so far away
Impermanent are the footprints

373.
Không gì phũ phàng bằng thơ
Vừa ra đời, nó đã tuyên bố:
Tác giả đã chết

Nothing is as ruthless as poetry
As soon as it’s born, it would claim:
The author is death

374.
Em, như những cành xương rồng
Thủ tiết bằng
Gai góc

You are like a cactus
Primordially
Prickly

375.
Người hành khất ngồi bên vệ đường
Ngửa mũ xin
Những giọt nắng

The beggar on the sidewalk
Holding up their upturned hat
Begging for rays of sunlight

376.
Sáng nay chỉ có mình tôi
Đưa tiễn
Những chiếc lá rơi

I was alone this morning
Sending off
The falling leaves

377.
Hắn rời bỏ quê hương
Như rời bỏ một hạt bụi
Làm hắn vấp ngã

He left his homeland
As though he left a grain of dust behind
Caused him to miss a step

378.
Nước mắt nhà thơ
Là một
Tác phẩm nghệ thuật

A piece of art
Is the tears
Of a poet

379.
Tình yêu là một bản nhạc
Mỗi người sáng tạo một
Ca từ

Love is music
Each person is the composer
Of their own piece

380.
Anh hôn em. Cái lưỡi
Đầy mùi chữ
Nụ hôn là một diễn ngôn

I kissed you. My tongue
Scented with words
The kiss became a discourse

381.
Kệ trời mưa
Đóng cửa
Mình lục bát với nhau

regardless of the rain
close the door
we are in six eight poetry together
(Lê Vĩnh Tài)
To hell with rain
Close the door
Playing with poetry …
(Viet Pham)
—
Like Mr NHQ said, it’s almost impossible..
Oh rain
It’s no pain
Let’s conjoin in vain
(Vũ Hoàng Thư)
—
Forget about the rain
Let’s stay in and
Romeo and Juliet together
(Jessica Hong)
—
(Thơ lục bát lúc nào cũng đi từng cặp (câu lục & câu bát). Hơn nữa, hai câu ấy lúc nào cũng “dính lẹo” nhau: chữ cuối câu lục vần với chữ thứ 6 của câu bát. Tôi không nghĩ ra bất cứ chữ nào trong tiếng Anh có thể dịch câu “mình lục bát với nhau”. Các dịch giả thử suy nghĩ đi. NHQ)

382.
Hoa ngọc lan trước cửa nha em
Gần nửa thế kỷ sau
Còn thơm, trong ký ức của gió

The mycelia at your front door
Some half a century later
Fragrant still, in the recall of the wind

383.
Tôi yêu những loài hoa có hương
Những loài chim biết hót
Và những phụ nữ biết im lặng

I love the flowers with a scent
Birds that like to sing
And women who can keep a secret

384.
Gió thóc mách kể những bí ẩn của nhân loại
Nhưng không ai hiểu, trừ
Các nhà thơ

The wind prying and spreading humanity’s secrets
Incomprehensible save for
The poets

385.
Cái lò gạch bỏ hoang ở làng Vũ Đại
Lúc nào cũng đầy tiếng khóc
Trẻ sơ sinh

In Vũ Đại Village
The abandoned brick kilns are always
Full of the cries of newborn babies

386.
Mặc cho sóng gào thét đến bạc cả đầu
Các ghềnh đá vẫn
Sừng sững và im lặng: Đẹp

Doesn’t matter how loud the waterfall screams
Turning white going down the rapids, the rocks remain still
Imposing and silent: Beautiful

387.
Ngôn ngữ của người lưu vong
Lúc nào cũng ở thì
Quá khứ

The vernacular of those exiled
Remains without fail
In the past tense

388.
Những con rồng ở Việt Nam
Ăn đồ cúng đến phát phì
Không bay được nữa

The dragons in Vietnam
Getting fat on their offerings
No longer flies

389.
Đến Việt Nam ai cũng rón rén
Như làm tình trên một chiếc
Giường tre

Clandestine are those embarking on Vietnam
Like making love on a bed
Out of bamboo

390.
Tôi khai quật
Các giấc chiêm bao để
Tìm lại tôi

I’m excavating
My dreams to
Find myself again

391.
Biển đa ngôn nhưng đầy bí mật
Chỉ có gió mới hiểu được
Lòng biển

The sea is always expressive
But always mysterious
Only the wind understands the heart of the sea

392.
Cúi xuống. Cúi xuống. Cúi xuống
Để thấy những cây hoa dại
Bên đường

Look down. Look down. Look down
So you may see the wildflowers
Flourishing on the side of the road

393.
Cần ngước mặt lên khi khóc
Nhưng cúi đầu trước những
Giọt nước mắt

When you cry, look up
But always bow to the tears
In front of you

394.
Bước chân lữ thứ
Bao giờ cũng nặng nề
Vừa đi vừi ngoái lại

Hesitant footsteps forward
Always heavy
Always looking back

395.
Trong nghĩa trang cả ngàn ngôi mộ
Chỉ nghe tiếng ho của hiu quạnh
Thật khẽ khàng

In a cemetery with thousands and thousands of graves
There’s only the lonely
Gentle cough of desolation

396.
Hắn nằm sấp hẩy xuống
Dương vật xuyên thủng Cửa Không
Mất tăm

He’s lying flat on his stomach
His phallus’ piercing Sunyata
Disappeared

397.
Chiều, đứng trước biển
Bóng đổ dài trên cát
Bị sóng đập tan

The afternoon standing, facing the sea
It’s shadow falling the length of the beach
Destroyed by the waves

398.
Tôi tróc nã tôi
Đến tận gần cuối đời
Chỉ thấy được dấu chân

I keep a criminal record of myself
To the very end of my life
All anyone can see are footprints

399.
Mỗi lần đọc thơ là một lần
Động phòng
Bài thơ vẫn tiết trinh

Each time a poem is read
It’s like having sex for the first time
The poem bleeds still the first drop of blood

400.
Mỗi lần đọc thơ là một lần
Động phòng
Bài thơ vẫn tiết trinh

There are poems with eagles’ wings
There are also those like bees
Buzzing from one century to the next

401.
Biển không có sóng
Tôi mơ màng tôi lửng lơ
Cùng bầy hải âu lặng lẽ

The sea is without a single wave like a dream
And I’m dangling, hanging quietly
With the gulls

402.
Với tiếng Việt
Tôi tự đào mồ
Chôn cất tôi

When it comes to Vietnamese
I’m digging my own grave
The celebrant at my funeral

403.
Mùa thu dạy cho loài người về
Vẻ đẹp của sự
Phôi pha

Autumn shows humanity
How to appreciate
The beauty of dying

404.
Tiếng khóc và tiếng cười
Làm rộn ràng trái đất
Một thoắt rồi lặng im

Laughter and tears
Momentarily stirring across the land
Before the silence

405.
Gió mạnh làm tốc váy cô gái đi đường
Chỉ có lá vàng dưới đất
Xao động

A gust of wind flipped open a young woman’s skirt as she walked
And only the yellow leaves on the ground
Moved

406.
Cặp vợ chồng già đi bộ
Ngọn gió len lén chen vào giữa
Thầm thì

The old couple walking side by side
A breeze quietly squeezes in between them
Whispering

407.
Thơ khuếch tán
Tiếng thở dài của những
Hạt sương đêm

Poetry diffuses
The long sighs
Of the night dew

408.
Trong thơ không có giấy khai tử
Mọi cái chết đều
Lặng lẽ

There’s no death certificate in poetry
Each death quietly
Passes by

409.
Chỉ có cây cối mới hiểu được
Những nỗi lòng
Của gió

Only the trees understand
The heart
Of the wind

410.
Sau những bài thơ hay
Có dự báo thời tiết
Một thời đại

Great poetry
Marks the change
Of the times

411.
Thơ là lời tỏ tình của
Ngọn cỏ
Với một ánh sao xa

Poetry is a word of love from a blade of grass
Reserved for a star
Far far away

412.
Vầng trăng nào cũng giấu
Trong trái tim
Vài câu thơ của Du

Each rising moon
In its heart hides
A few verse by Du

413.
Trên hộ chiếu hắn có sợi thòng lòng
Thắt cổ
Mọi giấc mơ hồi hương

Dangling over his passport is a noose
Hanging up all his dreams
Of ever going home

414.
Làm thơ như đột kích
Mỗi chữ một phát súng
Bất ngờ

Composing poetry is no different to a raid
Each word is an unexpected shot
Fired

415.
Người thiếu phụ cởi chiếc áo mình đang mặc
Khoác lên tượng Phật
Đầy mùi đàn bà

The young woman took off her top
And draped it over the statue of Buddha
Exuding the scent of women

416.
Hắn tự trầm
May, một con cá bống đến cứu hắn kịp
Hắn trở thành nhà thơ

Luckily, as consolation
A goby had saved him just in time
Turned him into a poet

417.
Thơ hắn trào ra. Tung toé
Chỉ tiếc không có đoá hoa nào
Thụ thai

His poetry ejaculated. All over the place
What a waste
Not a single flower was inseminated

418.
Mùi hương nàng đánh rơi
Đã hoá thạch
Trong bảo tàng của gió

The scent she has left behind
Fossilised
In an exhibit of the wind

419.
Những chim hót giữa khuya
Làm giấc mơ
Run rẩy

Birds singing in the middle of the night
Gave the dream
A shiver

420.
Không có gì thất thường hơn biển
Kẻ trí ngắm sóng
Lòng đầy bất an

Nothing is more unexpected than the sea
The wise watches the waves in agitation
Filled with trepidations

421.
Đêm có tiếng gõ cửa
Tôi mở
Chỉ thấy một vầng trăng ăn sương

There was a knock on the door in the middle of the night
I opened it to find
The moon consuming the mist

422.
Các đoá hoa dại đều bỏ phiếu
Cho cái đẹp
Của sự nhỏ nhắn

All wildflowers cast their votes
For the beauty of all
Things small

423.
Gió và mây thường âm thầm
Rao giảng
Phật pháp

Quietly the wind and clouds
Spreads the word
Of Buddha

424.
Hắn tự treo mình trên thánh giá
Không có đinh
Chỉ có những bài thơ tình

Using sweet amorous verses
He nailed himself on a cross
Without a single nail
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)
He hanged himself
Not by nailing himself to the cross
But with love poems
(translation by Viet Pham)

425.
Hai người chia tay nhau
Giấc mơ bị lủng
Tất cả hạnh phúc đều lọt ra ngoài

Two people broke up
Like a dream with a hole
Seeping happiness

426.
Nhà thơ lắng nghe và phiên dịch
Các Cuộc chuyện trò giữa
Cỏ và sương

The poet listens and interprets
The conversations between
The grass and the dew

427.
Các giáo chủ đều là những
Nhà thơ
Huyền bí và vĩ đại

Cardinals are all
Mystifying and incredible
Poets

428.
Anh nhìn dấu chân em
Dấu chân nào cũng có cánh
Bay rợp ký ức

Looking at your footprints my love
Each footprint have their own wings
Throughout reminiscence, flying

429.
Mùi hương của em quyến rũ
Giống mùi trái táo
Adam từng cắn

Your seductive scent
An apple
Adam had already taken a bite out of

430.
Hắn rượt theo và chụp vào vai nàng
Nàng quay lại:
Đó là khuôn mặt của hắn

He rushed after her and took a hold of her shoulders
She turned around:
And it was his face

431.
Khi thình yêu bị thương
Vết sẹo có hình dạng một
Nụ hôn

When love is injured
The scar is the shape
Of a kiss

432.
Nụ hôn anh gắn lên môi em
Rơi xuống đất
Khi em quay mặt đi

The kiss I placed on your lips
Dropped to the ground
As soon as you averted your chin

433.
Tình yêu không bao giờ cũ
Ngoại lệ:
Trong chữ

Love is old, never
The exception:
Being the letter

434.
Sự thật: Cả mấy ngàn năm nay
Thượng đế đã quay lưng
Bỏ mặc loài người

Truth: In the last few thousand years
God has His back turned to us
Leaving us to do whatever we want

435.
Em nạ dòng
Còn nửa buồng trứng
Dành cả cho thơ

You’re climacteric
With half a sack of eggs left
For poetry

436.
Mỗi tình yêu
Một gương mặt
Của gió

Each love affair
Is a facet
Of the wind

437.
Lưu vong, những con cá nước ngọt
Bay lên trời và cùng hát
Quan họ

Exiled, the freshwater fish
Flying high sings in unison
Songs of old

438.
Em: Một bức tranh trừu tượng
Không ai hiểu gì cả
Chỉ biết đẹp

Darling: You’re an abstract painting
No one understands, all they know is that
You’re beautiful

439.
Hắn sống bám vào chữ
Chữ nuôi hắn
Mỗi dấu chấm một số phận

His living is hanging on every word
The words fed him
Each full stop is a human fate

440.
Sống gần biển, người ta thường khiêm tốn
Sóng nhắc nhở họ về sự
Nhỏ nhoi

Living by the sea, people are often humble
The waves reminds them
Of the small things

441.
Hắn ăn nằm với vợ hắn
Sinh ra một cây hồng
Lúc nào cũng ngát bông

Sharing a life with his wife
They gave birth to a rose bush
Always in full bloom

442.
Không có chỗ dành cho nước mắt và thơ
Trong nhữ trái tim
Hình vuông

There’s no place for tears and poetry
In a square
Heart

443.
Đứa con thứ 100 của Âu Cơ
Không bao giờ lớn:
Đó là một nhà thơ

One of Âu Cơ’s offspring
Never grows old:
The one hundredth child is a poet

444.
Nàng ra đi
Con rắn theo sau
Phun nọc độc vào mọi giấc mơ

She left
The snake followed her
Spitting venom into every dream

445.
Không ai tưởng tượng nổi
Nỗi cô đơn của bóng trăng
Khi đêm đêm đứng khóc một mình

The unimaginable loneliness of the moon
Night after night just standing there
Crying alone

446.
Có những kỷ niệm rớt dọc đường
Bỗng nẩy mầm
Thành thơ

Forgotten memories at the side of the road
Budding suddenly
Into poetry

447.
Có khi cả một dân tộc khóc
Vẫn không đủ nước mắt
Cho một bài thơ lớn

Sometimes an entire nation weeps
And there’s still not enough tears
For a masterpiece

448.
Đi vào thơ anh, em là chữ
Tất cả đều là chữ
Trừ đôi vú

In my poetry, you are the words
All words my love
Except for your breasts

449.
Con còng cõng nỗi quạnh hiu trên lưng
Đứng nhìn
Những sự sắc không

The sea crab with solitude on its back
Stood still staring at
All that is being and non-being

450.
Giữa một thế giới hỗn mang
Thơ chỉ thầm thĩ
Mọi tu từ học đều bất lực

Poetry is a whisper
Amidst the havoc of this world
And helpless is eloquence

451.
Hắn cúi ngửi một đoá hoa
Hoa mất trinh
Mùi hương thành nạ dòng

He leaned in to smell the flower
It lost its chastity
Climacteric was the after smell

452.
Kỷ niệm, nhờ hào quang của quá khứ
Bao giờ cũng lấp lánh đẹp
Hơn hẳn hiện thực

Memories relies on the halo of the past
Always glowing and shimmering
Unlike the present

453.
Trong trận hồng thuỷ của nỗi chán
Chỉ có thơ là nhạc
Mới cứu được loài người

Within the deluge of boredom
Only poetry and music are instrumental
In saving humanity

454.
Đêm đêm các nhà thơ vẫn lén lút
Ngoại tình
Với những giọt sương rơi

Poets at night
Secretly nurture affairs
With the falling dew

455.
Đang đi, thiền sư bỗng dừng lại
Nhường đường cho
Một con ốc sên

Mid-step, the monk stopped
Gave way to
A snail

456.
Biển thu mình nhỏ lại
Khi thấy
Những con dã tràng trên cát

The sea tries to make itself smaller
As soon as it sees
The crabs across the sand

