At the request of some friends, I have translated the poem written originally in French into English. Enjoy!
Princess of my Poetry
Princess of my Poetry, I miss you so
A dear darling, you love me softly
In silence and with such sweet words
You throw at me looks which make me crazy
Goddess of my heart, oh dear darling
Your heartbeats make my heart beat
You are the Muse, the source of my poetry
My lips still remember yours, sweet
Princess of my poetry, I love you very much
Where are you now my little honey pie?
You are called the Perfumed River
Virgin of a love not yet consumed
Goddess of my poetry, you are called Love
You who are called this and that
Soft is your skin as of silk
And sweet are your words of honey
Princess of my poetry, source of my nostalgia
You are the cradle of my childhood, my country
You are the flame of my heart, my Love
Listen well, my Muse, I am waiting for your return
Nguyen Do
I Have Written The Forbidden Words
I have written the words that I couldn't say face to face
I have seen you, looked into your eyes day by day
We were like a brother and sister
We were children that grew up together since kindergardeners
Sharing our most secret words and worlds
But we never said a word about our love for each other
For fear of being ridiculous, we are one in two bodies, male and female
Thinking alike, acting like friends, not as lovers
You have gone out with boyfriends and talked to me about it
I laughed and cried with you, not at you
But deep inside my heart
I cannot let it go
Because I love you
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Not So Trendy Love
A long, long, a very long time ago
The time to the future is so slow
But the time to the past was so fast
Why didn't our love, darling, last?
I have never blamed you nor me
Our love was not trendy
It rooted in the past
It will project into the future
But for the present
It is only in our dreams
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Portrait of My Love
In my mind, I draw endlessly
The portrait of my love, my charming love
With the oval face, with rosy round cheeks
With the beautiful hair as loose as the cloud
What are you smiling for with your inviting lips
What secrets are you keeping, why don't you share?
Why do you only say oh you, oh you all the time?
I am dying of hearing it, let me hear what are you leading to!
I've promised that I won't woo you with charming words
But my heart is full of the love for you that refuses to stay still
My love for you, my deep love for you
Is like the running stream, like the rain, like the sunshine
How can I keep it secret, my silent love
It is not wise to talk, but it's even more painful to not talk about it
The yearning for you kept inside grows
Grows into a endless river of romantic love
Nguyen Do
Oct 1st, 2005
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
You, the Guiding North Star
Believe honestly in ourselves, about it there is no doubt
But who knows for sure our fates
There are so many broken loves around spreading doubt
So it's best keep in our hearts only one true love
I know that love has many dimensions
The depth, the width, the length... thousands of ways
So much has been written, yet there is so much more
Avoid the ordinary trap to enjoy the flight, my love bird
Can you define the true meaning of love
Explain things in life like a true friend?
Who knows in the future
The sky, the cloud, the river and the sea may still have the traces of our love!
True love, dear, consists not only with words
But with actions, not merely by saying it
It's easy to woo, but it's more difficult to do
Don't be just a talker, be the doer!
Are you my North Star guiding my boat while at sea
In the night of darkness with stormy waves
To the right direction to reach its destination
To rest and forget the hardship and the long voyage of infinite miles?
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Why Are You So Mute?
"At the office, I work so hard
In church, I shine like a star
I am so admired near and far
Life is fun, and I am so cute
At home, spare me off little things because I am in command
Life at home is so boring, why are you so mute?"
O woman of today, the smell of success
O woman of future, the attraction of glory
Man feels less and less
What's there to tell but a story
There was once a young girl that I cherished,
a young lady that I loved,
an intimate friend that I shared everything,
but now she has become a rival, an enemy, a complete stranger
What's there to say, what's there to share
Knowing that you don't care
And you ask why I am so mute
When all you care that you are cute!
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Lotus Flowers
Lotus flowers are blooming in the quiet pond
A feast of colors that I have ever seen
A sight of joy in the lake of green
White are here, pink there, and purple beyond
Should I tell you all about water lily?
They reign as humble queens in my homeland
Once you see our lakes and ponds you will understand
How the lotus flowers are as close to me as my family
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Peonies in Full Bloom
My heart is still full of warmth and ardor
But why yours is so cold?
The peonies at home are still fresh and in full bloom
But you are looking for roses elsewhere.
Flowers in May are radiant
But my spirit is wasted away
If our love is broken
My heart will no longer exist
This morning I goes outside
Peonies are blossoming in our front yard
What should we say to our families?
That we break up our bonds this life?
Men are strange
Looking for more even when they are full
Little one, still inside my womb
Don't be a boy, my child!
