Nguyễn Văn Dũng Vicar

Mưa lạnh đầy sông đêm đến Ngô
Bình minh tiễn khách Sở rừng cô
Lạc Dương bạn cũ mà thăm hỏi
Rằng: Tấm lòng trong ở ngọc hồ.

Red flowers times

Under the trees with red flowers like the flame up
I held your hand walking along on the deserted road
Only noisy cicadas voices made summer midday not to be silent
So as my heart wasn’t quiet
I’m passionately fond of a far cloud colour
As to the sail flew passingly small doorway
As to a look of mystery of in olden days
You sang a old verse
The passion of a girlhood
Every red flower season came
The flowers like rain was falling
Very thin bright red petals were in utter disarray
Those like blood of young days were exuding
The flowers like rain was falling
Like in olden days we were clumsy
We looked deep in the eyes of each other’s
Then felt our heart were painful
In the your verse –
I hadn’t any place
The verse sang as to a earnest love time
I wasn’t sorrowful but regret that
You didn’t go to the end of amorous days
The flowers still were noisily falling like youth
Didn’t let anyone may be stone-cold
The flowers left our soul a red track
Like a scratch of the heart
After that song then you kept silently
The silence was blazing of red flower colour
I knew of oneself to be nonsensical to go next you
After the song then you as if –
You of olden red flower time
After the song then I was likewise
I of olden youthful times.

The ancient relievo

Royal tomb-temple of dynasties
Sank gradually into the desolate
The fits of desert wind
Of thousand years returned dreamily

The time is a worker
Shaped to wear many vainglory
Stele stone please don’t relate
to the shapeless moss grass

Still have remained a light
That burning up olden relievo
Under nude bosom of danseuses
Are heaving so many ashes

The sage and the desport
Have already become earth-dust
Relievo baked from the earth
Merely was embossed your figure.

The same race

To LTD

In the eyes of snake, of course we also are snake race
tongue of crawl, creep
the shadows of night it ambushs at the dawn it is venom venom
to get used to lurk, waylay and to progress crookedly
obsolete stunted old things then it can shed with its skin
merely particularity of snake can’t shed with its skin

In the eyes of dogs-pack, can’t be other we also become their same race
with the fits of wild howl (voice of a man to be mad)
daytime is anxious when noisy raven, night is doze when hooting owls
eyes are fastened around fence
diminutive bark to bay at the moon or bark oneself its destiny
there was the bruised death with teeth-marks of the same race
there was the orphan footsteps to stray from the herd

In the eyes of bird we also are bird-race
also birdlike to walk one’s by two legs, but to differ birds
human can crawl and (whisper) to lose the bird human can’t fly
all one’s life cling each other on the ground

Who am I? question have already been old
and that thing only I know on my own
I am all of the race only a thing is completely different
I still have to be all one’s life to appear with my face!

You and I

1
You have got deeply sad features like the wind
That blew wandering through the worn-out time,
I have got far little melancholy like grass strip
That was hidden behind from burned sand to horizon…

When we turned round to see together in the moment
Wind crossed moor pitying parched grass at the edge of sky,
Only you know, the grass will be vast green,
Only you know on your own – the grass is me!

2
You may have got what to be very remote
Afflictions you didn’t talk all to me yet
The rain behind mountain scattered coming to be deep far
The path that you went, mist effaced your footprint…

The faces crossed the fog to grow young again
These were fresh like dew but indistinct like dew…
They might become the succubues in the legend
Might become the fairies in the human life.

I blinked… to expect in an deluding instant!?!
You still were inattentive, quiet like in religious contemplation…
If became water, would become source of transparent water,
Only I know on my own – that is you!

Before lotus

Late night in the swamp a lotus flower blooms,
Brightens in the shadow-screen of the doubt
Perfume pervades on the bog of the beggarly
You are flower?
You aren’t flower?
Night turns over two old leaf-blade of lotus
The cracked time
And
The broken space
Both together hold not to breathe
Suddenly real
Suddenly unreal
Suddenly there is…
Suddenly There isn’t…
How do you contrive to be white flower, yellow stamen?

Jealousy

Hey, the sweet little lover of mine!
I want her lips only to smile
When there is me and your eyes;
Only look at me when I am far.

I want you don’t think to anybody,
Don’t kiss even see the fresh petal,
Don’t embrace lone pillow to sleep tonight…
Don’t bathe this afternoon sea is crowded.

I want the faint aroma of perfume,
That you often scent not to fly far,
Don’t make passer-by to be enraptured,
Although only go past then travellers leave.

I want in the frosty winter nights
Waking dream don’t lurk next to you
If not, I wish you not to meet;
Any boy to appear in the dream.

I want vapours of you respire lightly;
Don’t wet shirt of man isn’t acquainted.
Your feet imprint on the dusty way;
No footstep is to tread on it.

That was: I am merely extremely jealous,
Also mean: I have already extremely loved
And it mean: You have been all.
You have been all only my own.

Let us kiss last once

I hold thy hands whispering:
- What benefit do thou cry?
Let us kiss last once
Thou go back, I leave.

One, two, three years afterward,
I achieve fame to return.
With thou, I breed silkworm,
With thou, I weave fabric.

We’ll be husband and wife.
Will love together for evermore.
Will twist pink silk thread,
Will sing words of love.

I and thou will live,
Under a thatched cottage-roof.
With thin bamboos are gate,
With willow branches are blind.

Listen to me, My dear!
What benefit do thou cry?
Let us kiss last once,
Thou go back, I leave…

The girl who plucks apricot

In the afternoon a poet is wandering on the path
Passionately see green mountains on the distant horizon
In the sky is silent and clear
A girl who plucks apricot appears for a moment in the apricot-forest

Hey! Young girl who plucks somewhat ripe apricot
Don’t you go home yet? Your way is far
That sunligh of afternoon is going to set
Should you stay here with me to go home?

My house was next to the pine tree
That was half mile from Huong Son Grotto
There was the limpid stream to murmur
There was flowers on the banks to be fragrant

The girl who plucks apricot. Hey, the girl!
Why don’t you answer only a word to me
Silently you go from here and out of sight
In the apricot-forest wind blows light, apricot-leaves fall down…

Sonnet 073

Người thấy rõ trong ta vào mùa ấy
Khi lá vàng thưa thớt đậu trên cây
Cành trơ trụi lắc rung trong giá lạnh,
Vườn xưa chim vui hót tuyết phủ đầy.

Người thấy trong ta khi trời chạng vạng
Ở phía tây hoàng hôn đã nhạt màu,
Chỉ lát nữa đêm đen mang đi hết,
Đóng kín ngày đã chết suốt đêm thâu.

Người thấy trong ta lửa đời rực rỡ
Sót lại còn tro xám tuổi trẻ ta,
Khi trên giường sẽ là hơi thở cuối
Tiêu tan bao ước vọng những ngày qua.

Người hiểu điều này càng tha thiết
Yêu nồng nàn trước khi người vĩnh biệt.