457.
Chúa Giê-su bị đóng đinh
Máu chỉ chảy khi nghe
Tiếng Đức Mẹ khóc

Jesus was nailed to the cross
The blood began to bleed the moment
He could discerned Mother Mary’s tears

458.
Những con cá cô đơn dưới đại dương
Tìm bạn
Trong những triếc lưới

Lonely fish in the sea
Searches for friends
In fishnets

459.
Hắn lăn lộn trên thân thể nàng
Để đo đạc diện tích của
Nỗi nhớ

He’s all over her
Trying to measure how much
She misses him

460.
Những tiếng khóc có hình cong của em
Cắn đứt
Vầng trăng trên không

The cries in the shape of your curves
Takes a bite out of the moon
In the sky my love

461.
Mất đi, các nhà thơ cố để lại
Một ánh trăng thật chữ tình
Cho hậu thế

Once gone, for posterity
The poets wants to leave behind
The most romantic ray of moonlight

462.
Con đường trầm mặc dưới mưa
Tiếng nước vỡ
Âm vang những bài lục bát đất

A sombre path in the rain
Sounds of water breaking
Echoing the earthly verses in lục bát

463.
Các nhà thơ hậu hiện đại
Ngày ngày đến Louvre
Nhổ tóc bạc cho Mona Lisa

Postmodern poets
Day in day out turns up at the Louvre
To pull out Mona Lisa’s grey hair

464.
Eva bỏ quên cặp vú trên cành táo
Mấy ngàn năm sau
Adam mới lấy lại được

Eva left her breasts in the apple tree
After a few thousands years
Adam managed to get them back

465.
Chử Đồng Tử ngây ngất khi nhìn
Tiên Dung tắm
Cả dòng sông trắng đục

Chử Đồng Tử was inebriated as he watched
Tiên Dung bathed
The whole river turned a lucid white

466.
Anh phong toả ký ức
Thuở tình còn đang rằm
Em là tất cả anh

I will lockdown the memory
Of our honeymoon period
Because you are all of me

467.
Hắn cúi xuống hôn lên má nàng
Nàng biến mất
Nụ hôn bay chơi vơi

He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek
And she disappeared
The kiss was suspended

468.
Tôi phản đối mọi hình thức kiểm duyệt
Chữ phải được tự do
Kể cả tự treo cổ

I oppose all kinds of censorship
Words should be free
Free to even hang themselves

469.
Nàng nằm ngửa
Trên âm hộ nàng là một
Bản tuyên ngôn độc lập

She’s lying on her back
On her abode is the declaration
Of independence

470.
Hắn làm thơ, những con chữ túa ra
Ôm lấy nàng
Nàng thất tiết

He composed poetry, the words came out
Took her into their arms
And in an instant, she completely forgot all her vows

471.
Các đám mây ăn hết nửa nỗi nhớ
Bầu trời rưng rưng như tấm gương
Nhà thơ ngước soi mặt

The clouds eating up half of the longing
And he horizon is brimming like a mirror
As the poet looks up at a reflection of his face

472.
Hắn nằm trên người nàng
Một cơn dông ập đến
Và đầy trời mưa bay

He’s on top of her
A storm
Of wild wind and rain

473.
Trong mơ hắn cắn vào môi nàng
Thức dậy, nàng thấy
Mình vừa mất trinh

In a dream he bit her lip
She woke up to find
That she was no longer chaste

474.
Bài thơ trút hơi thở cuối cùng
Tất cả tan thành khói
Không có nghĩa trang thơ

The poem took its last breath
Everything turned into smoke
There’s no graveyard for poetry

475.
Họ hối nhau: Hãy làm tình cho nhanh
Trước khi Chúa
Sống lại

They rushed each other: Make love now
Before Christ’s
Resurrection

476.
Đêm, nghe gió hú, nhớ em
Nỗi buồn rơi thủng
Bóng tối

Evening, listening to the howling wind, I’m missing you
The falling sadness pierces a hole
In the dark

477.
Hoả táng xong, tro hắn được rải xuống biển
Hắn trở về quê nội:
Nước

After his cremation, his ashes were scattered out at sea
He returned to his fatherland:
Water, land and country

478.
Em đánh rơi tiếng cười
Nắng im sững
Lòng anh đầy gió lay

You lost your laughter
The sunlight was completely silent
And my heart was wild with the wind

479.
Anh và em như hai cặp thực và luận
Trong một bài Đường luật
Đối nhau chan chát

You and me, we are like truth and reason
A Tang prosody
A bitter conversation

480.
Ánh trăng lãng phí nhan sắc
Giữa trời cao
Mọi người đều ngủ say

What a waste of gorgeous moonlight
High in the sky
When all of us are fast asleep

481.
Sau khi Hai Bà Trưng tự trầm
Dòng sông Hát
Cạn cả nước mắt

After Hai Bà Trưng committed suicide in the river
The river sang
Till there was not a tear left

482.
Trong biển nước mắt của nhân loại
Giọt nước mắt của em có hình tam giác
Sắc như một mũi tên

In a sea of human tears
Your tears my love, they are in the shape of triangles
As sharp as arrowheads

483.
Chỉ có cỏ mới
Không sợ
Bão tố

Only the grass
They is not afraid
Of the storms

484.
Trong di chúc nhà thơ dặn
Trả hết các bài thơ lại
Cho ánh trăng rằm

In the poet’s testimonial
It stated that all poetry
Should be return to the full moon

485.
Mùi hương từ em toả ra
Lửng lơ
Làm gió tắt thở

Your suspended scent my love
It is the cause of breathlessness
In the wind

486.
Những chiếc lá vàng
Vừa rơi vừa tự ngắm mình
Trong thơ

The yellow leaves as they fall
Saw themselves
In a poem

487.
Em, như con bướm, mỗi lần rung cánh
Là một lần gây thành bão tố
Trong anh

Baby, you’re like a butterfly
Each flap of your wings is the cause of a storm
In me

488.
Những niềm riêng của biển
Sóng kể với cát
Rì rào

All the intimacy of the sea
Have been heard by the sand
Via the whispers of the waves

489.
Nàng ra giữa trời mưa
Để che giấu
Những giọt nước mắt

She walked out into the rain
To hide
The tears

490.
Chưa kịp hôn, em đã đi khuất
Gió đột nhiên trở mùa sang
Heo may

I didn’t get a chance to kiss you, and you were gone
The wind changed and it was
Autumn

491.
Đêm, ánh trăng mộng du
Vừa đi vừa nhắm mắt
Ngủ trên trời cao

Evening, the moon is sleep walking
Walking with its eyes closed
Fast asleep high in the sky

492.
Già, u cơ sinh ra gần
Một trăm triệu quả trứng
Hầu hết là trứng ung

Older, u cơ gave birth to nearly
One hundred million eggs
Mostly rotten

493.
Người đàn ông đi tìm những đứa cháu nội
Suốt 4000 năm
Chỉ gặp toàn con lai

A man went looking for his paternal grandchildren
An entire 4000 years
To find all of them half-bred

494.

Ever since her children formed a nation
Not one night did she went
Without crying
—
Từ khi các con bà dựng nước
Không đêm nào
Bà không khóc

495.
Những ngọn sóng tràn bờ
Như triếc lưỡi Thủy Tinh
Liếm vào chân Mỵ Nương

The waves licking the shoreline
Like Thủy Tinh’s tongue
Licking Mỵ Nương’s feet

496.
Tôi ghét mây: Chúng vô cảm
Trước mọi
Tiếng khóc

I hate clouds: They are unfeeling
Facing all
The tears

497.
Trên bộ ngực trần của em
Đầy những dấu chân
Của chữ

On your bare chest love
Are the footprints
Of words

498.
Tự do chỉ đến với những ai đã
Phá thai
Mọi thần tượng

Freedom comes only to those
Who had abort
All idols

499.
Từ trời rơi xuống
Những giọt
Trinh tiết

Out of the sky came
Drops of
Clarity

500.
Một bài thơ mới ra đời
Bao giời cũng để lại thương tích
Cho các cuốn từ điển

When a poem is born
It would always leave a wound behind
For all the dictionaries

501.
Từ bụng nàng rớt xuống
Hắn ngộ đạo
Sắc không

He fell out from her womb
And still, the moral of his story is misconstrued
As being and not being

502.
Lúc khốn cùng, hắn lấy vợ
Quà cưới chỉ là
Những bài thơ tình u ơ

Backed into a corner, he got married
His wedding gifts were a collection of babbling
Verses of romance

503.
Một cái liếc mắt
Đủ làm ồn
Nỗi nhớ

A single side glance is enough to cause chaos
In the hankering
Desire

504.
Tiếng khóc em xé rách một làn mây
Và làm một ngôi sao
Mù mắt

The sound of your crying my love
It is enough to tear apart a cloud
Blind a star

505.
Hắn chỉa súng vào màng tang. Và bóp cò
Gần nửa thế kỷ sau
Hắn còn nghe tiếng súng nổ

He aimed the barrel of his gun at the temple. Squeezed the trigger
Half a century later
He could still hear the gunshot

506.
Mở cửa sổ, nàng
Hiến thân cho
Những tia nắng mai

She opened the window
Surrendered her body
To the first morning light

507.
Con sâu hối hả biến thành bướm
Để kịp làm tình với
Những đoá hoa mới nở

The caterpillar couldn’t wait to be a butterfly
So it could mate
With a blooming flower

508.
Ở đó, mọi đường đều biến thành pháo đài
Ngay cả chút hương hoa thoang thoảng
Cũng bị kiểm duyệt

There, all roads turn into monuments
Even a hint of the scent of a flower
Would be confiscated

509.
Thời gian xô tôi
Suýt ngã
Để chạy về quá khứ

Time pushed me
I nearly fell
So I could run back toward the past

510.
Sau khi ăn trái cấm, Adam mới
Thực sự
Tự đó

After consuming the forbidden fruit
Adam was finally
Truly free

Ceramic Sculpture “Banquet” by Nguyễn Duy Mạnh

511.
Nhìn sâu vào âm đạo nàng
Hắn thấy
Điểm G của thơ

Looking deeper into her womb
He saw
The G spot of poetry

512.
Những giọt nước mắt cho tình yêu
Bay cao
Thành những vì sao dẫn đường

The tears of love flying high
Turns into a starry night
A map of the sky

513.
Mỗi con sóng ôm một bài thơ
Vỗ vào bờ
Bài thơ chạy lăn tăn

Each wave holds onto a poem
Carrying it towards the shore
The poem runs off to play in the sand

514.
Không triết lý. Không chính trị. Không đạo đức.
Em mở cặp đùi nõn
Dưới bóng đèn lung linh

No philosophy. No politics. No morality.
As you open your lovely legs
Beneath all the shimmering light O dearest

515.
Bóng tối ăn em
Anh chỉ còn thấy
Hai giọt nước mắt

The dark consumed you, love
All I could see were two
Teardrops

516.
To catch a ray of sunshine
Hoàng hôn, từ tháp chuông nhà thờ
Con bồ câu lao xuống
Hứng một giọt nắng

A pigeon dives down from the top of the bell tower of the church
Falling with the sunset

517.
Thần tượng của tôi là núi
Lúc nào cũng đứng bát ngát
Bất chấp tất cả

The mountain is my idol
Always imposing
Defiant against all odds

518.
Hắn từ sau hẩy tới
Phía trước là
Hư vô

He came from behind
In front is
Nihilism

519.
Có những nhà thơ bị vỡ nợ
Vì mải đầu tư vào
Ánh trăng

Some poets go broke
Investing too much
In Moonlight

520.
Trong thân thể những người xa xứ
Cái khó thay đổi nhất:
Cái lưỡi

The part of the body hardest to change
In those far from home:
The tongue

521.
Chỉ những con đường được khai phá
Mới là những con đường thật
Trong nghệ thuật

In art
The truth path
It is the path explored

522.
Khách sạn họ ở nhìn ra công viên
Khi họ làm tình
Công viên nổi bão

Their hotel room has a view of the park
Each time they make love
The park is a storm

523.
Rừng là quê hương của gió
Nơi gió mới thực sự
Là mình

The forest is the home of the wind
Where the wind can
Truly be itself

524.
Bài thơ thủ dâm
Trong nghi lễ
Của chữ

The poem masturbating
A ritual
Of the word

525.
Đêm nghe tiếng dế đọc kinh
Ánh trăng buồn ngủ
Gió lay dậy

The moon is woken by the wind
After falling asleep
Listening to the crickets pray at night

526.
Em đi mất
Buổi chiều trở thành
Góa phụ

Your disappearance(em)
Widowed
The afternoon

527.
Một đoá hoa tự sát dưới mưa
Linh hồn không siêu thoát
Lảng vảng hoài trong thơ

A flower committed suicide in the rain
It’s soul is trapped
Forever in poetry

528.
Tận dưới đáy ký ức
Một nụ hôn
Cuồn cuộn sóng ngầm

At the pit
Of memory is a kiss
Loaded with undercurrents

529.
Nhà thơ chỉ thích độc thoại
Trước tòa giải tội
Của hư vô

The poet only likes to perform his monologue
In front of the confessional
Of nihilism

530.
Nóng bỏng trong trí nhớ của hắn
Kỷ niệm những lần làm tình
Da thịt là vĩnh cửu

Burning in his memory
The memories of sex
The flesh forever rules

531.
Bờ môi lạnh của bóng tối
Áp vào miệng hắn
Một nụ hôn đen

The cold opening of the dark
Pressed upon his lips
A dark kiss

532.
Không dễ gì quên quá khứ
Nó luôn luôn ở
Trước mặt

The past is not easily forgotten
It is always there
Right in front of you

533.
Tình yêu được hoả táng
Hắn cố giữ lại
Một làn khói

Love is cremated
He tried his best to hold on
To the smoke

534.
Hắn học được
Từ dòng sông
Sự quên lãng

Oblivion is something
He learned
From a river

535.
Cả đời hắn lủi thủi
Trên hương lộ
Của chữ

He spent his whole life lurking
On the highway
Of words

536.
Cái chết không thêm gì cả
Nó chỉ trừ đi
Những lầm lẫn của Thượng Đế

Death adds nothing
It merely takes away
The Creator’s mistakes

537.
Biển là biển ở cái mênh mông
Nhưng biển chỉ đẹp
Ở đá và những bãi cát

The sea is the sea because of its vastness
But the sea is only beautiful
Because of the sand and rocks

538.
Họ làm tình như tín đồ
Chịu phép bí tích
Hai linh hồn bay khơi vơi

They have sex like they are believers
Receiving their sacraments
Two souls flying

539.
Những ngọn gió vô tình
Làm xước
Những tấm lòng quạnh hiu

The wind accidentally
Scratched
The lonely souls

540.
Sống, người ta mất quá nhiều
Thì giờ
Để tồn tại

In living, people waste so much
Time
Trying to exist

“Lamington by the beach” by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

541.
Hoàng hôn là lúc núi đẹp nhất
Mặt trời bị chôn dần chôn dần
Sau lưng

The mountain is the most glorious at dusk
The sun slowly slowly sets
Behind it

542.
Tôi tin ma quỷ: Đó là một trong những
Phát minh thú vị nhất
Của nhân loại

I believe in the devil: It is one of the most
Fascinating human
Invention

543.
Thánh Gióng bay lên trời
Các cô gái đi tìm dấu chân khổng lồ
Mấy ngàn năm: Không thấy

Thánh Gióng flew away, leaving us for heaven
Young women went looking for the giant footprints
For thousands and thousands of years: and still could never find them

544.
Âm hộ nàng như một cái giếng trời
Không có đáy
Bao nhiêu người biệt tích

Her abode is like an indoor garden
Opened to the sky without a base
Hence so many are missing

