thơ Hồ Dzếnh
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch
say you’ll come
but I don’t know if you should!
so my sadness could
dwell in the yard
with my broken heart
crumbling cigarette embers
on finger tips…
between puffs: hmmm, how
how could I miss someone that much?
say you’ll come
but I don’t know if you should!
you’ll see! love is nothing?
without the attraction at the start?
sun kisses
fleeting moments
soft silky
butterfly wings
trees and reeds
the promise of tomorrow
the joy of the day to come!
say you’ll come
but I don’t know if you should!
and I will sigh, softly –
it was not meant to be!
if you’re on your way
turn around, go back
life is beautiful
when it’s still full of promise
the joy of love lost
at the end of a promise
don’t finish that letter
arrive your ferry never
so the infinite future can be
as tentative as the ever past see
Ngập ngừng
Em cứ hẹn nhưng em đừng đến nhé!
Để lòng buồn tôi dạo khắp trong sân,
Ngó trên tay, thuốc lá cháy lụi dần…
Tôi nói khẽ: Gớm, làm sao nhớ thế?
Em cứ hẹn nhưng em đừng đến nhé!
Em tôi ơi! Tình nghĩa có gì đâu?
Nếu là không lưu luyến buổi sơ đầu?
Thuở ân ái mong manh như nắng lụa.
Hoa bướm ngập ngừng, cỏ cây lần lữa,
Hẹn ngày mai mùa đến sẽ vui tươi,
Chỉ ngày mai mới đẹp, ngày mai thôi!
Em cứ hẹn nhưng em đừng đến nhé!
Tôi sẽ trách-cố nhiên! – nhưng rất nhẹ
Nếu trót đi, em hãy gắng quay về,
Tình mất vui khi đã vẹn câu thề,
Đời chỉ đẹp những khi còn dang dở.
Thư viết đừng xong, thuyền trôi chớ đỗ,
Cho nghìn sau…lơ lửng…với nghìn xưa…
Nguồn: Hồ Dzếnh, Quê ngoại, NXB Hoa Tiên, Saigon, 1969
Hồ Dzếnh (1919 – August 13, 1991), real name Hà Triệu Anh or Ha Anh (in Cantonese dialect is Hồ Dzếnh), was born in Dong Bich village, Quang Xuong district, Thanh Hoa province, and died in Hanoi. His father was Ha Kien Huan, originally from Guangdong, and his mother Dang Thi Van was Vietnamese. He attended high school, taught privately, wrote poetry, and wrote for newspapers from 1931 in Hanoi. In 1953, he went to Saigon to work as a journalist, and in 1954, he returned to Hanoi to continue writing for newspapers and poetry. He was a member of the Vietnam Writers Association from its inception (1957).
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 Thị Phương Trâm 