Best 12 Poems by poet Pham Tien Duat

Remember

Words from a soldier driving

The scarlet wound rushing to the hospital
Rows still waiting, the sound of the sirens
Lying on my back, remembering the moon, lying on my side, remembering the pier
Anxious, getting up, remembering the burdened back.

1969

The Crossroads Pass

Enemy artillery aims and fires every night
The pass remains intact, lying with the echoing sea
Houses like falling leaves on the slope
Rivers and streams flow down the pass.

The road aims south,

People aim south,
Shells aim south, conquering the slope.

So many poets wrote about The Crossroads Pass
But forgot the pass running along.

The Flame of Light

I. Light

You and I cross the bridge together
Where peaceful countryside stretches
And lamps illuminate between the leaves' gaps
The red ripe fruit and the chili, like a signal lamp
Pointing the way to summer,
The tomato resembling a small lantern
Lighting the winter nights warmly,
The chili like an oil lamp's flame
Touches the tongue, leaving a warm sensation...
The pulse of our rich land
Makes every branch glow for the homeland
They come from beyond the sea
Flying like wandering ghosts
From seven hundred meters above
Seeing the matchstick's light on human faces
One thousand meters from the sky
Seeing the tiny oil lamp's glow
Eight thousand meters
Witnessing the radiant flame of a lamp
Yet, do we really need distances high and low?
They rush down to a place
Flaming light,
The wind blows, extinguishing the lamps, bombs fall, and blood flows.
Every night in the country
Shines with these lamps
Taking fire from a thousand years ago,
From the primitive age,
Preserved through generations
Buried in the ashes of our home.
Oh, the flame of light
Half of our lives are in it!
Enemy wants to steal it
Enemy wants to steal the light in our hearts

II. Extinguish the Light

You and I cross the bridge together
Where peaceful countryside stretches
Where lights go out every night, making the vast land too wide
Nothing can be seen
Darkness covers it all
Bamboo does its charm with the wind blowing
The girl does her charm with her voice
The flower does its charm with the fragrance wafting...
Darkness thickens
Covering the eyes of the enemy
Where lights go out is where the clanking of chains resounds
Pulling cannons to the high field
The sound of the battalion commander is where?
That's the tail of the gun
The sound of English echoes uniformly
Where it sounds, there's the center of the map
Where lights go out is where tire tracks show
Numerous convoys seem never-ending
The rear one follows the front with a steady pace
Like a group of playful children
This one follows the breath of the other.

Where lights go out is where singing echoes
Youth volunteers break rocks to fix roads;
Even with the smell of bomb craters nearby
The fragrance of citronella leaves still drifts
During dark nights on the road
Hearing footsteps near and far, rough and crisp
The sound of vanguard units advancing
Through the eye sockets, black shadows overflow
From the bottom of bomb craters, deep and haunting
Darkness fills the vastness,
Becoming black curtains concealing campaign fetuses
The night in Vietnam
Is the darkness between two acts
Containing numerous significant changes,

Darkness covers, and nothing can be seen
Just go, just go, listen to many unfamiliar sounds.

III. Light the Lamp

You and I cross the bridge together
Where peaceful countryside stretches
Where the mad enemy bombards relentlessly
The lights still keep shining
The lamp enters the bamboo tube
For poetry to study at night,
The lamp goes into the mountain's left side
For the factory to work endlessly,
The lamp enters to shine on the blanket
For the young troops reading letters

We light the lamp on top of the mountain
Calling the enemy to bring bombs
To make rocks fall and roll
To use rocks to build bridges, to use rocks to fix the railway
We turn on the car's headlights in a flash of gunfire
Then turn them off and turn the car
Attacking the enemy, then we drive again...
Tomorrow, tomorrow, the victory is complete
You hold my hand, the sky is twinkling with stars
'Light the lamp, and we will play with the moon on the doorstep'
We light lanterns, even five-winged star lanterns
We guide each other to the house of shimmering lights
There, it's our wedding chamber

We will make the lamp with the army look beautiful
Portraying images of people and scenes today
For those marching campaigns still in the dark
Will appear forever on the rotating lamp's face.

1967

Author's Note: At the end of 1966 in the Northwest, I (PTD) was a mortar gunner (24th battalion under Military Region). Yet, even so, I made a mistake in writing. When writing, I got too absorbed, and the writing got confused. It's about this line, 'The sound of English echoes uniformly like counting rice pounding.' These lines already show that the mortar here is a low-range mortar. At night, how could you use the range finder with the naked eye? But well, no corrections. Life is bound to have scars.

Source: Phạm Tiến Duật's Poetry, Writers' Association Publishing House, 2007

Fragrance of Đức Phổ Incense

The fragrance of incense floats over the homeland
Dang Thuy Tram rests in this place
I wish, even in imagination
To lift your hair forever at the age of twenty

Oh! Dang Thuy Tram, Dang Thuy Tram
You are the fragrant incense in the blessed land of Đức Phổ
Even in the rain of falling bombs, you still shine brightly
The face of the doctor is graceful

These lines are written from where you lie
Telling everyone to light up the faith
For a thousand years, age after age, at the age of twenty
Carrying the heart of Dang Thuy Tram and the love of the country

From Đức Phổ, where the footsteps of many have gone before
The fragrance of incense flies, sweetening the blue sky.