545.
Mây là sự lừa dối của bầu trời
Để mọi người ngỡ
Nó cũng hữu hạn

Clouds are lies perpetuated by the sky
Giving people the impression that
It is also finite

546.
Những chiếc lá đỏ
Tự thiêu
Dưới nắng

The red leaves
Immolating
In the sunlight

547.
Những ngọn gió ăn cắp
Mùi thơm
Trên vú em

Love, the breeze stole
The scent
Of your breasts

548.
Mỵ Châu bị cha chém
Ở xa, Trọng Thuỷ thấy
Máu chảy đầy tay mình

Mỵ Châu’s father chopped off her head
Faraway, Trọng Thuỷ watched
The blood spattered all over his hands

549.
Biển hay thù vặt: Bỗng dưng nổi sóng
Sừng sộ với
Trời cao

The sea is always petty: Sudden tidal waves
Threatens
The sky

550.
Chiều, cái bòng dài và nặng
Đắm trong nỗi nhớ
Phi hình thể

By afternoon, the shadows are long and heavy
Steeped in a formless
Longing

551.
Những ngọn gió xua đuổi các đám mây để
Chiếm lĩnh bầu trời
Một mình

The wind chases the clouds away
To try and keep the sky
To themselves

552.
Hắn nằm bú vú nàng
Sữa có vị mặn
Của chữ

He is sucking on her breast
Her milk has the saltiness
Of words

553.
Tất cả những tên gian hùng
Đều viết lịch sử
Bằng máu người khác

Machiavellians
They all write history
With someone else’s blood

554.
Có những bài thơ
Bị chữ
Thủ tiêu

There are the poems
Consumed
By words

555.
Trong cuộc đời, ai cũng giống nhau
Trong tình yêu, mỗi người là một
Duy nhất

In life, we are all the same
In love, we are all
Alone

556.
Coi chừng, nơi dễ sẩy chân
Rơi xuống vực thặm nhất:
Đỉnh núi

Beware, it’s slippery
The highest fall:
The mountain peak

557.
Hoàng hôn, gió thì thào
Hắn đứng một mình
Làm ngã những tia nắng quái

There was a cool breeze at sunset
He stood there alone
Causing the deviation of the odd rays of light

558.
Không có bài thơ nào dám tự vẫn
Chúng chỉ chết vì bị
Quên lãng

Not one poem dares to kill itself
They die
Because they are forgotten

559.
Đêm, bóng trăng xoã tóc
Đứng lặng lẽ đợi
Một cuộc hẹn hò với thơ

Evening came, the moon would let down her hair
Quietly she would wait for her date
With poetry

560.
Khi một nhà văn lớn xuất hiện
Mọi người đều thấy bất an
Ghế ngồi tự dưng chông chênh

People are nervous
When a great poet shows up
They fidget in their seat

561.
Tôi biết ơn trí tưởng tượng của nhân loại
Chính nó làm cuộc đời
Sang trọng hẳn

I am thankful for the human imagination
It is what makes life
Ultimately more elegant

562.
Các nhà phê bình làm cho mỗi bài thơ
Có một
Quá khứ

Critics give
Each poem
A past

563.
Là tác giả, hắn bị đóng khung trong các cuốn sách
Tất cả đều nằm trong khung
Bên ngoài lồng lộng gió trời

Because he’s an author, he’s boxed in by his novels
Everything is framed and boxed
While outside it’s windy and a storm is brewing

564.
Cháy những cánh rừng bạt ngàn
Mọi người đều sợ
Chỉ có gió là hoan hô lửa

Everyone is afraid
Of the vast forest fires
Only the wind applaud the flames

565.
Bài thơ bị bắt quả tang đang làm tình với
Một cái condom bị
Thủng

The poem was caught fucking with
A perforated
Condom

566.
Ở đó, chiến tranh kéo dài 20 năm
Bao nhiêu làn khói ngã xuống
Để lại vết nám trong phổi từng người

There, the war stretched out for 20 years
After so many fallen smoke stacks
Their people ended up with COPD

567.
Sự may mắn hôn hắn một lần
Khi hắn áp môi vào môi cô gái
Cách đây gần nửa thế kỷ

He was once kissed by luck
When he placed his lips on a young woman
About half a century ago

568.
Chiếc thuyền nào cũng cần
Ít nhất
Một cái neo

It doesn’t matter what kind of boat
They all need at least
An oar

569.
Để đến với trái tim
Hắn phải trườn qua
Thân thể nàng

To reach the heart
He has to sizzle across
Her body

570.
Cái độc ác lớn nhất của thần thánh
Là sự
Im lặng

The gods’ greatest act
Of evil is their
Silence

Sydney Opera House, Australia by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

571.
Trong mơ, em khều anh dậy
Anh dậy
Em vẫn còn mơ

You teased me in a dream
It woke me
While you were still dreaming
(Lê Vĩnh Tài)

572.
Tất cả những đoá hoa chết
Đều chết lặng lẽ
Không có ai điếu

The dead flowers
They all died quietly alone
With not a soul to mourn them

573.
Tất cả các nhà luật học đều đồng ý
Tội tổ tông là một bản án
Phi hiến pháp

All jurists agree
The original sin is an unconstitutional
Sentence

574.
Khi đại bàng vỗ cánh
Tất cả đều im lặng
Trừ con chim sẻ

When the eagle flaps its wings
All is silent
Except for the sparrow

575.
Những con chim nghẹn ngào
Ngưng tiếng hót
Khi thấy mặt trời tự trầm

Catching a glimpse of the sun consoling itself
The birds were all choked up
Stopped singing

576.
As the sun took a dive into the ocean
Mặt trời lặn xuống biển
Chút ánh sáng loé lên kêu cứu
Mặc kệ, sóng vẫn vỗ rì rào

The waves continued to converse with each other
Ignoring the fleeting light’s cries for help

577.
Không có biển nào vô tội
Ở đâu cũng có người chết đuối
Tôi là chứng nhân

I am a witness to the guilt
All seas are guilty
Of the drownings

578.
Mỗi bài thơ cõng một tia nắng
Chiếu sáng
Đường đi vào những giấc mộng

Each poem carries a ray of light
To light up the path
Into dreams

579.
Xin cám ơn những chiếc lá vàng
Làm đẹp mùa thu
Dù chính mình sẽ phải chết

Thank you to all the yellow leaves
Dressing up autumn in the best light
Even when you know you must die

580.
Anh hôn em
Đến cạn cả
Giấc mơ

Me kissing you
To the very end
Of dreams

581.
Nhà thơ là chức danh
Được chữ
Tiến cử

The official position of a poet
It is a recommendation
By the word

582.
Nhà thơ cúi mặt khóc
Giọt nước mắt bị
Treo cổ

The poet’s head lowered, crying
The tears choked up
Hung themselves

583.
Khi các chữ qua hết
Bài thơ còn lại
Sự im lặng là tác phẩm

Beyond the words
The poem is left with a body of work
In silence

584.
Tôi thícn đọc những bài thơ của trời đất
Như bài chiều
Có hàng ngàn dị bản: Tất cả đều hay

I love the poems embodying nature
Say about dusk
The thousands of variants: All magnificent

585.
Hắn đứng trước biển, những con hải âu bay đến
Ăn cắp tất cả các ý mới loé
Bài thơ không bao giờ hoàn tất

He stood there facing the sea, and the seagulls approached him
Stole all his fresh inspirations
Left behind an incomplete poem

586.
Mỗi chiếc lá là một thông điệp
Thượng Đế riêng tặng
Giới thi sĩ

Each leaf is a message
The Creator reserve as a gift for those
With the soul of a poet

587.
Lúc nào hắn cũng gục đầu xuống
Trong cấm cung của
Ký ức

His head lowered, completely resigned
Within the forbidden
Domain of his memories

588.
Mỗi nhà thơ
Là một
Nghĩa trang

Each poet
Is
A cemetery

589.
Tội nghiệp những nén nhang
Ngày đêm cố bắt chuyện với thần thánh
Thần thánh lặng im

The poor sticks of incense
Day and night tries to converse with the gods
The gods remains completely silent

590.
Tôi thích những đám mây ly hôn với gió
Đứng một mình
Lửng lơ

I like the clouds isolated by the wind
Standing there suspended
Alone

591.
Nghe những ngọn gió đi hoang tán tỉnh
Mọi dòng sông đều
Thất tiết

The rivers break their vows every time
Never being able to resist the savage
Sweet words of the wind

592.
Làm thơ là một cách thủ dâm
Tinh khí chữ bắn vào
Hiu quạch

Composing poetry is sometimes like masturbating
Sperm splattering all over
Desolation

593.
Từ khi có gương soi
Nụ cười trở thành một
Vũ khí

A smile became a weapon
When the mirror
Was invented

594.
Có những con cá không bao giờ biết biển khơi
Chúng tưởng ao tù
Là đại dương

There are the fish that will never see the sea
They believe
Their tiny pond is the ocean

595.
Về phương diện mỹ học
Phần lớn các nhà thơ là
Hoạn quan

When it comes to aesthetics
A great number of poets are
Eunuchs

596.
Đọc thơ Hương, chỉ nhớ
Những cái hĩm
Trệu trạo nhai chữ

Reading Hồ Xuân Hương
All one can think about is the vagina
Enthusiastically chewing on words

597.
Quay lưng lại với tuyệt đối, nhà thơ
Chỉ yêu
Những bọt bèo

Turning their back to the absolute
The poet can love nothing
But froth

598.
Nàng mẫn cảm. Nước mắt nàng chảy vào
Buồng trứng
Nở ra thơ

She was impressionable. Her tears fell into
Her ovaries
Hatched into poetry

599.
Gió ngọt ngào thổi vào trí nhớ
Sống lại những nụ hôn ấm
Một thời xa lắc

Warm kisses from long ago are revived
By the sweetness of a wind
Over the fields of our memories

600.
Sóng biển êm ái
Viết lên cát
Bức thư tình của nước

The gentle sea waves
Wrote a love letter on the sand
On the behalf of water

601.
Ôm nàng, hắn cúi xuống
Nửa thế kỷ sau
Môi hắn vẫn chưa đụng tới môi nàng

Holding her, he leaned in for a kiss
Half a century later, his lips still
Barely touched hers

602.
Con người không thể thoát khỏi ngôn ngữ
Ngay cả sự im lặng
Cũng là một dấu phẩy

Humanity can not escape the vernacular
Since even silence
Is a comma

603.
Tôi thích những bài thơ viết sau 12 giờ đêm
Mỗi chữ nặng trĩu một nỗi
Trăn trở

I like the poems composed after midnight
Each word is loaded with
Hesitation

604.
Mỗi người sống
Một nấm mộ
Lãng quên

Each living soul is
A tomb
Of oblivion

605.
Trái đất là một nhà nguyện bỏ hoang
Chúa và Phật
Đã được di tản

The earth is an abandoned chapel
God and Buddha
Evacuated

606.
Rạo rực trước cái đẹp
Hắm làm thơ
Ngòi bút là sinh thực khí

Fired up by the beauty
He composed poetry
The pen was a force of nature

607.
Trên thiên đường hẳn ai cũng là thi sĩ
Tất cả đều nuối tiếc những sự
Phù du

It seems everyone in Eden is a poet
All regretting
What is ephemeral

608.
Mỗi dòng sông là một thánh đường của nước
Nơi cất giấu
Những nỗi buồn bâng quơ

Each river is a sanctuary for water
A place for the preservation of unexplained
Sadness

609.
Có những nụ hôn không bao giờ dứt
Dằng dặc cả nửa thế kỷ
Môi vẫn ấm

There are endless kisses
Interminable for half a century without end
Lips always warm

610.
Đã có quá nhiều người chết
Thiên đường không đủ chỗ
Cho những kẻ mộng mơ

There are too many dead
There is no room left in heaven
For those who dream

611.
Những đóa hoa cúi mặt
Tránh những nụ hôn sàm sỡ
Của nắng

Flowers lower their heads
To avoid the forward kisses
Of the sun

612.
Tôi đi giữa cuộc đời
Phất phơ như một làn khói
Tan vào thinh không

Into the firmament dissolving
Like a puff of smoke is my form
Through this life

613.
Đừng tin các nhà tiên tri: Tất cả đều giả
Hãy tin mùi hương trong háng phụ nữ
Nó đầy Phật tính

Don’t listen to the prophets: None of it is true
Believe in the scent embodying the diction of Buddha
Effused from the vagina of a woman

614.
Hắn nằm mơ thấy mình đi lạc
Trong giấc ngủ
Một đóa hoa hồng

In his dream, he was lost
Inside the slumber
Of a rose

615.
Trên chiếc giường hai người làm tình
Tượng Phật ngó xuống
Căn phòng sôi tiếng thở

The statue of Buddha looks down
On the bed where two people are making love
The room bubbling to the boiling point of breathlessness

616.
Ngước nhìn trăng, hắn bỗng nhớ
Nụ hôn thời trẻ
Cái lưỡi như một miếng bánh thánh

Looking up at the moon, he remembered
A kiss in his youth
A tongue sacred like the body of Christ during communion

617.
Em ở trong lòng anh
Uy nghi
Như một bức tượng làm bằng gió

You are in my heart
A majestic effigy
Of the wind

618.
Những chiếc lá khát nước cúi đầu
Cầu nguyện
Mưa tắc kinh

The thirsty leaves with their heads
Lowered praying
The rain choked up by all the prayers

619.
Hai người ngủ với nhau
Những tia nắng nhấp nháy nhìn trộm
Ngoài cửa sổ

Two people slept together
Peeking through the window were
Rays of light

620.
Nỗi buồn em
Long lanh trong
Những giọt nước mắt của nắng

Your sadness, love
Shimmering within
The tears of sunlight

621.
Nhìn trăng, nhớ Lý Bạch; nhìn mây, nhớ Thôi Hiệu
Các nhà thơ lớn đồng ký tên
Lên trên bầu trời

Looking at the moon, we’re reminded of Lý Bạch
Looking at the clouds, we’re reminded of Thôi Hiệu
Imprinted are the signatures of great poets in the sky

622.
Thế giới sẽ hoàn hảo hơn
Nếu Thượng Đế có chút
Óc hài hước

The world would be a perfect place
If the Creator has a sense
Of humour

623.
Linh hồn anh như cánh bướm
Bay trên những đoá hoa vừu dậy thì
Nghe hoa hát

His spirit is like the wings of a butterfly
Fluttering over the blooms coming of age
Discerning their songs

624.
Trong trái tim của gió
Có một người đàn bà
Ngoại tình

The adulterous woman
Is at the heart
Of the wind

625.
Mùa thu, những đoá hoa hắt hơi
Văng đầy nước bọt
Lên bầu trời

Autumn, flowers sneezing
Spitting all over
The Horizon

626.
Hắn cần bàn tay phụ nữ
Để giữ ngăn nắp
Trong trái tim

He needs the hands of a woman
To keep order
In his heart

627.
Giữa người và người bao giờ cũng có
Những biên giới
Bài thơ được viết bằng những thổ ngữ

There are always boundaries
Separating one person from the other
The poem may be written in various dialects

628.
Mỗi chữ một đốm lửa
Mỗi bài thơ một đám cháy
Mỗi thiên tài một trận hoả hoạn

Each word is a flame
Each poem is a fire
Each genius is a wildfire

629.
Khi biển mất ngủ
Nó cắn nát ánh trăng
Rồi than cô đơn

When the sea is sleepless
It chews the moon into pieces
Then complain that it’s all alone

630.
Tôi phục những chiếc lá quật cường
Bất chấp thời tiết
Vĩnh viễn xanh

I respect the indomitable leaves
In whichever weather conditions
They are infinitely green