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
I'll Be A Dumb, A Blind, and A Deaf
I'll be a dumb, a blind and a deaf
To get used to the darkness of solitude
To hear not the groundless blames
Nor to see the regard of contempt and scorn
There were so many times I spoke true words
From the bottom of my heart and you said words of lie
Words of cordiality, and you said words of vulgarity
Words of style, and you said words of insincerity
I can prepare you a banquet of words
But enough is enough, I choose to be deaf, blind, and dumb
I keep my silence, even though you accuse me of wrong-doings
I won't protest, I won't listen to nor hear your accusations
Yes, I will say goodbye to all
To our relatives, to our friends, to the world of poetry and literature
The banquet is not over, but my pocket is burnt
I have gone bankrupt in the chess game of love
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Old Romance
Once romantic, forever romantic
A poem, a letter, exchanged
A smile, a pouting hidden deeply
A thousand of questions in our regards
Loved and loving, only kept in our hearts
It's because, my love, you're married
Too late for us, our dreams unfullfilled
Love in our hearts, love in our memories
Why you, people of Hue, are so romantic?
Just for writing poetry, do you like only to write poetry?
Wy didn't you tell me that you loved me? I would have waited!
"It's too late, please don't stir up old memories!"
You said softly as to urge me:
"Forget me, we missed our chance, long ago!"
A day I walked in my white robe under the coconut trees
Forget me please, brother from An Cuu!"
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Hope
Inspired by the George Frederick Watts' painting, Hope .
The woman, inclining on the globe
In torn vestment, looking miserable
Blind eyes, who would guide her to the right directions
Holding a harp with only one string
She fingered the string with heartening notes,
Now slightly intoxicated, now warm, now passionate
As a one cord guitar delivering through the endless music
Thousand of private thought felt in the melody
A hope left is still a hope of sowing happiness
Still a hope of going up, of struggling for the future
Still a hope of understanding, a hope for working toward tomorrow
For hope is the motivation for advance
Let's hope, let's believe in ourselves to build a new life
Despite failures or bad judgments in the past or in the present
Let's hope, let's struggle, don't hesitate
For hope is the mother of success, my friend
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Birds of Paradise
Birds of paradise with the shining orange color
Perching over there in the green branches and leaves
A lady reached out with her ivory arm
To touch, to catch, to invite the birds to land
In awe I watched the flowers in the vase
Precious, rare flowers blooming radiantly
The lady standing nearby smiled beautifully
Such a view gave me a complete happiness
The park with birds of paradise became our rendez-vous place
All of a sudden, like a miracle in coincidence
You - Flower - and I entered in the world of poetry
As the sunlight danced in concert with the universe
I looked at you long, but ever enough
Half of my soul or all the whole of my soul
A first meeting by chance, our hearts with fast rythms
Seemed to fly off, to hover like the birds of paradise
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Presents Sent to You
I send you the sunshine
Of Spring morning, of Summer afternoon
To redden your cheeks, to tan your skin
To warm your heart despite the cruelties of life
I send you a space of my sky
The tireless clouds that float freely
The immense whiteness as a river of snow
Let your heart fly as the autumn leaves
I send you drops of morning dew
Shining on the top of the grass along the road
On the smiling flowers displaying their beauties
Radiating in the parks lovingly
I send you, my love, the smiles
The brilliant hopes of a beautiful day
Drops of dew scintillating as a thousand stars
Please hold fast to your wonderful dreams
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
A Night At The Vietnam Memorial Wall
The American soldier in his old and faded uniform
Coming back to the Black Granite Wall each year
Touched the name of his old buddy
Who was killed during a night a long time ago
He bended his head, drawing out each of many memories
He told me that this person had given a haircut
That cost two dollars, but he had just one
That he promised to pay one more the next day, that his friend got killed that night
The bullet had killed his dear army buddy
And he got hurt, left the field, and returned home
It seemed that he had already lead a normal life for many years
Yet the hurt and this missing of his old army friends were still there
Each year he made the pilgrimage of thousand miles
A bouquet, a dollar bill left at the Wall
The regret, the comraderie surrounding him
And the long and long Wall stood forever tall
I silently watched him in the straight position
A old soldier, an old ally of the South Vietnam
Looking at the names, at the wall, murmuring
Promising to come back to see his army buddies
Street and park lamps lighted each night
Showed ways to all the friends of many years ago
To come back on dry or rainy night
I had a feeling of the presence of army march
Nguyen Do
Washington, D.C 4/2002
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Is Life Just A Passing Dream?
Let me sleep a long sleep without ever waking up
For life is just a quick passing dream
When I wake up, my hair will be spotted with gray
Where are dreams, where are realities?
Knowing that on this Earth, nothing is forever
Why do we bother ourselves with mud and confusion?
What do they serve, fame and money
We all will end up turning into dust
Let me see a genuine love
For humanity is a true salvation of mankind
Even in war, hope will be abundant
For there are people who sacrifice for others, risking their own lives.
Yes, all is just a dream
A candid dream in peace time as well as in war time
Our bodies are temples of God, where He resides
Transform them, renew them, make them worthy
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
Words Not Spoken Yet
Sometimes the words not spoken yet
Mean more than what you say
Like today
When we first met
A world was all new to me
Mark my words
Cross my heart
The cadence of unspoken words finds its own home in an unknown territory
Nguyen Do
Copyright (c) Nguyen Do
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