Huế Showers | Bạch Diệp

Bạch Diệp in Huế

A poem in Vietnamese by Bạch Diệp
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

A variation of Lưu Thủy Kim Tiền’s melody
Opening a barrel of sweet Hoàng Gia wine
Pouring, savouring each drop at a time

Door or high brick walls cannot stop the rain
Mother stir frying salt, lemongrass, and raw watermelon
Remembering the rain showers of long ago
Wooden clogs, and silk tunic gingerly crossing the bridge
Huế girls now leaves their house on a motorbike
In jeans and big backpacks

The rain would stop
And the fermenting city would burst open
Flooding the streets with the scent of eucalyptus
licorice, and ginseng
Through the door to the end of the garden
All the way to the riverbank
thriving and green
Moss and grass over Cửu Đỉnh
Resisting
oblivion

Fear not is what will be lost in time
The kids in any cafe or street corner will tell you
There’s no coffee lovelier than
Coffee in Huế

Huế mưa

Là biến tấu của giai khúc Lưu Thủy Kim Tiền
Làm vỡ chiếc thùng rượu ngọt Hoàng Gia
Đổ xuống
từng chuỗi
giọt

Cửa Ngăn cửa Sập tường gạch cao không ngăn nổi mưa
Mạ rang nồi muối sả muối vại dưa hường
Nhớ cơn mưa xưa guốc mộc áo the
Thủng thẳng qua cầu
Con gái Huế chừ quần jean ba lô hớn hở cuốc xe đi mô cũng tới

Rồi mưa cũng tạnh
Nội thành dậy men mở những lối đi ngập nước
Mùi khuynh diệp cam thảo đinh lăng
Qua khung cửa về cuối khu vườn ra đến bờ sông
Rêu xanh và cỏ mướt đang lên
Cưỡng lại sự quên lãng trên Cửu Đỉnh

Chẳng sợ những gì thời gian đánh mất
Bọn trẻ con ngồi đồng cafe góc phố
Nhất quyết rằng
Chẳng nơi đâu ấm bằng góc cafe Huế


Bạch Diệp, the poet and artist lives in Hue, 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.

Present | Bùi Chát

chưa có tên, sơn dầu trên canvas, 150x195cm . Bùi Chát.

poem inspired art by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

we alone have so many faces
mine have all taken a hold of me

my natural compulsion is to run
run again and again
run away as far as I can

to forever escape from all those faces
I have found a place to hide within you

forever within you
to embracing a new day

Hiện hữu


Có quá nhiều mặt trong một khuôn mặt
Cố bám riết lấy tôi

Theo phản xạ thông thường
Tôi bỏ chạy
Rồi lại bỏ chạy

Và để vĩnh viễn thoát khỏi những khuôn mặt
Tôi đã trốn vào em

Mãi mãi ở trong em
Ôm trọn ngày đang tới


Bùi Chát is the poet, writer, publisher and artist’s pen name. Bùi Quang Viễn was born on October 22, 1979, at Hố Nai, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai Province, Việt Nam. Born to family of patriotic Catholic refugees from the North in 1954.

Graduated in 2001 from the Faculty of Literature, Linguistics, and Journalism of Hồ Chí Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Bùi Chát named and cofounded Nhóm Mở Miệng (Open Mouth Group) with the poet and writer Lý Đợi, promoting Graveyard & Garbage Poetry.

Nhà Xuất bản Giấy Vụn (Scrap Paper Publishing House), also founded by Bùi Chát, distributions of xerographically structured sensitive works by “pavement poets”. In 2004, Bùi Chát and cofounder Lý Đợi were detained for two days for distributing flyers at a poetry reading raided by the authority. In 2005, the culture department blocked their performance at the Goethe Institute in Hà Nội.

In 2011, Bùi Chát was awarded the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize “for his exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish.” He was arrested on his return to Việt Nam after receiving the award in Buenos Aires and detained for several days.

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.