631.
Nhìn vào trái tim nàng
Hắn thấy được
Tánh Không

Looking into her heart
He could discern
Sūnyatā

632.
Gặp nhau, hai người yêu cũ
Chỉ nhìn
Những làn khói thuốc bay

Seeing each other again
The only thing the ex-lovers could see
Where shifting layers of cigarette smoke

633.
Nhà văn đứng lên chồng sách
Đút đầu vào sợi dây thừng
Chồng sách đổ

The writer climbed onto a stack of books
The stack of books fell as he
Slipped his head through the noose

634.
Hơn hai ngàn năm
Chúa Giê-su ngủ gật
Trên thánh giá

Jesus nodding off, half asleep
On the cross for more than
Two thousand years

635.
Thử thách lớn nhất của người làm thơ là
Nghe được tiếng chữ thở
Lúc chúng tự sướng

The hardest trial for those who compose poetry is being able to
Discern the breath of every accelerating word
In the middle of their masturbation

636.
Hoa không bao giờ khiêm tốn
Đã nở là nở bung
Rực rỡ

Flowers are never humble
Gloriously and openly
They bloom

637.
Cả mấy ngàn năm, nhân loại khắc khoải chờ đợi
Một tiếng ngáy
Của Chúa

Humanity waited anxiously for thousands of years
To hear the sound of God
Snoring

638.
Vào rừng, thích nhất là nghe tiếng suối
Tụng kinh
Rì rầm rì rầm

The most delightful thing in a forest is the sound of running water
Trickling spring water
The constant prayer

639.
Trong chữ SỐNG có chữ SỐ
Trong chữ CHẾT có chữ HẾT
Chết là tận tuyệt

A life is numbered
And death is the end
And there is nothing more beautiful than that

640.
Người ta dựng lên thật nhiều nhà thờ
Để thách thức
Sự kiên nhẫn của Thượng Đế

People endorse all these new poets
Just to test God’s
Patience

641.
Hắn nhìn hắn trong gương
Chỉ thấy
Những mối tình bạc tóc

He studied his reflection in the mirror
All he could see were the relationships
That had caused his hair to turn grey

642.
Hắn nuôi lửa trong tim
Bằng những tình yêu vu vơ
Trước một nhành hoa dại

He nurtured a flame in his heart
With countless meaningless love affairs
In front of a wildflower

643.
Hắn chỉ say sưa với cái đẹp
Trên tay hắn, lúc nào cũng phấp phới
Một lá cờ trắng

He’s obsessed with beauty
Hence he is always ready and prepared
To wave the white flag in his hand

644.
Cửa mình nàng
Đựng đầy
Kỷ niệm

Her vagina
A reservoir
Full of memories

645.
Một con chim cất tiếng hót
Còn em cúi đầu khóc
Tất cả đều là thơ

A bird sang when your head was down
Crying
All of it were poetry

646.
Mỗi chiếc lá đều mắc nợ
Ánh nắng
Những nụ hôn nồng nàn

Each leaf owes
The sunlight
The warmest of kisses

647.
Làm thơ là tự hành xác với chữ
Bao nhiêu tinh dịch trào xuống
Để có một cành hoa

Writing poetry is a self mortification with words
So much semen
Just for just one flower

648.
Biển trầm mặc đưới nắng
Sóng uể oải rùng mình
Thèm làm một con còng tự do

The sea consoled itself with the sunlight
The waves shivered with exhaustion
Craved for the freedom of Sandcrabs

649.
Bao giờ hắn cũng muốn viết một cái gì đó
Nhưng chỉ khi hắn không viết
Hắn thực sự là nhà thơ

He writes compulsively
But when he stop writing
It is when he is truly a poet

650.
Trên bản đồ của nỗi nhớ
Mọi con đường đều
Đồng quy

On the map of longing
All roads
Converge

651.
Những tiếng khóc uốn cong
Biến thành cây cung
Bắn nát mọi vì sao

The cries distended and swollen
Drawn and shot like an arrow
Obliterating what’s left of any star

652.
Em án ngữ mọi chân trời
Nhìn đâu cũng thấy tóc em
Bay cùng mây trắng

You are an obstruction against the sky
Your hair is everywhere
Drifting with the clouds

653.
Có những chữ cả vạn lần vu quy
Đi vào thơ
Vẫn như một trinh nữ lộng lẫy

There are those words consummating
Countlessly in poetry
Remaining yet, forever gloriously pure

654.
Không thể thấy hết vẻ đẹp của tình yêu
Nếu không dám
Uống đến giọt rượu cuối cùng

One can never fully appreciate the beauty of love
If one dare not drink to the very last drop
Be satiated by such inebriation

655.
Những giọt nước miếng của em
Thơm ngan ngát
Trong trí nhớ của lưỡi

Your spit
A pungent scent
Noted in the memory of the tongue

656.
Đêm, ánh trăng chiếu
Vào âm đạo
Của những giấc mơ chay

The moonlight shine
Through the womb of those chaste dreams
Through the night

657.
Mọi đoá hoa đều loã thể
Bài thơ không cần có
Uyển ngữ

All flowers are openly naked
Euphemism is unnecessary
In poetry

658.
Quá chán cuộc đời vô vị
Hắn treo cổ hắn
Một chút

Sick of his tasteless life
He hung himself up for just
A moment

659.
Hai câu thơ cùng vần
Ôm nhau
Lạnh cơn gió khoả thân

Two rhyming lines
Hugged each other
Cold, due to the naked gust of the wind

660.
Người ta có vô số lý do để im lặng
Trừ lý do chính đáng nhất:
Nghe tiếng nó hát

People have countless reasons not to speak up
Except for the most legitimate of all reasons:
To sit there and listen to it sing

661.
Biển cứ gào thét mãi
Cho lòng đỡ
Quánh hiu

Persistent is the torturous cries of the sea
Fills up the emptiness in its bleeding
Heart

662.
Trong thơ, hắn nấp sau những chiếc lá
Chỉ thấy mắt hắn
Lấp lánh

In poetry, he hides behind the leaves
All you will see are two eyes
Twinkling

663.
Có những đoá hoa khuyết tật
Có những đoá hoa gần như tả tơi
Tất cả vẫn là hoa: Đẹp

There are flowers with afflictions
There are flowers completely tattered
They are still flowers: Gorgeous

664.
Nàng bị mắc kẹt trong một
Giấc mơ
Đã tắt thở

She’s stuck
In a dream
On its last breath

665.
Chúa cũng bài tiết
Phân của Người
Đầy trong cuộc đời

God is also a subject matter
The Creator’s
Lifetime of achievement

666.
Bước ngoặt lớn nhất trong lịch sử
Là khi con người biết nói
“Không!”

The most significant turning point
In the history of humanity
Learning how to say “no!”

667.
Khi phát hiện việc sáng tạo loài người là một lỗi lầm
Thượng Đế bèn nghĩ ra
Cái chết

The moment God found out that humanity was a mistake
The Creator came up with
Death

668.
Lá lúc nào cũng chung thuỷ với gió
Nó chỉ ra đi khi bị gió
Phản bội

Leaves are always loyal to the wind
It cuts its ties only upon the betrayal
Of the wind

669.
Bài thơ mộng du
Đi lạc ra ngoài trang giấy
Bị xe cán chết

The poem was sleep walking
Lost beyond the pages of poetry
Died in a car accident

670.
Cuộc đời của các nhà thơ lớn
Thường giống
Một bài văn xuôi dở

The life of a great poet
In general resemble
A bad piece of writing

671.
Thơ là một tấm gương
Kẻ đứng trước gương chỉ là
Một cái bóng

Poetry is a mirror
The one in front of the mirror is a mere
Shadow

672.
Trên đầu mỗi nhà thơ lớn
Đều có
Một làn mây phất phơ

Each great poet
Have a cloud
Over their head

673.
Nụ hôn nửa thế kỷ trước vẫn còn ấm
Kỷ niệm làm cháy
Dĩ vãng

Memory burning up the past
Half a century later
The kiss is still warm

674.
Trong thơ, cần nhất là
Dưỡng khí
Thơ cũng cần thở

What poetry needs most is
The air
Since even poetry needs to breathe

675.
Hắn vừa đi vừa mơ mộng
Đoạn đường nào cũng
Chơi vơi

He dreamt as he walked
Whichever street he took
He was alone

676.
Nhân loại ngày này lặp lại
Tội tổ tông
Mặc kệ nếp nhăn trên trán Chúa

Fresh flowers trying to mimic
The depths of the flowers
In a painting

677.
Nhân loại ngày này lặp lại
Tội tổ tông
Mặc kệ nếp nhăn trên trán Chúa

Humanity repeating over and over again
The original sin
Ignoring the wrinkles on God’s forehead

678.
Chiếc lá đỏ như
Đôi môi son
Khiêu khích

The leaf is as red as
The lure of painted
Red lips

679.
Trước sự yếu đuối của con người
Chúa cau mặt
Còn phật thì mỉm cười

God frowns as he faces
Humanity’s frailty
As a smile grows on Buddha’s face

680.
Giọt nước mắt như dấu câu
Chấm hết
Một chuyện tình

Like the pauses in a sentence
The teardrop is a full stop
In a love affair

681.
Tôi thương những cánh cửa sổ
Mở mắt
Một mình giữa khuya

I feel for the windows
Eyes opened wide
In the middle of the night

682.
Tạo Hoá sẽ nhân đạo hơn nếu cho loài người
Những tấm vé
Khứ hồi

It would be more humane if the Creator provide humanity
With a roundtrip
Ticket

683.
Trong Kinh Thánh có những trang
Để trắng
Đó là lời của Chúa

There are blank pages
In the scripture
This is the word of the Lord

684.
Một con ong
Nằm chết
Mình dính đầy phấn hoa

A dead bee
Covered
In pollen

685.
Tiếng khóc
Làm bạc tóc
Cả ánh trăng rằm

The crying
Greying
Even the light of the full moon

686.
Biển ích kỷ, lúc nào cũng gợn sóng
Không cho mặt trăng và mặt trời
Soi gương

The sea is always self centered and selfish
Always causing a stir with its waving around
Never giving the sun or the moon a chance to reflect

687.
Tôi giận những đám mây độc ác
Đêm đêm
Chôn sống các vì sao

I detest the mean clouds
Night after night
Buries the stars alive

688.
Buổi sáng, chim cất tiếng hót
Cõng một hạt sương
Trốn nắng

A bird sang, greeting the first light of the morning
As it carries a drop of dew on its back
Away from the sunlight

689.
Thơ chỉ thích những góc khuyất thật quạnh quẽ
Nơi người ta nghe được
Tiếng cựa mình của chữ

Poetry prefers the out of the way places
Where people could discern
The movement of the words

690.
Nàng yêu như một thác nước
Lao xuống vực
Tuẫn tiết

Her loving is like a waterfall
Diving head first into a pit of darkness
A justify death

691.
Chiến tranh, người ta phát súng cho các bài thơ
Hoà bình trở lại
Mọi bài thơ đều bi sốt rét

In war, they give each poem a gun
In peace
Each poem has malaria

692.
Đêm Chí Phèo gặp Thị Nở
Ở bờ sông
Ánh trăng ràn rụa: Tuyệt đẹp

The night Chí Phèo met up with Thị Nở
By the river
It was a beautiful moonlit night

693.
Những bài thơ tuyệt tác của trăng
Viết bằng ngôn ngữ toàn cầu
Ai cũng đọc được

The Moon’s master pieces
They are written
In a universal language

694.
Cái Vô Tận sai biển nói chuyện với thế gian
Tiếc, sau Babel, loài người chưa giải mã được
Ngôn ngữ của sóng

The Infinite demanding that the sea should communicate with the world
It’s a pity that after Babel, humanity couldn’t decipher
The waves’ language

695.
Tập thơ bị đốt cháy
Các con chữ nhảy ra ngoài
Thoát

The book of poems were lit up
The poems jumped out of the pages
Escaped the flames

696.
Đêm, nằm trằn trọc nhớ em
Anh viết bài thơ mới
Về một con bướm chết

Sleepless through the night missing you
I wrote a new poem
About a dead butterfly

697.
Để có thể yêu người khác
Chúng ta cần phải
Nhắm một mắt lại

To love one another
We need to
Close one eye

698.
Khi nhà thơ chết
Một ngàn hạt sương ngừng lại giữa trời
Cùng cúi đầu tưởng niệm

When a poet dies
A thousand dewdrops are suspended midair in anticipation
Lower their heads in commemoration

699.
Tôi ngưỡng mộ sự bí ẩn trong linh hồn của đá
Lúc nào cũng lầm lì câm nín
Chỉ chuyện trò với mưa

I admire the mysterious spirit of rocks
Always obstinately silent
Talks only to the rain

700.
Chùm rễ đâm ngược lên trời cao
Ăn nắng
Sống sót qua mùa đông giá rét

Roots piercing the high heavens
Consuming the sunlight
Barely alive beyond a cold winter

701.
Tôi tin trên thiên đường có rất nhiều hoa
Và hoa không cần phải
Gai góc

I believe there are lots of flowers in heaven
And these flowers have no need
For thorns

702.
Khi vẽ xong bức tranh đầu tiên
Adam biết mình không cần về lại
Vườn địa đàng

After finishing his first painting
Adam came to realise
He no longer need to return to the Garden of Eden

703.
Trên các trang kinh, chữ thi nhau loạn luân
Để sinh ra
Những thần thánh khác

In the pages of the scripture, the words incestuously compete with each other
To give birth
To other Gods

704.
Tôi sinh ra từ một bông hoa
Cả đời không quên
Mùi hương từ ngực mẹ

A flower gave birth to me
I will remember for the rest of my life
The scent of my mother’s breasts

705.
Đêm cúi xuống hôn hắn
Hắn ngước mặt lên
Thấy trăng ứa nước mắt

Night leaned in to kiss him
He looked up
Saw the moon weeping

706.
Hắn nhảy ùm xuống nước
Các mảnh trăng vỡ
Chôn xác hắn

He jumped with a thump into the water
Pieces of the shattered moon
Buried him

707.
Chiến tranh chỉ nên có mặt
Ở một nơi duy nhất:
Viện bảo tàng

War should only exist
In one place:
A museum

708.
Làm thơ là phóng thích những nỗi u uẩn
Để lòng được nằm nghiêng với
Những hạt nắng chiều

Composing poetry is the release of sadness
So the heart may lean into
The afternoon light

709.
Thơ là những đoá hoa bị đẻ rơi
Trên đường lề
Núi sọ

Poetry is the babies born out of wedlock
On the side of the road to
Skull Mountain

710.
Hắn nằm mơ thấy hắn hôn nàng
Nửa chừng thức giấc
Đôi môi hắn kẹt lại trong giấc mộng

He woke up
In the middle of kissing her
Left his lips behind in the dream

711.
Những chiếc thuyền nằm yên trên biển
Thở phập phồng
Theo nhịp tim đập của sóng

The vessels at sea
Their breath rise and fall
With the beating heart of the waves

712.
Mỗi tiếng thở dài một hạt bụi
Che khuất
Ánh mặt trời

Each long sigh each grain of dust
An eclipse
Of the sun

713.
Những hạt sương trên mái chùa nghe thuyết pháp
Chưa kịp giác ngộ
Đã vội tan vào hư vô

Dewdrops perched on the temple’s rooftops listened to a sermon
With no chance of enlightenment
Disappeared into nihilism

714.
Những đám mây bị cúm
Da tái nhợt và ho sù sụ
Nằm ườn trên không

The fluey clouds
Pale and coughing
Drifts away in heavy clumps

715.
Mùa hè, cái nắng oi ả
Sát sinh
Những đám cỏ dại

The summer scorching sunlight
Slaughtered the poor
Innocent weeds

716.
Thượng Đế gửi tặng loài người
Một món quà từ địa đàng:
Hoa

The Creator gave humanity
A gift from the Garden of Eden:
Flowers

717.
Trong chiến tranh, hình ảnh đẹp nhất
Là những cánh bướm bay vẩn vơ
Giữa khói súng

In war, the prettiest images are the images
Of oblivious fluttering butterfly wings
Through the exploding artillery smoke