According to the article “An unpublished poem by poet Pham Tien Duat” (Van Nghe Cong An Newspaper, August 19, 2013), this poem was written by Pham Tien Duat around June 2017, before knowing about his illness and passing away. It was given to musician Le Gia Hieu to compose music for performance in a program singing about Dang Thuy Tram on the occasion of Quang Ngai province completing a hospital named after her in Duc Pho district. The song with the same name was broadcasted on the Voice of Vietnam Radio in the days that followed.

Source: Le Gia Hieu, “An unpublished poem by poet Pham Tien Duat”, Van Nghe Cong An Newspaper, August 19, 2013

Melody of Youth

There will come a time when we return old
But until then, let's enjoy, now we are young and bored
Imitating the posture of the old is not difficult
When old, wanting to be young, is challenging

When young, going to the sea is easier than when old going to a pond
In youth, we wade through forests easier than in old age wandering in gardens with weary knees
With youth, there is no night called dark
Rain is our friend, and so is the sun

We plow the land under the glaring light
Sow seeds along the path of the sky for crops to grow
Smile at the fishing rod, we lift the winch
With weights, we weigh, and with a ruler, we measure

But when we take a moment to count, it's time
Love, ready in us, restless, who knows for how long
Our bodies are towering mansions
Light resides within, and the song overflows

We wish to be the roots, we wish to be the tree
Where we lean, the trunk and branches are sturdy
Old age joyously accompanies us, making us young again
Children look at our vigor and grow up

But there is one thing, friends, please don't forget
This very melody of youth, the elders have sung
As I hum it again, suddenly, my heart surges
So, let's sing the age in our very hands

1978

Source: Tien Phong Newspaper, dated January 30, 1979

You are the Sunbeam

Born together with the sun

You are the sunbeam in my life

Half of my life is not tranquil

Red fire circles, green skin in the feverish jungle

In the rainy season, do you know?

Endless rain for six consecutive months

Foxes roam in the sparse forest

Commandos walk remembering... the sky at noon.

Born together with the sun

You are the sunbeam in my life

The long road sometimes has obstacles

Without you, I raise the child alone

What suffering is greater than the loneliness

Yet you remain a handbreadth of self-pink

Who knows the time of bare hands

Yet the face remains rosy, the essence of youth.

The era of hardship has passed

Far, yet suddenly feels close, oh my dear

Born together with the sun

You are the sunbeam in our lives.

Spring 2007

This poem was written in the inspiration of the new spring, among the last poems the author wrote but hadn't published before his passing.

Source: Le Thi Thanh Binh, “Poet Pham Tien Duat: The Last Poems”, An Ninh The Gioi Newspaper, December 2, 2008

One Hour and Ten Minutes

Every hour takes a rest of ten minutes
In this morning's foot march
You suddenly remember, I know, you attend class every day
Every hour takes a rest of ten minutes

Not everything repeats itself
Amidst heroic years and changes
You, mine, life surrounds us
Not everything repeats itself

When you sit, thinking of me, on a deep Sunday
I'm trudging through mud, in the jungle full of leeches
When you sit with students, that's the moment
I'm on a mountain pass, wind blowing wildly

Silver cigarette wrappers fill the room
While you cut flowers for students to dance
That's when I go to places where bombs explode
Iron or aluminum, exposed in the forest

The blackboard you draw curves on
The night board, I mark the path of bullets
White chalk lines and bright burning copper spots
At both ends of the battlefield, my love

They don't repeat in the vastness of life
But there's something hidden, a private secret
Every hour takes a rest of ten minutes
Has the school bell rung yet?

Ten minutes for everyone or ten minutes for oneself
Yet when we think of each other, we think of the country
The day of victory is approaching
What love doesn't think of tomorrow?

Like two wheels, the present and the future
Roll swiftly forward
Exciting moments after ten minutes
Time flows like a long shooting star

Source: At Both Ends of the Mountain (poetry), Pham Tien Duat, New Literature Publishing House, 1981

Listening to Her Sing in the Forest

Hearing her sing, I can't help but laugh

The rhythm and beats seem a bit off

Sweat soaks her forehead in a pool

I, along with others, nod in praise.

The ancient forest whispers in eerie delight

Soldiers gaze, captivated by her

Muddy helmets, worn-out uniforms

Her laughter sparkles with a certain brilliance

Perhaps it's her beautiful face

That makes the melody wander, lost

Then memory returns, sharp as fire

Many hidden voices echo from afar.

In the midst of a land parched and arid

She arrives like a river brimming with water

Within tunnels filled with cigarette smoke

Her singing flows like a swaying net

Soldiers listen, enchanted by her song

Tomorrow and the day after, endless tales

Amidst stories with no beginning or end

So many hearts recall her.

The song circles through the night

Tomorrow, soldiers will climb to the heights again

The battle still continues

She moves on, opening the forest's hidden chambers.

The song echoes through months and years

Where is there no need for song?

But amidst the battlefield, sometimes, instead of music

Are souls with music within.

A colorful song and a rosy face

The song has faded, forgotten

Hearts aflame, no need for fire

Her song in the forest flies far, far away.