A TUMULTUOUS SPRINGTIME | Đinh Thị Như Thuý

Đinh Thị Như Thúy

A poem in Vietnamese by Đinh Thị Như Thúy
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

about to burst into tears
throbbing sinus
stuffy nose

congested veins
droopy eyelids
beeping horns and loud traffic
why the rush

unexpressed silence
things that should have been said
in a quiet corner somewhere

two chairs side by side
in the corner of the garden maybe
beneath a shady canopy
sleepy noon trees

anywhere
where one can let down one’s hair
and our hand is warm to the touch

when the yellow flowers are boundless
and one’s flesh is free
and the heart can see

bitter is the cycle of winter
reserve we must in between
a tumultuous springtime

MÙA XUÂN NÁO ĐỘNG


chực vỡ oà tiếng khóc
nơi sống mũi âm thầm nhức
giá như thở được

giá như chảy máu được
giá như mí mắt đừng quá trĩu nặng
và tiếng còi xe đừng thúc giục

quá nhiều điều lẽ ra phải được nói
được tỏ bày có thể
nơi một góc quán

hai chiếc ghế thân mật đặt cạnh nhau
trong góc vườn
nơi ban trưa trút xuống bóng râm cây lá

cũng có thể ở bất cứ nơi đâu
khi hơi ấm của bàn tay
khi sợi tóc rụng

khi những hoa vàng trải dài bất tận
khi da thịt mở ra
và trái tim lên tiếng

đã vật vã quay vòng
từ mùa đông đến mùa đông
quãng giữa là mùa xuân náo động

Đinh Thị Như Thuý


Đinh Thị Như Thuý, born 16-9-1965 in Hue,Vietnam. The Vietnamese poet attended high school in Danang, and university in Dalat, then was a literature teacher in Krong Pac district, Dak Lak province. Currently, she works at the Union of Literature and Arts of Da Nang City. She also used the pseudonyms Như Thuý, Như Dã Quỳ.

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.

l i g h t | Trần Duy Trung

Trần Duy Trung, a photo taken by 8 year old Su. 2025

A poem in Vietnamese by Trần Duy Trung
Translator: Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

you discern from nature
a book written by the Creator
a generous vernacular
the wonder in your every breath

you should open your mind to the light

again as I find myself reading the night
somewhat infinite
the shadow of nihilism
and death is a blank sheet of paper.

again as I find myself reading the sky
by its ancient language
encounter the unfamiliar star
a fallen ego thus far
inside the pain and the scars.

as I discern myself in a moment of deep thought
moment of silence
the vernacular within
the very moment now, not since

see myself there
see myself nowhere
what is born
what is gone

I’m a part of everything
and everything a part of me
me being everything
and everything is within me

á n h s á n g


bạn đọc từ thiên nhiên, cuốn sách của Thượng đế
thứ ngôn ngữ rộng lớn,
những rung động trong hơi thở bạn

hãy mở ra và lấy cho mình một chút ánh sáng

tôi đang đọc lại đêm
một thứ gì đó dường như bất tận
một cái bóng của hư không,
một trang trắng của cái chết.

tôi đọc lại bầu trời
ngôn ngữ của cổ xưa
đọc lại tôi từ một vì sao lạ
một cái tôi trong tự ngã
những gì của khổ đau.

tôi đọc tôi một khắc giờ thẳm sâu
ngôn ngữ của thinh lặng
một thế giới từ bên trong,
một khắc giờ của thực tại

tôi thấy tôi ở đó
tôi thấy tôi không ở đó
những gì vừa sinh ra
những gì vừa đi mất

tôi chính là vạn vật
vạn vật trùm lên tôi
tôi trùm lên vạn vật
vạn vật chẳng ngoài tôi(*)

tdt. đêm cuối cùng năm cũ.
(*)4 câu thơ của nhà thơ Nguyễn Thị Thuỳ Linh.


Trần Duy Trung, the poet born 1981, Truc Ninh, Nam Dinh, current lives in Nha Trang, 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.

What is poetry? | Bùi Chát

poem by Bùi Chát
translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

What is poetry?

– How the f..k would I know!
You’re the poet, you tell me!


Bùi Chát is the poet, writer, publisher and artist’s pen name. Bùi Quang Viễn was born on October 22, 1979, at Hố Nai, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai Province, Việt Nam. Born to family of patriotic Catholic refugees from the North in 1954.

Graduated in 2001 from the Faculty of Literature, Linguistics, and Journalism of Hồ Chí Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Bùi Chát named and cofounded Nhóm Mở Miệng (Open Mouth Group) with the poet and writer Lý Đợi, promoting Graveyard & Garbage Poetry.

Nhà Xuất bản Giấy Vụn (Scrap Paper Publishing House), also founded by Bùi Chát, distributions of xerographically structured sensitive works by “pavement poets”. In 2004, Bùi Chát and cofounder Lý Đợi were detained for two days for distributing flyers at a poetry reading raided by the authority. In 2005, the culture department blocked their performance at the Goethe Institute in Hà Nội.