718.
Thích nhất là nhìn sông: Thật yên ả
Lòng tự dưng hoá dòng nước
Trôi như một câu thơ đẹp

Loveliest is a river: Peacefully flowing
A heart suddenly pouring into a spring
The trickling of a delightful verse

719.
Da trời màu xanh biếc
Gợi nhớ thời trẻ thơ
Nụ hôn treo đầu lưỡi

The sky is the deepest of blues
The hues of our youth
A kiss dangling at the tip of our tongue

720.
Người thường nhìn mây thấy mây
Nhà thơ nhìn mây thấy mái tóc
Của sự vô thường

People generally see clouds when they look at clouds
Poets see the flowing growing hair
Of impermanence

Sydney Opera House, Australia. Photography by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

721.
Tạ ơn Chúa: Người đàn bà nào
Cũng
Đẹp

Thank the Lord: All women
Are
Beautiful

722.
Nỗi nhớ
Làm trầy trụa
Giấc ngủ

Desire
The abrasion upon
Sleep

723.
Khi Nguyễn Du chấm hết Truyện Kiều
Vầng trăng đang tròn vành vạnh bỗng bị vỡ
Chỉ còn một nửa

As soon as Nguyễn Du finished the Tale of Kiều
The full moon broke
Left behind half of a moon

724.
Em từ cánh đồng hoa cải đi ra
Màu vàng óng theo sau
Như một hào quang lấp lánh

You stepped out of a field of mustard flowers
The golden light followed
Shimmering was the halo

725.
Không có tiếng động nào trong trời đất
Hay bằng âm nhạc
Chúa cũng biết điều đó

Even God knows
There’s no sound in this world
More beautiful than music

726.
Bài thơ nào cũng đầy
Những trích dẫn
Không xuất xứ

All poems are full
Of quotes
Without an origin

727.
Chỉ có các nhà thơ mới dịch được
Các văn bản của mây
Viết trên trời xanh

Only poets are capable of translating
The official text of the clouds
Etched across a blue sky

728.
Khi những họng núi lửa nở hoa
Và dòng sông gục đầu xuống khóc
Thơ ra đời

When the volcanoes bloom
And the rivers lower their teary heads
Poetry is born

729.
Trong tâm hồn nhà thơ bao giờ cũng có
Những đám khói chiều
Hắt hiu

There are always these lonely
Layers of smoke in the setting light
Within the soul of a poet

730.
Giật sập tượng bạo chúa, người ta phát hiện
Nó mang thai
Trong bụng có 100 quả trứng

As they pull down the statue of a dictator
They discover an egg sack
With 100 eggs

731.
Cách mạng, người ta mang thần linh ra sử bắn
Viên đạn xuyên qua óc
Đôi hành quyết

People bring their gods out during a revolution
The gods are lined up and executed, shot in the head
Through the skull

732.
Làm thơ, tôi nghe tiếng cựa mình dưới những ngôi mộ
Tiếng những bào thai ca hát
Và tiếng chữ ú ớ trong thơ

I could discern the movement of those six feet under
The singing amniotic sacs and their first babbling baby words
Each time I write poetry

733.
Mọi dòng sông đều ước mơ ra đến biển
Dù chỉ một lần để
Chết

All rivers yearn to meet the sea
Even just for the one time
Before they die

734.
Bản sắc là màng trinh của một đất nước
Chỉ có điều, xin lưu ý:
Nó có thể giả

Identity is the hymen of a country
But, please note:
It could be fake

735.
Truyền thống là chiếc ghế
Người ta đứng lên
Đút đầu vào sợi dây thòng lọng

Tradition is a chair
People step on, before they slip their head
Through a noose

736.
Cô gái yêu những giọt sương khuya
Ánh trăng biết
Nên soi đường cho sương rơi

The young woman adores the late dew
The moon fully aware
Shed light upon the path of the falling dew

737.
Đừng cầu nguyện: Vô ích
Thần thánh không có
Lòng trắc ẩn

Don’t pray: It’s useless
The gods have no
Compassion

738.
Đêm giao thừa ánh đèn thức trắng
Leo lét mấy cây nhang
Nói chuyện với người khuất

On New Year’s Eve, the lights stayed awake
A couple of incense sticks
Conversing with the deceased

739.
Những con chim ác là đứng ngơ ngác
Trên bãi cỏ biếc
Nắng mùa xuân ngập ngừng sang

The birds are cruel standing there oblivious
On the endlessly green grass
Overwhelmed by the spring sunlight

740.
Những ngọn gió màu vàng
Làm rơi những chiếc lá
Trong công viên đầy mơ

The golden breeze
Droppings leaves
In a park full of fantasies

741.
Nàng nằm ngửa trong bài thơ
Nước chảy ướt
Thấm vào giấc mơ của hắn

She’s lying there face up in the poem
Her dripping wetness
Seeping into his dream

742.
Khi cái đẹp trở thành tôn giáo
Mỗi đoá hoa là một
Thánh đường

When beauty becomes a religion
Each flower
Is a chancel

743.
Tôi mờ mắt nhìn ngẩn ngơ
Em: Bài thơ đang dậy thì
Dưới nắng

Dumbly I watched her until my eyes were blurry
Her becoming a woman
In the sunlight

744.
Nàng âm hộ ướt: Một ký hiệu
Hắn dương vật ngỏng: Một ký hiệu khác
Đâu có gì thẹn thùng

Her vagina is wet: A sign
His penis is erect: Another sign
There’s nothing to be bashful about

745.
Biển là trái tim của quả đất
Thỉnh thoảng nhớ ánh trăng
Nó gào lên nức nở

The sea is the heart of the earth
Now and then it misses the moon
In cries of torment

746.
Những công viên ăn xin
Từng chiếc lá
Để tạo dáng mùa thu

The parks begging for one leaf
At a time
To create the ambiance of autumn

747.
Hắn tẩy rửa ký ức
Để có chỗ trống
Cho một tia nắng non

He cleanse and erased his memory
So there may be space for a fragile
New ray of light

748.
Có những dòng sông mãi mãi thủ tiết
Lúc nào cũng chỉ trung thành với
Những áng mây trôi

There are still rivers that will never break their vow
Forever loyal their husband
Drifting clouds

749.
Bất kể những cơn ghen của gió
Hoa tuy-líp lúc nào cũng
Ngửa mặt nhìn nắng

Regardless of how often jealous is the wind
The tulip consistently lifts its chin proudly to
Face the sun

750.
Đêm rất dài với người mất ngủ
Trăng hết kiên nhẫn
Lặn vào đáy khuya

The night is long for those who are sleepless
The moon has no time for such sleeplessness
Sinking to the very end of darkness

751.
Con người như những cây nhang
Cúi đầu
Khói bay vu vơ

People are like burning sticks of incense
Nodding off with the drifting smoke
All over the place

752.
Hắn không biết ai đã viết ra hắn
Hắn chỉ biết
Hắn là chữ được dịch từ ngôn ngữ khác

He has no idea how or who came up with the idea of him
All he knows is that he is a collection of characters
Translated from another language

753.
Nhìn vào mắt nhau
Mỗi người chỉ thấy
Bóng họ

Looking into each other’s eyes
They can both see only the reflection
Of themselves

754.
Con chim đi trên cát
In dấu chân thật mờ
Sóng vẫn cố xóa cho hết

A bird walking on the sand
Left barely a mark
Yet the waves were just as eager to erase them

755.
Hắn bị thất lạc trong cánh đồng của các mẫu tự
Cái nhìn ướt bầu trời
Mây vẫn dửng dưng: Không cứu

He is lost in a field of letters
With a look that could dampen the sky
But indifferent are the clouds: Not at all helpful

756.
Hắn bị đóng đinh vào quá khứ
Kỷ niệm như mê lộ
Không thoát được

He is nailed to the past
He couldn’t escape
The maze of memories

757.
Những chiếc lá khô nằm ngửa
âm thầm đọc
Mùa thu trên không

Dry leaves laying on the ground looking up at the sky
Quietly discern
The autumn in the air

758.
Làm thơ, hắn nhập thể vào chữ
Chữ thở phập phồng
Những tình yêu của hắn

As he composes poetry, he is the word embodied
The word inhaling and exhaling heavily
A number of his love affairs

759.
Trên đất Úc gặp những bụi chuối xum xuê
Xanh ngăn ngắt
Như những bài lục bát

In Australia there are lots of banana groves
As green and as lush
As verses in sixes and eights

760.
Trời hồn nhiên xanh
Mặc kệ mây
Cố khoe màu trắng

Regardless of the clouds
Regardless of how brilliantly white they tried to be
The sky is always naturally fresh and forever blue

761.
Một rừng hoa bướm bay
Như những bài thơ
Phấp phới

A meadow of flowers and butterflies
Like flapping
Verses of poetry

762.
Trong thơ, không có bảng cấm
Mọi sự đều được phép
Miễn đừng dở

There’s no sign of prohibition in poetry
You’re free to do whatever you want
As long as it’s not in bad taste

763.
Quyền năng của tình yêu
Nằm ở sự
Mơ mộng

The power of love
Lies in
Dreams

764.
Những đóa hoa đẹp
Làm nghiêng cả
Đỉnh núi

Even a mountain
Can be moved
By beautiful flowers

765.
Buổi chiều trầm lặng
Hắn ngồi ngắm bầu trời rách rưới
Nắng không nứng nổi

The afternoon was sombre and quiet
He sat there staring at a tattered horizon
Even the sunlight couldn’t get it up

766.
Khi đôi môi dính vào nhau
Hắn nhận ra vị lạnh
Nụ hôn đã tắt thở

When their lips were stuck together
He was able to discern the chill
In the dying kiss

767.
Màu tím của hoa oải hương
Làm tê cóng
Những hạt sương rơi

The purples of lavender
Numbing even
The falling dew

768.
Quốc khánh Úc hàng ngàn người diễu hành
Đường rợp cờ
Hắn nhìn nắng mới rơi

On Australia Day, thousands of people marched
On flag-lined roads
As he watched the scattered falling of the new light

769.
Trên sàn nhảy cuộc đời
Chân hắn bước
Lúc nào cũng lạc nhịp

On the dance floor of his life
He is always out of pace
With the music

770.
Tất cả các bài thơ bị chìm vào quên lãng
Đều trở thành phân bón
Cho chữ

Forgotten poems
Fertiliser
For words

771.
Đoá ngọc lan trắng tinh khiết
Như vú của người con gái
Ủ đầy hương

A bloom of pure white Michelia
Like the fragrant breasts
Of a young woman

772.
Đang ngủ, hắn nghe ai đó đọc một bài thơ thật hay
Hắn chép xuống
Sáng dậy, chỉ thấy một bãi nước bọt

Sleeping, he heard someone read a really good poem
He wrote it down
By morning, there was nothing but a pool of saliva

773.
Hai hàng cây đứng cúi đầu
Chờ hắn và ngọn gió
Đi qua

The rows of trees bowing low on the boulevard
Waited for him and the wind
To pass by

774.
Chiếc lá vàng nằm trên vệ đường
Như một bài thơ
Thoi thóp thở

A yellow leaf on the side of the road
Like a poem
Gasping for air

775.
Có tiếng cười bâng quơ nhưng không có tiếng khóc bâng quơ
Khóc bao giờ cũng có lý do
Sau nó là lịch sử

There may be aimless laughter but crying is never aimless
There is always at least one reason for someone to cry
Behind the crying is history

776.
Biển bao la đến độ có những người vượt biên
Mấy chục năm sau
Linh hồn họ vẫn chưa tới bờ

The sea is so big that the soul of so many boat people
After so many decade
Never reach the shore

777.
Mùa thu, ở đâu cũng đầy sương mù
Tất cả hư ảo
Chỉ lá vàng có thật

Autumn, anywhere is generally foggy
All of it is an illusion
Real only are the yellow leaves

778.
Em đi trong công viên
Lúc nào cũng có gió tháp tùng
Thổi tiếng cười em bay

As you walk through the park
You’re always accompanied by the wind for the pleasure
Of carrying your laughter

779.
Một ngỏn lửa cháy bùng lên trong đêm
Ánh trăng bị phỏng
Chảy máu

A flaring flame in the dark
Scorching the moonlight
Making it bleed

780.
Sáng, đi bộ trên phố
Nghe tiếng sóng vỗ vào các đám mây
Nắng tung bọt trắng xoá

Morning walks listening to the waves
Crashing into the clouds
Splashing white frothy sunlight

781.
Quỳnh là loài hoa của minh triết
Nở rạng rỡ và tàn rất nhanh
Để mọi vì sao đều luyến tiếc

Queen of the night is a flower of wisdom
Blooming briefly brilliantly to perish just as quickly
So that it can be remembered forever longingly

782.
Nước biển rút, bãi cát đầy vết sẹo
Như một bài thơ viết tay
Nguệch ngoạc

As the sea retreat, the sand is left with all these scars
Like a hand written poem
Scribblings

783.
Ở đó, thời gian được đo bằng những cuộc chiến tranh
Mỗi dấu mốc
Một nghẹn ngào

There, time is measured by the wars
Each clump of mould
Choking

784.
Dưới một chế độ nhân đạo
Chiếc thòng lòng được làm
Thật mềm

In a human and civilised society
The noose is nice
And soft

785.
Cảnh sát Campuchia bắt một cô gái
Từ Việt Nam sang bán dâm
Tên cô là Âu Cơ

The Cambodian police had a young Vietnamese woman in custody
For prostitution
Her name was Âu Cơ

786.
Lửng lơ, tất cả những bài thơ hắn viết
Đều theo
Thi pháp của mây

All his poems are suspend
All drifting along with
The prosody of the clouds

787.
Nắng hát trên những ngọn cây
Làm những câu thơ tình
Mở mắt

The sunlight singing over the canopy
Woke up all the verses
About love

788.
Tôi yêu những dòng sông trôi lững lờ
Lúc nào nước cũng xanh
Bất kể tuổi tác

I love the rivers that flows carelessly
It’s water always fresh
And ageless

789.
Trước khi viên tịch, Đức Phật chỉ thều thào
Không ai nghe cả
Nhưng họ hiểu: Bài học vô ngôn

Before He passed away, Buddha was rather easy going
No one listened to Him
But they understood: His Unspoken Word

790.
Có những ngày biển động, sóng gió gào thét dữ dội
Sâu, dưới nước
Những con cá vẫn tiếp tục đẻ trứng

There are days when the sea is rough, the waves are fierce
Deep, underwater
The fish continue to lay their eggs

791.
Không có gì cao cả hơn ngôn ngữ
Tôi chỉ tin một Thượng Đế:
Ngôi Lời

There’s no aspiration higher than the vernacular
I believe in one God:
The Word

792.
Từ chối đeo cà vạt và đọc diễn văn
Nhà thơ đứng đái
Tiếng nước chảy đầy nhạc tính

Refusing to wear a tie as he made his address
The poet stood there pissing from the podium
The sound of his pee fell in line with the heartbeat of the crowd

793.
Lá rụng gần hết: Mùa thu muộn
Còn lại chút nùa hè: Môi em
Dấu son in trên nền trời

Most of the leaves have fallen: A late autumn
A tiny bit of lingered summer: Your lips
A lipstick mark across the sky

794.
Hắn cố nén mọi cảm xúc
Thân hình hắn thành nấm mộ
Chôn những nhịp tim đập

He tried to keep a hold of his emotions
His body turned into a barrow
A burial for his beating heart

795.
Tất cả mọi con đường đều là ảo mộng
Không ai đi đâu cả
Họ trượt giữa hư không

All paths are imagined
No one is going anywhere
They are merely gliding in the middle of nothingness

796.
Anh yêu những đoá hồng khô
Và tiếng em cười
Còn giữ mãi trong nhật ký của nắng

I love the dried roses
And your laughter love
Forever preserved in the memoir of the sunlight

797.
Thở vào: Thơ; thở ra: Đạo
Đạo buông bỏ
Thơ níu chặt lại

Inhale: poetry; exhale: Morality
Morality is loose
Poetry is tight

798.
Quay lưng lại với cái ác
Dửng dưng khi nhìn máu chảy
Hắn: Kẻ đồng loã

Turning his back to evil
With not a single reaction to the bloodshed
He is complicit

799.
Mùa hạ, nắng như một đế quốc hung bạo
Hoa vẫn quật khởi
Nở toe

Summer, the sunlight is like a ferocious empire
The spirited flowers in rebellion
Openly bloomed

800.
Hắn không có gì ngoài những giấc mộng
Và thơ
Thơ hắn đầy tinh khí

He has nothing beyond
His dreams
And his seedy poetry

801.
Cuộc đời quá rộng lớn
Đứng chỗ nào hắn cũng thấy
Cô độc

Life is far too wide
Standing on whichever side
He is alone

802.
Tiếng thở dài trong đêm
Làm quằn quại
Ánh trăng

The long sigh in the night
Made the moon
Squirm

803.
Hắn trôi trên dòng sông
Không có nước
Vậy mà có lúc suýt chết đuối

He is drifting in a river
On a dry river bed
And yet, he nearly drowned

804.
Hắn đứng ngẩn người
Nhìn nắng chiều
Cụt chân

He stood there stunned
Dumbfound, staring at the legless
Afternoon light

805.
Những câu thơ bọt bèo tôi viết
Trôi lênh trên
Nỗi tôi

My foamy verses full of bubbles
My emotions
Rising to the surface

806.
Lịch sử luôn luôn lặp lại
Với một ít biến tấu
Và thường rất ngu xuẩn

History is persistently repetitive
With a few variations
A rather stupid summation

807.
Thơ như một hạt bụi
Đậu trong mắt
Đủ làm người xốn xang

Poetry is a speck of dust
In one’s eyes
Adequately irritating

808.
Hắn nhào lên người nàng
Gió quên mắc cỡ
Rên ầm trong vườn cây

He jumped on top of her
And the wind forgot it’s shyness
Moaned blissfully in the trees

809.
Eva là tác phẩm hoàn hảo của Thượng Đế
Kể cả những lúc
Nàng nhẹ dạ

Eve is a perfect piece of art created by God
Even in
Her moments of weakness

810.
Đọc lịch sử để biết khinh bỉ con người
Đọc thơ để
Lấy lại niềm tin

Read history to look down on humanity
Read poetry to
Regain faith and hope

811.
Tuổi thọ của thơ rất thấp
Phần lớn lìa đời
Lúc sơ sinh

Poetry generally dies young
Mostly they pass away
In infancy

812.
Từ khi Hitler, Stalin, Mao và Pol Pot xuống địa ngục
Địa ngục vắng tanh
Mọi người khác đều được ân xá

Ever since Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot descended into hell
Hell is deserted
Everyone else has been pardoned

813.
Khi một bài thơ hoàn tất
Nó trở thành ký ức
Của chính nó

When a poem is complete
It becomes
It’s own memory

814.
Chiều, khi anh cắn vào môi em
Anh phát hiện
Nắng có vị ngọt

Upon dusk, as I bite your lip
I discover that the setting light
Is rather sweet

815.
Cành lá đỏ
Đóng dấu lên nền trời xanh
Những giọt máu

The branch of red leaves
Stamped across the blue sky
Drops of blood

816.
Một đoá hoa anh túc rực rỡ
Nói hết những u uẩn
Mà nhà thơ không viết ra được

A bright poppy
Expresses wholly all the sadness
A poet could never note on paper

817.
Những bông hoa của cô độc
Có mùi hương
Vừa đủ chôn một người

The scent of lonely flowers
It is just enough
To bury one person

818.
Mở cửa cho tiếng chim vào nhà
Tiếng chim tròn và ngọt lịm
Như một trái cam

Opening the door to the sound of the birds
The sound of tweeting birds is as round and as sweet
As an orange

819.
Nhà thơ đầu tiên trên trái đất
Là người đầu tiên
Biết cười

The first poet on this earth
It’s the first person who learned
How to smile

820.
Từ giã mùa hè, nắng lưu luyến
Nằm chết trên ngọn cây
Buồn tênh

Saying goodbye to summer, the light lingered
Dead in the canopy
Sadly

821.
Giữa những trận đánh khốc liệt
Bỏ súng xuống, tay người lính run rẩy
Đụng vào vú người tình

Amidst a fierce battle
Putting his gun down, the soldier’s hands tremble
As he touches his lover’s breasts

822.
Anh cúi xuống hôn lên cổ em
Bị mùi hương
Đánh gục

I bent down to kiss your neck
And I was knocked over
By your scent

823.
Ở đó, chỉ có các thầy bói nói chuyện tương lai
Còn tất cả chỉ loay hoay nói về
Quá khứ

There, only the fortune tellers speak of the future
While the rest are too busy
Talking about the past

824.
Tất cả các nhà thơ lớn đều được chôn
Trong nghĩa trang
Của chữ

All great poets are buried
In the cemetery
Of the word

825.
Buổi trưa khoả thân
Mây bay bay để ngăn nắng
Đừng quá loã lồ

Noon was naked
The clouds tried to prevent it from
Overexposure to the sun

826.
“Em yêu anh”, tiếng thì thầm từ buồng phổi của nắng
Được gió giữ lại
Trong biên bản một cuộc tình

“I love you”, whispers from the lungs of sunlight
Noted by the wind
The minutes of a relationship

827.
Bao nhiêu mối tình chân thực
Bị chết ngộp
Bởi những vần thơ du dương

How many relationships have been suffocated
By those insufferable
Melodious rhymes

828.
Đêm, thật nhiều mây
Gió rì rào
Tôi vô tội với vầng trăng

One cloudy eve
Rustling breeze
Innocently I was there with the moon

829.
Hắn ngước nhìn lên trời
Những đám mây rách toác
Mùa thu đóng những con dấu

He lifted his eyes toward the sky
At the tattered clouds
Autumn left its mark

830.
Trong thơ, đao phủ không chém đầu
Hắn chỉ chôn sống
Những bài thơ dở

In poetry, the executioner chops not heads
He buries alive
The bad poems

831.
Trên trái đất mênh mông
Hắn không có
Căn cước

On this big wide world
He has no
Identification

832.
Đừng ảo vọng: Mọi nhịp tim đập
Đều bằng trắc
Muôn thủa

Don’t be delusional: The heartbeat
For as long as humans have existed
It has always been at odds and then even

833.
Mỗi bài thơ là một thí nghiệm
Trên chữ
Về cái gọi là thơ

Each poem is an experiment
With words
On what one calls poetry

834.
Ở những chỗ khấp khểnh nhất của cuộc đời
Người ta học được
Cách bay

At the bumpiest part of one’s life
One learns
To fly

835.
Cuộc sống quá vất vả
Hắn không có thì giờ
Để chết

Life is too hard
He has no time
To die

836.
Tất cả các thần linh
Đều chết ngạt
Vì tình yêu của khói nhang

Saints are suffocated to death
By the smoky love of all
Those burning incense

837.
Đi câu cá
Hắn kéo lên được
Cả một dòng sông

Fishing
He managed to hook
An entire river

838.
Đi xa, không bao giờ tôi quên được
Những câu lục bát à ơi
Từ miệng Mỵ Nương

Doesn’t matter how far I am from home
I will never forget the lulling lục bát verses
From Mỵ Nương’s lips

839.
Khi cơn mưa bước vào sân
Giấc chiêm bao
Sũng ướt

As soon as the rain slips
Into the yard
Sleep is just as wet

840.
Tôi thích bẻ gãy những câu lục bát
Để nó thành khúc khuỷu
Như mọi cuộc tình

I enjoy breaking the lines of lục bát
So they could be as tortuous
As all those love affairs

The pharmacist and translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

841.
Trước cổng Văn Miếu
Nụ hôn bị đánh cắp
Cả mười thế kỷ

In front of the gate of the Temple of Literature
A kiss was stolen
For ten centuries

842.
Hắn lọt sâu vào nàng: Hun hút
Không có vị thánh nào
Đứng gác

He slipped deeper into her: so deep
Not a saint was on
Guard

843.
Khi hai người ngồi lại với nhau
Sự im lặng cúi xuống nghe ngóng
Cuộc chuyện trò thầm kín của hai thân thể

When two people sat down together
The silence lean in to catch every intimate word
Shared between the two souls

844.
Hắn vô danh trên trái đất
Chỉ ánh trăng nhận ra hắn:
Một nhà thơ

He’s nameless in this world
Only the moonlight acknowledge the fact that:
He is a poet

845.
Phải ra giữa biển khơi
Mới thấy được
Thân phận của con người

Only in the middle of the ocean
Could the human fate be
Discernable

846.
Biển đôi khi giả vờ yên ả
Để đánh lừa
Ánh trăng

The sea pretends to be calm sometimes
A trick it performs all on the account
Of the moonlight

847.
Tôi thường gặp Chúa trong giấc ngủ
Và Phật những lúc nằm
Thao thức

I often find God in my sleep
And Buddha when I’m lying around
Restless

848.
Nàng chụp ảnh hoàng hôn
Hắn đứng ngắm chim bay
Hạnh phúc giản dị như những luồng gió mát

She took a snapshot of the sun set
He stood there and watched the birds fly
Like a cool breeze are the simple joys

849.
Tôi không muốn vào các nguyện đường
Tôi ghét cái bóng
Của mọi bức tượng

I don’t like entering any chapel
I can’t stand the shadows
Of all those holy statues

850.
Bài thơ tình mới khởi đầu
Trái tim chưa kịp lên tiếng
Đã bị chiếu bí

The amorous verse barely began
And the heart barely had a chance to speak up
And it was already checkmate

851.
Những đoá hoa hướng dương quay về em
Khi em từ mặt trời
Bước xuống

The sunflowers turned toward you my love
As you from the sun
Descend

852.
Lạ, mùa hè mà như mùa thu
Mây lẳng lơ
Còn nắng thì thẹn thùng

Odd, when it’s summer and it’s like autumn
The clouds just hanging around
While the sunlight is rather shy

853.
Em ra đi, trời trở lạnh
Câu thơ lắng xuống
Nỗi nhớ ăn mòn giấc ngủ

She left, and the weather turned cold
The verse sank
The yearning consumed what was left of sleep

854.
Hắn đọc thân thể nàng và phát hiện
Một bài thơ tự do
Dưới lỗ rốn

He read her body language and discovered
A free verse
Just beneath her belly button

855.
Hắn viết xong bài thơ: Ánh trăng đọc
Hoa trong vườn thức đọc
Vợ hắn ngủ say

His finished poem: Read by the moonlight
And the flowers in his garden stayed up late to read it
While his wife was fast asleep

856.
Ánh trăng bị bắn hạ
Bởi một chữ
Lạc vần

The moonlight is diminished
By one word
Out of place

857.
Đáng buồn nhất trong mọi chuyện tình
Là những trang
Đính chính

The saddest thing
When it comes to love are the pages
And pages of corrections

858.
Các văn nghệ sĩ có
Hộ chiếu riêng:
Tác phẩm

All artists
Each with their own passport:
Their work

859.
Các nhà thơ lặn xuống đáy đại dương
Để tìm tứ
Tất cả đều chết vì đuối nước

Poets diving to the bottom of the ocean
Searching for substance
Will all die from drowning

860.
Trước tượng đài Trần Hưng Đạo
Không còn lư hương
Chỉ có rất nhiều đĩ

In front of the statue of Trần Hưng Đạo
The urn of incense is no longer there
Just lots of prostitutes everywhere

861.
Những tảng đá kể lể
Chuyện tình với nghêu sò
Bị sóng đánh vật vã

The rocks whining about
Their relationship with the seashells
Constantly being smashed by the waves

862.
Tôi thụ giáo những giọt sương
Bài học Bát Nhã
Sắc tức thị không

Me, instilling in each dewdrop
The Heart Sutra
Prajna paramita(the Perfection of Wisdom or Transcendental Knowledge)

863.
Hắn yêu những dấu chấm câu
Những lượn sóng
Chữ là hơi thở

He loves the dots at the end of each line
The sound eddies
Where the word is a breath

864.
Mỗi người có cả một cuộc đời
Để chuẩn bị cho
Cái chết

Each one of us spends our whole life
Getting ready
For death

865.
Thơ không phản ánh sự thật
Nó tạo ra
Sự thật

Poetry is not a reflection of the truth
It is the creator
Of the truth

866.
Trong trí nhớ của vú
Mỗi nụ hôn là một đốm lửa
Để lại vết cháy

The breast remembers that
Each kiss is a flame
That leave behind a burnt mark

867.
Biển yêu hắn đến độ
Đêm nào
Sóng cũng liếm các giấc mơ của hắn

The sea loves him so much so that
Every night
It would come and lick his dreams

868.
Sóng đập nát mọi vì sao
Bầu trời vỡ
Ánh trăng vẫn hờ hững nhìn

The waves smash to the smithereens the stars
The sky is a mess
The moon watch without much thought

869.
Đừng hỏi người già về tình yêu
Hãy hỏi những tia nắng mới
Và những đoá hoa vừa goá chồng

Forget about asking the old about love
At dawn, ask the new light
And the flowers who have just lost their husbands

870.
Tiếng chim hót
Không cần
Nhạc lý

Bird songs
Need not the theory
In music

871.
Mỗi ngôi mộ
Chôn sống
Một giấc mơ

Each grave
Buried alive a brave
Dream

872.
Da thịt có những lý lẽ
Mà trái tim
Không hiểu được

The flesh have reasons
The heart will never
Understand

873.
Từ trang giấy đứng dậy
Bài thơ thở vào mây
Làm úa nắng chiều

Stepping out from the pages
Into the clouds the poem breathe in life
Diminishing the afternoon light

874.
Văn học sử ghi nhận
Hắn bị chết đuối
Trong một giấc mơ

Noted in the history of literature
He drowned
In a dream

875.
Hắn gí mắt vào máy vi tính
Viết bài thơ tình trăng rằm
Mặc kệ ngoài trời mưa rơi

Eyes focused on the screen
He composed an amorous verse never seen
On a full moon, forgetting it is raining outside

876.
Tất cả chúng ta đều là diễn viên tận tuỵ
Trong vô số
Những vở kịch tồi của Thượng Đế

We are all ultimately performers
In the never-ending pathetic tale
Narrated by the Creator

877.
Những bài thơ được viết
Để phụ hoạ
Các lời kinh của mưa

The poems comes to exist
To assist
The intercession of the rain

878.
Hắn nhả khói thuốc vào mùa thu
Bầu trời trống
Treo hờ một khoé trăng non

He blew cigarette smoke into autumn
Bare was the horizon
Dangling a new moon

879.
Mùa thu bị các bài thơ lãng mạn cầm tù
Nó vùng vẫy
Làm rụng mất cả vầng trăng

The autumn imprisoned by all those romantic verses
Struggling in a scuffle and curses
Inadvertently dropped and lost the moon

880.
Gió thao túng cả bầu trời
Hàng cây mận nghiêng mình cố níu
Những cánh hoa sắp rơi

Manipulating the firmament is the wind
Rows of plum trees leaning in
Tries to hold onto their petals wearing thin

881.
Hắn muốn viết lại câu chuyện
Con chích choè kể
Nhưng chữ phản bội hắn

He wanted to write down
What the oriental magpie-robin said
But the words betrayed him