In 2011, Bùi Chát was awarded the IPA Freedom to Publish Prize “for his exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish.” He was arrested on his return to Việt Nam after receiving the award in Buenos Aires and detained for several days.

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.

let us go to the sea | Bạch Diệp

Bạch Diệp. Đạp xe ở Vedana lagoon Resort, bắt sứa biển Quảng Ngạn. Biển lành đến mức bầy sứa cứ theo quanh chân mình😊

thơ Bạch Diệp
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch ra anh ngữ

…through my window
the sea is stretching
in the sunlight
we only have a moment
dusk can alone wait
for the stars

night moving on
last night just gone
the sea circling like opened arms
time irrelevant
leaving its mark
on a chair
just before water is added
the scent of tea

let go my love
let us go to the sea…

…Em nhìn qua cửa sổ
dưới mặt trời
biển duỗi
chúng ta chỉ còn vài giờ
em không thể đợi một hoàng hôn
muộn cùng những vì sao

đêm qua
vừa đêm qua
biển cong như cái khoát tay
mặc kệ thời gian
để lại dấu vết
trên chiếc ghế
và mùi hương ấm trà
chưa kịp chêm nước

Hay là chúng ta ra biển
đi anh…


Bạch Diệp, the poet and artist lives in Hue, 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.

HOW TO CONFESS… | Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc

Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc

thơ Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch

how to confess your love and not lose it
grill other people on how to for the first time love
the unknown doors to brave new worlds
words
vernacular of the flesh
wordless gaze
forget them
run
and that includes death
and still most unfamiliar is affection
the unmet gaze of those we love
dumb anxieties may it be a mean or kind dream

ah who am I to say
to have lived this long to never again love
head first into a river called life
like a fish out of water
craving for death
the way the marriage bed had denied me
as we laugh and cry half a lifetime withered away
by the games we play
cross stitches of pride over shame and humiliation
ignoring the sting of bindii
under foot mistaking it for a lover
love came out of nowhere
over the mountains
through the ravines of a life spent
may it be life or death matter - no
the enthusiasm for oblivion

discerning the bitter struggle
smells of an impending storm
hid behind mirrors of illusions
the way storms are imprisoned
in the smallness of one's fist
as the clouds in the sky would hid
the affections reflected
a fox with nine tails abstained
from worldly interactions for 999 years
and 364 days and its tails are dripping
teary still
cunning enough to get marry
to avoid being strike down by lightning
cunning enough to get marry
as a glorify way to confess
love
regardless of a love that is not real
regardless of the agony of true pain
regardless of how harden humanity had become
in its wisdom water could still break
a misguided spirit guardian howling in the dark
enough fret to trouble the moon

LÀM THẾ NÀO…

 
Làm thế nào để tỏ tình mà tình không biến mất
tra vấn tha nhân bài học vỡ lòng yêu
Những cánh cửa đời xa lạ biết bao-
lời,
ngôn ngữ thân xác,
mắt câm,
quên nó đi,
chạy,
và cả chết…
Nhưng xa lạ nhất vẫn là tình
Người mà ta không dám ngó vào mắt khi đối diện
ngẩn ngơ lo cơn mộng dữ hay lành

Ôi ta,
sống đến đây tưởng như không bao giờ yêu được nữa
lao vào dòng sống ngày mỗi ngày
như cá lao mình khỏi nước
nhìn cái chết thèm thuồng
như nhìn chiếc giừơng cưới luôn chối từ ta
tàn nửa đời trộn cười khóc làm trò chơi
đan xéo lòng kiêu nhòa nỗi nhục
giả dại hôn ngọn cỏ châm đau mà ngỡ người tình
Chợt tình đến,
ngang tàng núi non,
lạnh lẽo huyệt thẳm
mòn sống,
thờ ơ chết,
nồng nhiệt với hư vô

Cảm được vị đắng nhọc nhằn,
mùi giông sắp đến
đành nhốt tình sau tấm gương bóng ảo chờn chờn
như nhốt bão trong lòng tay nhỏ
như vùa mây đỉnh trời che kính chiếu yêu
hồ ly tu 999 năm 364 ngày,
đuôi còn nhỏ lệ
mưu toan kết hôn chạy trốn sét trời
mưu toan kết hôn như để tỏ tình
Yêu,
bất chấp tình ảo
bất chấp nỗi đau đớn thật
bất chấp ngọc người ngàn năm tri thức tan bóng nước
Tịch tà lạc bóng
âm âm tiếng hú gợn nhàu trăng



Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc

Director Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc, born 5 August 1953 in Bà Rịa, Vietnam. She graduated from stage directing in 1980, trained as an actor at the Ho Chi Minh City School of Theater and Cinema and Tran Huu Trang Theater. She was a student of director Nguyen Tuong Tran (second generation disciple of Konstantin Stanislavski), trained as a cải lương performer with People’s Artist Phung Ha, and she trained many renowned native and international drama and cải lương artists like: Meritorious Artist Huu Chau, Huu Nghia, Hong Dao, Quang Minh, Meritorious Artist Huu Quoc, Meritorious Artist My Hang, Luong My, Mai Lan, Hoa Hiep, Xuan Trang, Thanh Phuong.

She taught the subjects of Screenwriting, Drama Theory and History of Vietnamese Theatre at several colleges and universities, co-founded the Experimental Directing Club (1985), staged about 30 traditional and contemporary plays, wrote about 70 traditional and contemporary plays for the stage and about 30 scripts for cinema, hundreds of episodes for television, several research works on theatre and reformed opera, attended many festivals, seminars, composed and researched on theatre and education in the country and in Australia, England, France, Germany, Tanzania, Norway, Sweden, Philippines, USA, Indonesia, and was the stage personality of the year 2004 voted by Vietnam Television.

She was an actress for the stages: 5B Vo Van Tan, Idecaf… The roles that the audience remembers: Otilia, The Chicken Raising Girl & The Old Girl (Du Luan Quan Chung), Aunt Ba Kim Duyen (Ngoi Nha Khong Dan Men), Grandma (Cau Dong), Grandma Ca & Grandma To Gia (Long Dang Do Cao), Grandma (Tam Nguoi Dan Ba), Crazy Audience (Thuong Hoai Ngan Nam), Grandma Hanh Ngo (Mot va cua toi?). The most recent role was Grandma Vu in the MV Tan Vo with Dam Vinh Hung and Nhan Phuc Vinh.[1] The performance “The Last Romantic” is a 60-minute solo performance made up of ten tragicomic monologues that Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc used to illustrate her talks about theater at universities in and outside the country.

In addition, she is also a member of the Writers, Theater, and Cinema Associations, and is one of the 20 outstanding writers of Ho Chi Minh City selected by the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association.

She is the first Vietnamese woman to bring Vietnamese works to the off-off Broadway stage in New York as an author, director and actress, including: Lost Woman (2008) and We Are… (2011). She was selected as the highlight of the Vietnamese International Film Festival (VIFF) in the US (2007).

In addition to documentaries about Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc produced by VTV, HTV, Binh Duong, and Long An television stations, in 2015, director Hung Phuong made the documentary “Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc – The Treasure Keeper of Gold and Jade” 19’36” long and won first prize in the “I Preserve Beauty” contest.


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.

Huế | Bạch Diệp

thơ Bạch Diệp
Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm dịch ra anh ngữ

in my dream
there’s a city far far away
a city drifting in a purple mist
there the streets are as green as velvet
shimmering through its kingdom is a river that drapes like silk
someone’s voice
more of a whisper(nhẹ rứa) is as soft
as the clouds as the mist
as true as poetry
an aching longing in my heart

I have ran away from the ancient eaves of Bao Vinh
from the call for departure from Văn Lâu Thừa Phủ bus stop
drunk often by the permeating air of camphor
beneath a turquoise starry night at Linh Mụ wharf
carries in the breeze are the notes of unbearable sadness
just once in “a house of a wanderer”
as the bells of Phủ Cam Cathedral ring you lit a candle
I remember how…

thin you were like Huế in the fall
scattered leaves in Rú Chá(our mangrove primeval forest)
Who is Huế waiting for with all its thirteen gates wide open
Tịnh Tâm blooming lotus during the fasting seasons
Scent of spicy ginger blooms by Tuần ferry terminal
I have travelled to the end of the earth beneath the same sky
searching for a meal balanced in yin and yang and the five elements
the way Mạ gather each fresh stem of green for you to season
with ruốc cay(shredded pork/chicken/prawn)
now that is Huế!

Bạch Diệp in Huế, Vietnam.

Bạch Diệp, the poet and artist lives in Hue, 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.