882.
Làm thơ là tìm kiếm tàn tích
Những nụ hôn cháy
Trong giấc mơ

Writing poetry is searching through the ruins
For burning kisses
In a dream

883.
Bài thơ cần kịch tính
Của ngọn núi lửa
Nổ bùng

A poem needs drama
The eruption
Of a volcano

884.
Giữa sống và chết
Tôi chọn cái ở giữa:
Viết

Between life and death
I found a compromise:
Writing

885.
Thời gian không bao giờ
Biết nói
Xin lỗi

Time
never says
i’m sorry
[Lê Vân]
Time is forever
Never
Sorry
[Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm]

886.
Núi huy động cả rừng cây
Để diễn ngâm
Những bài thơ tình của gió

The mountain is the conductor
The forest the orchestra
Playing the serenades of the wind

887.
Sự tịch mịch
Làm ngọn núi
Nổ tung

All that petting
Made the mountain
Explode

888.
Hắn tỏ tình với một đoá hoa
Đoá hoa tỏ tình với một con bướm
Con bướm quay lưng bay vào giấc mộng

He showed his love to a flower
The flower showed its love to a butterfly
The butterfly turned its back to fly into a dream

889.
Thơ gắn liền với ý niệm phôi pha
Trong cõi vĩnh hằng
Không có thi sĩ

Poetry goes hand in hand with the concept of dying
Within an eternity
Without a poet

890.
Bài thơ bao giờ cũng cao hơn tác giả của nó
Ít nhất
Một cái đầu

The poem will always be taller than its author
At least
By a head

891.
Tôi khinh bỉ mọi nói dối
Kể cả
Của thần linh

I despise all lies
Include those
From the Gods

892.
Mỗi đời người nằm giữa hai dấu ngoặc
Trong diễn ngôn
Của đất

Each human life lies inside two brackets
Within the proclamation
Of the soil

893.
Dấu chân của những nhà thơ lớn
Là những
Đại lộ

Boulevards
The footprints
Of great poets

894.
Trước mặt là mùa thu
Sau lưng là nỗi em
Cả hai đều quạnh quẽ

Facing the autumn
Behind me is the memory of you
Desolation in both

895.
Hắn là tác phẩm của trời đất
Một bài thơ
Được ánh trăng viết

They are a piece of work by nature,
A poem
Writ in moonlight grand.
(Đoàn Duy)
He’s a product of heaven and earth
A poem
Written by moonlight
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

896.
Lịch sử là tác phẩm hư cấu
Của
Thượng Đế

The saga of history
Is penned divinely
As a fictional story.
(Đoàn Duy)
History is a piece of fiction
By
God
(Nguyễn Hưng Quốc)
History is a piece of creative writing
Written by
The Creator
(Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm)

897.
Để tìm hồn nước
Hãy đến
Các nghĩa trang

To confirm the spirit of a nation
Please turn up
At the cemetery

898.
Trong lý lịch trích ngang của hắn
Nguyên quán là
Hư vô

In his resume
His origin is noted as
Nihilism

899.
Những con sông chảy mãi chảy mãi
Như những bản trường ca
Ngoài ký ức

The river runs infinitely
Like the epic odes
Beyond memory

900.
Không tôn giáo nào có thể
Giải oan được
Cho Thượng Đế

No religion could
Possibly deliver
God from injustice

901.
Kẻ thù lớn nhất của tình yêu là sự dửng dưng
Kẻ thù lớn nhất của thơ cũng là sự dửng dưng
Dửng dưng giết chết mọi cái đẹp

Unheeding is the biggest nemesis of love
Unheeding is the biggest nemesis of poetry
Unheeding destroying all the beauty in the world

902.
Bị hư vô rượt đuổi
Hắn chạy trốn
Thơ mở ra như một tử cung đón hắn

Chased by nihilism
He tried and hide
Poetry opened up like the abode to welcome him

903.
Những luống cày làm rách trang giấy
Tiếng tu hú xa xôi
Bài thơ đốt cháy những hạt nắng chiều

Furrows tore across the page
Howling into the distance, the poem
Setting fire to the specks of afternoon light

904.
Bây giờ đã cuối thu
Lá không còn tự sát
Mây sà xuống nóc chùa xin quy y

Timely is the end of autumn
The leaves no longer suicidal, begging to be initiated
Into Buddhism are the clouds hovering on the temple eaves

905.
Làm thơ, hắn ăn cắp chữ
Từ những giọt
Mưa rơi

Making poetry, he stole the letters
From the drops of falling
Rain

906.
Thiền sư giao hợp với ngọn núi
Ngọn núi nín thở
Bài thơ vô tự

The Zen master slept with the mountain
The mountain held its breath
A selfless poem

907.
Anh năn nỉ các thiên thần
Ngoảnh mặt đi
Để mình ầu ơ

I begged the angels
To look away
So we may make love

908.
Đừng cầu toàn: Không có gì hoàn hảo cả
Ngay chính tác phẫm của Thượng Đế
Cũng dở dang

Don’t be such a perfectionist: Nothing is ever perfect
Even God’s work
Is left unfinished

909.
I don’t know. Please ask the grass
Những bài thơ ba dòng nhỏ xíu này
Có nặng bằng một hạt sương không
Tôi không biết. Xin hỏi những ngọn cỏ

These tiny tiny tercets
How will they weigh against one dew drop

Nguyễn Hưng Quốc, born Nguyễn Ngọc Tuấn in 1957, in Quang Nam, Vietnam. The linguist, critic, writer, and poet is currently living in Victoria, Australia.

Translators:

Bạch Xuân Phẻ, the writer, blogger and translator currently lives in U. S. A.

Đoàn Duy, the poet and translator born in the year of the cat, currently lives in Saigon, Vietnam.

Jessica Hong, a university at UTS, Australia.

Lê Hồng Vân, the translator is currently living in Vietnam.

Lê Vĩnh Tài, the poet and translator born in 1966 in Buon Ma Thuot, Daklak, Vietnam. The retired doctor is still a resident of the Western Highlands and a businessman in Buon Ma Thuot.

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.

Nguyễn Vân Hà, the translator is currently living in Saigon, Vietnam.

Viet Pham, born Phạm Trọng Việt, Phạm Thiên Mạc was a pen name he used in Vietnam. Viet was a poet and a prolific translator who shared his translations on social media. He settled in Canada after the Vietnam War. Viet passed away in September 2025. The world will miss his compassion and sense of humour, and I will miss him, my most unlikely collaborator and friend..

Vũ Hoàng Thư, born Võ Anh Tuấn 1949 in Hue, Vietnam. The poet and translator, head editor of bienkhoi.com currently lives in Fountain Valley, California.

Kiều stumbling on Đạm Tiên’s grave – Kiều thăm mộ Đạm Tiên [1-244] | Nguyễn Du

Minh họa Truyện Kiều by Huynh Thoa, a graphic designer from Hồ Chí Minh City, Vietnam. www.behance.net/callitrandesigner

A tale by Nguyễn Du
An adaption by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A lifetime in someone else’s place.
Fate and talent could never gel they say.
Surviving the odd catastrophe,
Anguish of first hand experience see.

Strange not in the world is beauty
And the have not jealousy.
Giving light to priceless literature,
Time and again ingrained in ancient letters
The age old stories of love and lust.

[1-8]
_____________________
Khúc này tôi viết lại tặng chàng Vượng. Ông professor thốt giữa cơn say:

– Truyện Kiều chị chỉ cần nhớ bốn câu đầu!

Trăm năm trong cõi người ta.
Chữ tài chữ mệnh khéo là ghét nhau.
Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu,
Những điều trông thấy mà đau đớn lòng.
Lạ gì bỉ sắc tư phong,
Trời xanh quen thói má hồng đánh ghen.
Cảo thơm lần giở trước đèn,
Phong tình có lục còn truyền sử xanh.

[1-8]

As in: The Ming Dynasty
North to South in all four corners of the empire it was quiet
Lived the Vương, a middle class household
Of Confucian standards
Of the three siblings, the youngest was a boy
The heir to the Vương family was Quan
Older were his two fair sisters
The oldest was Thúy Kiều followed by Thúy Vân
They were each beautiful in their own way, their beauty could not be compared

[9-18]

Rằng: Năm Gia Tĩnh triều Minh,
Bốn phương phẳng lặng, hai kinh vững vàng.
Có nhà Viên ngoại họ Vương,
Gia tư nghĩ cũng thường thường bậc trung.
Một trai con thứ rốt lòng,
Vương Quan là chữ nối dòng nho gia.
Đầu lòng hai ả tố nga,
Thúy Kiều là chị, em là Thúy Vân.
Mai cốt cách, tuyết tinh thần,
Một người một vẻ mười phân vẹn mười.

[9-18]

Vân serious and dignified
Full figured visage as radiant as the full moon
Always quiet always prim always proper
Her skin as white as snow, her hair as soft as shiny as fluffy as the fluffiest of clouds.

Kiều more of a refine beauty
Against her sister shone more brilliantly
Her eyes clearer than autumn waters, brows abundant as defined as the mountains in the spring
The willow jealous of her verdant flowers of the depth of her hue
Her charm sweeps one off one’s feet
The epitome of talent and beauty.

[19-28]

Vân xem trang trọng khác vời,
Khuôn trăng đầy đặn, nét ngài nở nang.
Hoa cười ngọc thốt đoan trang,
Mây thua nước tóc, tuyết nhường màu da.

Kiều càng sắc sảo mặn mà,
So bề tài sắc lại là phần hơn.
Làn thu thuỷ, nét xuân sơn,
Hoa ghen thua thắm, liễu hờn kém xanh.
Một hai nghiêng nước nghiêng thành,
Sắc đành đòi một, tài đành họa hai.

[19-28]

Born with innate intelligence
Gifted in the arts and the voice of an angel
Adept fa sol in the major pentatonic scale
She plays the pipa unlike any other.
The heavenly pieces she chose only she could play
Her Thiên Bạc Mệnh could break any listener’s heart say.

[29-34]

Thông minh vốn sẵn tư trời,
Pha nghề thi họa, đủ mùi ca ngâm.
Cung thương làu bậc ngũ âm,
Nghề riêng ăn đứt Hồ cầm một trương.
Khúc nhà tay lựa nên chương,
Một thiên Bạc mệnh lại càng não nhân.

[29-34]

Adorn with elegant sashes for young ladies in those days
Their hair were adorned with a pin to signal the coming of age.
Behind curtains of virtue prepared for marriage
Like bees to a flower, the neighbourhood swarmed with young men.
People like swallows turned up to soaked up the air
Done was two third of the spring fair.
The grass was as green to the end of the horizon
As the pear trees were adorned with white, scattered blossoms.
Noted was the beginning of the month of April,
All around were the noise and excitement of the peak of the spring the sisters prepared
For the next season of their life.

[35-46]
_____________________
NB. Đàn bà thủa ấy vì là gia sản của gia đình, họ được đánh dấu như gia súc, con gái nhà khá giả thì phong lưu hồng quần, vừa đủ tuổi để đi lấy chồng thì được cài trâm cho các chàng được phép tán tỉnh, lịch lãm quá đúng không? Sự nghịch lý ở đây là các nàng không được tán lại nhé. Con gái của nhà nho giáo không được làm chuyện đó.

Phong lưu rất mực hồng quần
Xuân xanh xấp xỉ tới tuần cập kê.
Êm đềm tướng rủ màn che,
Tường đông ong bướm đi về mặc ai.
Ngày xuân con én đưa thoi,
Thiều quang chín chục đã ngoài sáu mươi.
Cỏ non xanh tận chân trời,
Cành lê trắng điểm một vài bông hoa.
Thanh minh trong tiết tháng ba,
Gần xa nô nức yến anh,
Chị em sắm sửa bộ hành chơi xuân.

[35-46]

Elegant gentlemen and ladies flocked to the streets
Horse carts and bodies came and went in fleets
People’s heads popping up and down
Amongst the tumulus in the dying light
Burning incense and fake money for the afterlife
As their shadows fell longer towards the East the sisters headed home.
Squatting down to pee
The meadow was stretched out as far as her eyes could see
Kiều’s tiny stream came rushing
Her mini rapid twisting and turning
Her eyes met an abandoned tumulus
The grass half yellow half green
“How in the middle of Qingming festival
A tomb was missed, left unattend?

[47-60]

Dập dìu tài tử giai nhân,
Ngựa xe như nước, áo quần như nêm.
Ngổn ngang gò đống kéo lên,
Thoi vàng vó rắc, tro tiền giấy bay.
Tà tà bóng ngả về tây,
Chị em thơ thẩn dan tay ra về.
Bước dần theo ngọn tiểu khê,
Lần xem phong cảnh có bề thanh thanh.
Nao nao dòng nước uốn quanh,
Dịp cầu nho nhỏ cuối ghềnh bắc ngang.
Sè sè nấm đất bên đàng,
Dàu dàu ngọn cỏ nửa vàng nửa xanh.
Rằng: “Sao trong tiết thanh minh,
Mà đây hương khói vắng tanh thế mà?”

[47-60]

Vương Quan explained further,
Đạm Tiên was a dancer and singer.
Known for talent and fair beauty was her,
People flocked to see her
But fleeting and fragile was the verdant of her juvenescence,
She passed away at prime of her essence
People from distant places came in haste
Seeked her out just for a taste.
The epitome of her joy was cut, short was her life
The moment she was deemed someone’s wife.
Coldly entombed in a silence as still as the gap between the pages of her life
Any traces of the horse cart delivering her lifeless body have now been covered by moss and verdure.
How sad and pitiful it was as fate have it,
Not being able to meet such a kindred spirit.
With a connection so strong
One can but hope to meet in the next life so longed.
Hopefully the offer of this burning ox cart is enough to warm and console
The mere mount of dirt and grass so.

[61-78]

Vương Quan mới dẫn gần ra,
Đạm tiên nàng ấy xưa là ca nhi.
Nổi danh tài sắc một thì,
Xôn xao ngoài cửa hiếm gì yến anh.
Kiếp hồng nhan có mong manh,
Nửa chừng xuân thoắt gãy cành thiên hương.
Có người khách ở viễn phương,
Xa nghe cũng nức kiếm nàng tìm chơi.
Thuyền tình vừa ghé tới nơi,
Thì đà trâm gãy bình rơi bao giờ.
Buồng không lạnh ngắt như tờ,
Dấu xe ngựa đã rêu lờ mờ xanh.
Khóc than khôn xiết sự tình,
Khéo vô duyên bấy là mình với ta.
Đã không duyên trước chăng mà,
Thì chi chút ước gọi là duyên sau.
Sắm sanh nếp tử xe châu,
Vùi nông một nấm mặc dầu cỏ hoa.

[61-78]

Day and night weathering the elements
A grave no one wants to see any moment.
It broke Kiều’s heart
The uninvited tears came pouring and she couldn’t part.
The tragedy of being born a woman,
An unfortunate fate so common.
Ruthlessness of the creator,
The tainted verdant of youth and beauty
To live as a wife to someone else’s husband,
The villagers they all wanted to bed her.
Did anyone cared how it might destroyed the spirit of such a child?
Discarding her in this shallow grave, so the sisters foraged what they could behold
Lit an incense or two prayed for the lonely soul.

[79-92]

Trải bao thỏ lặn ác tà,
Ấy mồ vô chủ ai mà viếng thăm.
Lòng đâu sẵn mối thương tâm,
Thoắt nghe Kiều đã đầm đầm châu sa.
Đau đớn thay phận đàn bà,
Lời rằng bạc mệnh cũng là lời chung.
Phũ phàng chi mấy hóa công,
Ngày xanh mòn mỏi má hồng phôi pha.
Sống làm vợ khắp người ta,
Khéo thay thác xuống làm ma không chồng.
Nào người phượng chạ loan chung,
Nào người tiếc lục tham hồng là ai?
Đã không kẻ đoái người hoài,
Sẵn đây ta kiếm một vài nén hương.

[79-92]

A chance meeting with a spirit
Who had passed on
The earnest prayers borne
Resigned on knees the veneration and bows by the grave.
Patch of yellow undergrowth in the dark the breeze
Lulled gently through the reeds
Pulled the pin out of her hair
Upon the verge of a poem fell
Further into the stupor of melancholy
Further into the impossible tragedy
Further sullen was her beauty
Sadder than sad spiralling premonition
The tears, they did not stop
Vân lost her patience: “Sister, you’re being ridiculous
How could you spare so much tears for someone who is dead and gone”.
And: “That old tale of beauty being a curse,
It spares no one, so what?
Don’t let your imagination run away with you, be told
No one knows what the future holds?”
Quan too lost his patience: “Big sister, what are you talking about
Neither of you make any sense.

[93-112]

Gọi là gặp gỡ giữa đường,
Họa là người dưới suối vàng biết cho.
Lầm rầm khấn khứa nhỏ to,
Sụp ngồi vài gật trước mồ bước ra.
Một vùng cỏ áy bóng tà,
Gió hiu hiu thổi một và bông lau.
Rút trâm sẵn giắt mái đầu,
Vạch da cây vịnh bốn câu ba vần.
Lại càng mê mẩn tâm thần
Lại càng đứng lặng tần ngần chẳng ra.
Lại càng ủ dột nét hoa,
Sầu tuôn đứt nối, châu sa vắn dài.
Vân rằng: “Chị cũng nực cười,
Khéo dư nước mắt khóc người đời xưa”.
Rằng: “Hồng nhan tự thuở xưa,
Cái điều bạc mệnh có chừa ai đâu?
Nỗi niềm tưởng đến mà đau,
Thấy người nằm đó biết sau thế nào?”
Quan rằng: “Chị nói hay sao,
Một lời là một vận nào khó nghe.

[93-112]

The air laden with gloom and doom
It’s getting dark and it’s a long way home
Kiều adamant: “The great minds, their bodies may be gone
But their spirit lives on
How often could anyone have such a chance meeting
A sacredness so fleeting”.
Before Kiều managed to finished her passionate retort
A gush of wind came out of nowhere report
Shaking the trees and leaves startled the three siblings
A spine tingling wakening
The wind like an acknowledgment from the underworld
Truths of Kiều’s words
The fear evident on their faces
She said: “It feels as though we have known each other for years
It is fate that we should be sisters
Such kindred spirits as we are my dear”.

[113-128]

Ở đây âm khí nặng nề,
Bóng chiều đã ngả, dặm về còn xa.
Kiều rằng: “Những đấng tài hoa,
Thác là thể phách, còn là tinh anh.
Dễ hay tình gặp lại tình,
Chờ xem ắt thấy hiển linh bây giờ”.
Một lời nói chửa kịp thưa,
Phút đâu trận gió cuốn cờ đến ngay.
Ào ào đổ lộc rung cây,
Ở trong dường có hương bay ít nhiều.
Đè chừng ngọn gió lần theo,
Dấu giày từng bước in rêu rành rành.
Mặt nhìn ai nấy đều kinh,
Nàng rằng: “Này thực tinh thành chẳng xa.
Hữu tình ta lại gặp ta,
Chớ nề u hiển mới là chị em”.

[113-128]

Overwhelmed by the revelation
From her heart poured the epiphany
An ode of kinship, impulsively
Kiều had carved at the foot of a tree
A place she did not want to leave
Came as suddenly was the sound of soft music
A trotting scholar on horseback
At ease on his reign along the easy path
A dreamer with pockets full of poetry
Followed by a few pageboy indeed
His horse was a handsome white colt
And he his robe was sky blue.

[129-140]

Đã lòng hiển hiện cho xem,
Tạ lòng nàng lại nối thêm vài lời.
Lòng thơ lai láng bồi hồi,
Gốc cây lại vạch một bài cổ thi.
Dùng dằng nửa ở nửa về,
Nhạc vàng đâu đã tiếng nghe gần gần.
Trông chừng thấy một văn nhân,
Lỏng buông tay khấu bước lần dặm băng.
Đề huề lưng túi gió trăng,
Sau chân theo một vài thằng con con.
Tuyết in sắc ngựa câu giòn,
Cỏ pha màu áo nhuộm non da trời.

[129-140]

It turned out to be a familiar face
The traveller descended his horse to greet them
Embroidered scholar slippers on green grass
Dreamy vista of godlike countenance
Vương Quan greeted his friend
The girls rather bashful hid behind the flowers
Not far away
Kim Trọng was from a good family, rather affluent
Known across the land for his talent
Well read, intelligence beyond compare
Capable and brilliant, heart of a poet and eloquent
With the mien of a playful gentleman

[141-152]

Nẻo xa mới tỏ mặt người,
Khách đà xuống ngựa tới nơi tự tình.
Hài văn lần bước dặm xanh,
Một vùng như thể cây quỳnh cành dao.
Chàng Vương quen mặt ra chào,
Hai Kiều e lệ nép vào dưới hoa.
Nguyên người quanh quất đâu xa,
Họ Kim tên Trọng vốn nhà trâm anh.
Nền phú hậu, bậc tài danh,
Văn chương nết đất, thông minh tính trời.
Phong tư tài mạo tót vời,
Vào trong phong nhã, ra ngoài hào hoa.

[141-152]

From the same hometown
He went to school with Vương Quan
Well known in the area was the beauty
And talent of his friend’s sisters
Even though he had never met their acquaintance
He was infatuated with one of the sisters
Fortunately by chance today met the flowers
The week the children play “guess what leaf it is festival”
For a long time admired the rose from afar
From spring to autumn gorgeous all in all.

[153-162]

Chung quanh vẫn đất nước nhà,
Với Vương Quan trước vẫn là đồng thân.
Vẫn nghe thơm nức hương lân,
Một nền Đồng Tước khóa xuân hai Kiều.
Nước non cách mấy buồng thêu,
Những là trộm dấu thầm yêu chốc mòng.
May thay giải cấu tương phùng,
Gặp tuần đố lá, thoả lòng tìm hoa.
Bóng hồng nhác thấy nẻo xa,
Xuân lan thu cúc mặn mà cả hai.

[153-162]

A national beauty and a brilliant scholar
Though excited he was still shy
It was like a dream
He didn’t want to overstay nor did he wanted to leave
The fast dying light broke him alas
He got back on his horse as they watched him depart
Crystal clear was the water under the bridge
Soft was the wispy willow branches swaying in the afternoon breeze
Through the delicately embroidered screen of her bed chamber Kiều was thoughtful
Alerted by the afternoon gong, Kiều sat and watched
The sun set over the mountain as the moon rose in unison
Watery golden eddies shimmered as the garden was wrapped in the shadow of the canopy
Her willowy form yearned for a figure toward the East
Dewdrops holding down the fresh spring branches
Kiều was lost in the moonlight alone
Preoccupied with the impossible possibilities
What is the point of meeting such a brilliant mind
How could anyone stop thinking about what can’t be left behind

[163-180]

Người quốc sắc, kẻ thiên tài,
Tình trong như đã, mặt ngoài còn e.
Chập chờn cơn tỉnh cơn mê,
Rốn ngồi chẳng tiện, dứt về chỉn khôn.
Bóng tà như giục cơn buồn,
Khách đà lên ngựa người còn ghé theo.
Dưới cầu nước chảy trong veo,
Bên cầu tơ liễu bóng chiều thướt tha.
Kiều từ thở gót trướng hoa,
Mặt trời gác núi, chiêng đà thu không.
Mảnh trăng chênh chếch dỏm song,
Vàng gieo ngấn nước, cây lồng bóng sân.
Hải đường lả ngọn đông lân,
Giọt sương gieo nặng cành xuân la đà.
Một mình lặng ngắm bóng nga,
Rộn đường gần với nỗi xa bời bời.
Người mà đến thế thì thôi,
Đời phồn hoa cũng là đời bỏ đi.

[163-180]

What is the point of us meeting to never meet again
Serendipity, unresolved chance of a lifetime unattained?
Despite the countless relations tenured
The poetry here lies in manner
The setting moonlight settled on the central courtyard
Against the banister was a lonely figure
A graceful young woman
Virtuous, pure of heart touched by dew
Her countenance was as pure as snow in each of her footstep bloomed a lotus flower
As she advanced slowly closer
Kiều excitedly greeted her:
“From which mystical land are you lost?”
She replied: “Drawn together are kindred spirits
Like today how could you elder sister forget
I am who you have met from the West
My humble home is by the river under a bridge
A rendezvous for your companions
Where shed were invaluable gleaming verses of poetry.
But dear sister, submitted to the luminary on the wall where I’m from
Your name is on the list of those who will suffer a similar fate as mine
_____________________
NB. Khúc này tôi dịch tặng Julia Thanh Thuỷ, người bạn chưa bao giờ gặp ngoài đời, nhưng tôi đã thừa nhận từ những giây phút đầu kết bạn trên FaceBook, chị em chúng tôi là “kindred spirit”. I love you.

[181-200]

Người đâu gặp gỡ làm chi,
Trăm năm có biết duyên gì hay không?”
Ngổn ngang trăm mối bên lòng,
Nên câu tuyệt diệu ngụ trong tính tình.
Chênh chênh bóng nguyệt xế mành,
Tựa nương bên triện một mình thiu thiu.
Thoắt đâu thấy một tiểu kiều,
Có chiều phong vận, có chiều thanh tân.
Sương in mặt, tuyết pha thân,
Sen vàng lãng đãng như gần như xa.
Rước mừng đón hỏi dò la:
“Đào nguyên lạc lối đâu mà đến đây?”
Thưa rằng: “Thanh khí xưa nay,
Mới cùng nhau lúc ban ngày đã quên.
Hàn gia ở mé tây thiên,
Dưới dòng nước chảy bên trên có cầu.
Mấy lòng hạ cố đến nhau,
Mấy lời hạ tứ ném châu gieo vàng.
Vâng trình hội chủ xem tường,
Mà sao trong sổ đoạn trường có tên.

[181-200]

Our action in this life will impose karma onto the next
And we are in the same boat
I love to hear more of your amazing poetry
A decastich perhaps
Kiều aptly complied
Composed a ten line stanza as her reply
Đạm Tiên admired Kiều’s beautiful brush strokes exclaimed:
“What a brilliant piece of literature.
If I were to take it back with me to the other side
You would definitely get the first prize”.
The guest turned as though she was about to leave
Hesitating as though there was more she wanted to say
But Kiều was awaken by a sudden gust of wind through the curtains
Only then did she realised she was dreaming
At a glance she searched her surrounding
Lingered in the air was the scent of flowers
She was alone in the middle of the night
The premonition was a fright
Like water lilies and duckweed
It will be her fate
To be washed away and burdened by the tides
To rise and fall again and again was the ride
Kiêu’s sobbing
Woke her mother
“Why are you crying in the dark
Like drenched pear blossoms in the rain?”
Kiều replied: “Mother, it’s so childish
I don’t want to worry you, you must be so tired

[201-228]

Âu đành quả kiếp nhân duyên,
Cũng người một hội một thuyền đâu xa.
Này mười bài mới mới ra,
Câu thần lại mượn bút hoa vẽ vời.
Kiều vâng lĩnh ý đề bài,
Tay tiên một vẩy đủ mười khúc ngâm.
Xem thơ nức nở khen thầm:
“Giá đành tú khẩu cẩm tâm khác thường.
Ví đem vào tập Đoạn trường,
Thì treo giải nhất chi nhường cho ai”.
Thềm hoa khách đã trở hài,
Nàng còn cầm lại một hai tự tình.
Gió đâu sịch bức mành mành,
Tỉnh ra mới biết rằng mình chiêm bao.
Trông theo nào thấy đâu nào
Hương thừa dường hãy ra vào đâu đây
Một mình lưỡng lự canh chầy,
Đường xa nghĩ nỗi sau này mà kinh.
Hoa trôi bèo giạt đã đành,
Biết duyên mình, biết phận mình thế thôi!
Nỗi duyên lớp lớp sóng dồi,
Nghĩ đòi cơn lại sụt sùi đòi cơn.
Giọng Kiều rền rỉ trướng loan,
Nhà huyên chợt tỉnh hỏi cơn cớ gì?
“Cớ sao trằn trọc canh khuya,
Màu hoa lê hãy đầm đìa giọt mưa?”
Thưa rằng: “Chút phận ngây thơ,
Dưỡng sinh đôi nợ tóc tơ chưa đền.

[201-228]

We stumbled on Đạm Tiên’s grave today mother
And she had just came to me in a dream
She told me that in this life
I will suffer the same fate
I can’t seem to shake this horrible feeling
Mother, my future, how sad will it be!”
Her mother consoled: “It was just a dream,
Don’t read too much into it child!”
Listening to the wisdom of her mother’s words
She stopped making a mountain out of a molehill
The bird song of a robin through the window sill
And drifting myrtle petals through the curtains
Shifting shadows of the night on the veranda
Reflected the lonely yearning in her heart, kind.
Mean while someone else of the same mind
Not far could not stop thinking about her.

[229-244]

Buổi ngày chơi mả Đạm Tiên,
Nhắp đi thoắt thấy ứng liền chiêm bao.
Đoạn trường là số thế nào,
Bài ra thế ấy, vịnh vào thế kia.
Cứ trong mộng triệu mà suy,
Phận con thôi có ra gì mai sau!”
Dạy rằng: “Mộng huyễn cứ đâu,
Bỗng không mua não chuốc sầu nghĩ nao!”
Vâng lời khuyên giải thấp cao,
Chưa xong điều nghĩ đã dào mạch Tương.
Ngoài xong thỏ thẻ oanh vàng,
Nách tường bông liễu bay ngang trước mành.
Hiên tà gác bóng chênh chênh,
Nỗi riêng riêng trạnh tấc riêng một mình.
Cho hay là giống hữu tình,
Đố ai gỡ mối tơ mành cho xong.

[229-244]

Kiều met/gặp Kim Trọng [245-572]

Nguyến Du [1766-1820] courtesy name Tố Như and art name Thanh Hiên, is a celebrated Vietnamese poet and musician. He is most known for writing the epic poem The Tale of Kiều.

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.

VIET PHAM

A portrait of Viet Pham by Đinh Trường Chinh

thơ Viet Pham
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Bầu rượu giữa vườn hoa

Viet Pham, born Phạm Trọng Việt 1954, Phạm Thiên Mạc was a pen name he used in Vietnam. Viet was a poet and a prolific translator who shared his translations on social media. He settled in Canada after the Vietnam War. Viet passed away in September 2025. The world will miss his compassion and sense of humour, and I will miss him, my most unlikely collaborator and friend..

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.

NGUYỄN VIỆN

Nguyễn Viện (source: social media)

In Vietnamese by Nguyễn Viện
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

POEMS | THƠ

HAIR & HORN | LÔNG & SỪNG

Chapter ONE
Chapter TWO
Chapter THREE
Chapter FOUR
Chapter FIVE

Nguyễn Viện, born Nguyễn Văn Viện, on February 1, 1949 in Dong Xa, Hai Duong, is a journalist and writer, self-published author, on noteworthy subjects like sex and politics, listed by RFA as Resistance Literature. Currently living and writing in Saigon, Vietnam.

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.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Kiều sold herself to pay off her father’s debt – Kiều bán mình chuộc cha [573-804]

Kiều mắc lừa Sở Khanh [1057-1274]

Share this:

909

BÀI THƠ

BA DÒNG

Share this:

Kiều met/gặp Kim Trọng [245-572]

Share this:

Share this:

POEMS | THƠ

HAIR & HORN | LÔNG & SỪNG

Share this: