Top 10 Best Poems by the Poet Đinh Hùng

We often had melancholic evenings,
By your side – oh sea of colors, fragrant forest!
You dazzled like a thousand morning flowers,
Here you are, like entering heaven itself.

In those moments, I observed you in awe,
Soul lost in those eyes like flowing nectar,
Oh eyes beyond the horizon! Oh mysterious eyes!
I saw my dreams unfold in those eyes.
I saw the shadow of a distant past,
The entire path sprouting when I walked,
The evening mist covering my way back,
Throughout the universe, suddenly filled with longing.

I trembled in fear, for love was destiny,
While your hand determined the fate to come.
For you, with magical powers so profound,
A strand of hair could enchant anyone.
I elevated you to the shrine of Feminine Beauty,
Silently admiring the delicate skin.
As you returned, your body infused with floral scent,
I lived, breathing the essence of purity.

Oh temptation! Even your icy hair,
Rippled with the essence of a poetic dream,
Floating petals in dreams that intoxicate,
Waking up, yet still immersed in the dream.

A drifting petal, blurring the dream,
Suddenly, hands hesitated to let go,
Creeping into the fabric's folds, a shy fragrance,
Sunlight warming the soles, heels shifting clouds.

Shoulders leaning close, endless sky,
Forests yearning, mountains recalling lip curves,
Autumn slipping into closed embraces,
Awkwardly gazing at each other through a lifetime...

Source: Đinh Hùng, Path into History, Nam Chi Publishing, 1961

Seated by your side in silent grace,
Flipping through letters from the past's embrace.
The dim lamp persists, pages chill and cold,
Autumn whispers, night rain tales unfold.

Close, yet your smile seems unfamiliar,
You arrive, an old companion rather.
The wind's persistent from those years ago,
Hearing the wind's soul, lost in the flow.

Stay still, my love - it's been a while,
Moments of reflection, as if in exile.
Gentle fingers trace thoughts like velvet butterflies,
Pale flowers in your hair, memories comprise.

The tiny lamp, mist blending with your face,
Cold from strands of loose, falling grace.
Shoulders bare, memories scent of powder,
Tilting in resentment, a leafy eye in bolder.

Eyes silently gaze from times long past,
Suddenly, green dress in remembrance cast.
Your silhouette in a fleeting moment surreal,
Sadness brushes eyelashes, raindrops unveil.

Each memory, each affection, each bowed head,
Shared tears streaming down, shoulders wed.
Yet, in the suspicious eyes, uncharted terrain,
The rhythm of love's breath, where has it lain?

More dew descends, let's bid farewell!
One last look at you, seeing you off, we dwell.
Will the melancholic rain freeze the autumn path?
- Here, a shawl for your shoulders, shield from the wrath.

Source: Đinh Hùng, Path to Love History, Nam Chi Publishers, 1961

Before meeting you, I believed
A maiden as lovely as the moon retrieved.
Eyes azure, wild coconut's shadow,
Gazing deeply at me, in silence bestowed.

The poem of serendipity in hand,
Oh, what dream surpasses this strand?
The scent of your powder, reminiscent of old summer,
Half like hope, half like a lover's slumber.

You arrive like clouds, without anticipation,
The fragrance of a thousand mountain winds stirs your lashes.
Thoughts concealed within the folds of your robe,
Long-awaited whispers - Speak, let's probe!

What haven do you desire for our dreams?
Wishes fulfilled, with moon and stars as it seems.
A tale of heart and mind: beneath the lily's sway,
Or the vague path: an alley of bamboo byway?

You won't find poetry just anywhere,
Sun within flowers, with the lake breeze to share.
Reserved for you alone. When love is free,
We'll journey to the scenes of antiquity.

Then, in our melancholy hours, you and I,
Gazing at each other, enough to forget life's sigh.
Shoulders touching under a roof of moonlight,
Happiness in the distance, smiling lips slight.

Musician Phạm Đình Chương drew inspiration from this piece, along with the poem 'Downstream Illusions' (also in the collection 'Path to Love History'), to compose the lyrics for the song 'Dream Beneath Blossoms.'

Source: Đinh Hùng, Path to Love History, Nam Chi Publishers, 1961

Oh, until when will you arrive, my love?
Perhaps following the phoenix's guiding light,
Spring trees linking arms in embrace,
Oh, which breeze gently kisses your hair?
Which strands should I wrap around my shoulders?
Which moon adorns your brows?

You leave a trace with your graceful steps,
A wandering bird, where do you go?
Which river mirrors our intertwined shadows?
Oh, sixteen-fold beauty still graces the mountains?
Clouds unite, passing over our heads,
Lifting souls to celestial spheres.

A thousand lifetimes still cherish,
The memories of moments shoulder to shoulder.
Oaths and the future inscribed in the wind and water,
Oh, flower of the celestial court,
Why does your light grace slender shoulders?
The vows I pen are etched into the clouds.

You, a spring dream lingering in the night,
Do you hear the melodious strings of fated love?
Guiding affection to the quay of serenity,
Oh, the moments nearing lips in past lives,
Hand in hand, receiving celestial melodies,
Transforming the mortal realm into paradise.

This poem was adapted into the song 'Phoenix Seeks Phoenix' by musician Châu Kỳ.

Bidding farewell at sunset in your eyes,
I wander the streets without lights,
Early autumn wind carries the essence,
Of that faint fragrance, a newfound delight.

Alongside the shadow of trees bending on the road,
Quietly, I express a feeling of love,
So many aspirations, so much hope,
Speaking all for a heart lightened from entanglements.

Here, on these paths, we will walk hand in hand,
The rhythm of steps, a fantasy of a celestial harp,
Releasing submerged confessions in the midnight,
Together we'll drift with the moonlit sea.

Each step flowing with the distant moonlit sea,
Piercing through a night still unknown in laughter,
A smile sent back to the autumn sky,
In which past life did you open your lips?

The past so green, like your eyes,
Oh, the hair that shivers every night,
Eyelashes like Khuê Các immersed in dew,
A myriad of stars faintly adorn a slender figure.

Memories lingering on the fingertips,
Moon rising with every pair of brows,
The elusive shadow of mythical flowers on your forehead,
Fragrance not yet inhaled, yet already dispersed.

Which sea hears the sorrows?
Which waves still carry solemn eyes?
Oh, my heart, when will hope speak?
Profoundly traversing oceans with a whisper of yours.

Gently stepping into dreamlike thoughts,
Fragrance of powder suddenly invokes affection,
Dew dampens a fragile garment of tears,
Stars fall, into scented hair.

I retreat from the world, wandering far away,
Mysteriously, why does the moonlight chill?
Tomorrow promises the blossoming of grass scent,
I will fall asleep intoxicated under the flowers.

Spring 1959

This poem was adapted into the song 'Fragrance of Powder' by musician Nguyễn Hiền.

Sources:
1. Đinh Hùng, Đường vào tình sử, Nam Chi xuất bản, 1961
2. Phạm Thanh, Thi nhân Việt Nam hiện đại (quyển hạ), NXB Xuân Thu tái bản, 1990

From continental strands to island grace,
You carry the enchantment of twenty springs,
Requesting the cosmos to link orbits in space,
For a lasting memory between our lips it clings.

I reserve that kiss for a lifetime's keep,
Anointing with fragrance, intoxicating skin,
Each pulse of blood conveys a pledge so deep,
Every smile sets a winged bird to spin.

And the mountainous realms awaken from slumber,
Conveying white clouds of sorrow to the plain,
Long sighs of wind traverse the land's number,
On the mesmerizing river, tears are a boat's rein.

You, enchanting, half spring, clad in purple gown,
The age of pink phoenix, ethereal yet real,
Give thanks for dreams, mystical renown,
Charting a long path in the human realm.

Those ambitions on the scent of your hair,
I preserve as an heirloom without a seal,
Tears crystallized into a jade affair,
Still sparkle, forming an image surreal.

Let ten divine fingers gather fire's might,
Upon the body of the past, a faded spring dress,
Oh, the garment woven by celestial sprite,
And the soul of the cosmos in musical finesse.

Your hair flows like a poem of purity,
Two hands unleash a flood of melodious tone,
In the night's dance, the heel glides gracefully,
Note imprints on white wings of a piano.

And the rhythm of your breath forms the atmosphere,
Restraining my soul from wandering astray,
Storms rise before the gaze of the star's sphere,
Sealing the future in the depths of love's array.

Oh, the fiery eyes burst with sun and moonlight,
Stars resentfully surge, tidal pulses of pain,
That chest contains the origin of lunar bright,
For the forest of heaven, blossoming in sorrow's rain.

Clouds change hues, wrapping around illusory feet,
I pray to return towards the azure sun,
From the subconscious, every departed silhouette,
Like ancient Earth embarks on a new run.

Silently I whisper: this belief is proclaimed,
This face awakens suddenly like the dawn,
We weep: seeing mountains and hills rejuvenated,
Spring's wild chaos takes every form.

May the azure dream sleep in jade palaces,
When the princess moon season's dreams go astray,
The seismic shift amidst emerald embraces,
Resounds distant, like a wounded heartbeat.

1966

The maiden rises midst spring's blooming,
Half the soul shrouded in the green hills.
Beyond nature blossoms a graceful maiden,
She loves me, enchanting with mystical love.
Oh, the secrets of the heart to reveal!
Has anyone explored the tales of the deep forest?
Surfing waves, crossing continents and woods,
Here we listen to the mournful cries of the gibbons.

Enchanting scenes bewilder the soul,
Stop, admire Beauty ascending in myriad forms.
Joy blooms in the fragrance of orchids,
Evening scents, dreams of the forest become dense.
We met by the sweet, refreshing stream,
Two solitary souls since ancient times:
She, contemplative, lit fires on long nights,
I, in lonely wanderings, sought a tribe.
She is the Everlasting Girl, unchanging:
Rounded breasts nurture life in the current spring.
I came here to master the wild, creating
With leaves and flowers, the Ancient Love.

That evening echoed with laughter and joy,
A red ripe fruit dangling on the branch.
We walked, silently admiring hills and green,
Footprints on the grass, marking a profound trail.
Oh! In the poetic sky, in peaceful nights,
Which bird resounds with the voice of earthly woes?
How many green autumns do cascading tears recall?
Longing stirs across the land, rivers bear tears.

She, a Nature's Girl beyond compare,
Around her, spring's arrival adorns her figure.
I stand entranced, gazing at the green hills,
Stepping on the grass, leaving imprints for eternity.

Amid the poetry-filled sky, in nights so kind,
Which bird laments with a resounding cry?
Through numerous autumns, tears flow ceaselessly,
Times far gone release the fragrance of the earth.
In her hands, I sway, intoxicated by the moment,
Clearly hearing warmth on the skin, the spring's breath.
Her chest rises high, breath gradually slows,
The scent of grass and leaves suddenly lingers in memory.
I raise my head, her eyes perennially sad,
Admiring flowers stirred beneath the mountain's source.
Shared sorrow, lost in thoughts with the endless moon,
On the mountainside, a golden deer gracefully moves.

Source:
1. Đinh Hùng, Mê hồn ca, Văn Uyển publication, 1968
2. Đinh Hùng, Mê hồn ca, Khai Trí Bookstore reissue, Saigon, 1970

When spring hair flows at the doorstep,
When sunlight blinks gently on eyelashes,
When boats carry dreams on a journey,
Dreams wander like a flock of seagulls.
Memories return, holding hands tenderly,
Fingers fragrant, golden, butterfly-like.
I will find you like seeking a planet,
As the Earth dissolves into virtual dreams.

On the road we tread,
Flowers bloom at the equator's face,
Fragrances bring both storms and calm,
Rainbows tilt with the flight of birds,
And the past sleeps in the jadeite lake,
In the eyes bright as moonlight guests.
Time passes on a long eyelash,
Autumn mountains mourn with doubled waves,
A strange river flows deep into confessions.

We come to listen to the melancholy of stars:
Sad stars through a cycle,
Galaxies about to part,
And stars fall, hands clasped in prayer.
Oh, the bright eyes of the old moon's promise,
Bid farewell to each other a thousand years ago.
I grasp the threads of fate, leading you back,
Watching fires burn castles by the sea.

Spread the boat, leaving the shore,
From the rosy night, set forth.
Our hearts are severed,
Divided,
By the frontier.
Blood flows horribly,
Awakening from a trance.
We enter the flower of Love History,
Your breath blending with the mist of poetic paths.
I read for you ancient scriptures,
From Egypt and Ancient Rome.
I write for you a small, tender poem,
A poem with the scent of chance.
Not grandiose names,
A simple, sleek curve,
Beautiful letters without embroidered insignias,
Graceful letters not waving flags.
A poem
With the sound of long sighs,
Dreamy rhythms swaying in the dream.
Mountains and rivers coil around each character,
Letters of love,
Letters of waiting.
Beautiful as
Your slender figure in the old evening.

I will find you, on the eve of the end,
When sorrows take flight far away,
When anger and intoxication, when all
Manifests into virtual dreams:
Teardrops of youthful flowers, the eternal duet,
And fragrances of love exchanged with grace,
Deep spaces delving into mysterious gazes,
And the hem of the dress suddenly turns into the sea.

Let's go, the spring changes its appearance,
We depart, the summer fades quickly.
The face of autumn fades in a moment,
We stop, suddenly winter withers away.

You sing delicately the Youth song,
Butterflies flutter in a musical note.
The melody wanders like a Hebrew soul,
The ocean sings, calling whose name?
The abundant sound of your voice crosses the Honghai,
The singing of a desperate mermaid.

We breathe the tropical warmth,
Hearing spring blossoming shivers on the shoulders.
There are dreams creeping into the past,
There are dreams traveling towards the future.
Did I meet you from ages past?
Endless waves of eyes,
Suspicion of the sea,
Mountains and hills gaze at us inclined.
Seems like a reunion
From a thousand eternities.
Am I awake or dreaming? This evening, the moon closes,
Eyelashes of sorrow,
Or the sunset of autumn?
Rain falls fast?

Oh you! The sunbeam curves, bending on a page
I, a lifelong fisherman,
Release a boat onto your melancholy hair,
Oh, the expanse of the Vast! Divine Expanse!
One minute, one second, look at me through a thousand lives!
Whispering grass turns into self-love songs,
Murmurs confused, hands of destiny.
I gaze at you as if admiring a planet.

Source: Đinh Hùng, The Path to Love History, Nam Chi publication, 1961

Life of mine

1
I let the Fragrance Source enter this body,
Soul like a vanishing phoenix far away.
Wandering through nine cycles of reincarnation,
Returning to meet a lover singing here,
Unaware that Spring's news is still illusory.
Yet, enchanted history begins to replace!
For I exchanged the dream's natural robe,
The Giao Dai girl only now knows how to be captivated.

2
The moon leaves me, the moon is illusory and mysterious!
How many strange seas remember the original?
My sorrow lingers throughout the vast water field,
Into the weekly expedition, the boat sinks again.
I sing to the sky throughout ages past,
Now, the melody of encounters remains silent.
Heavenly beings return to the rivers and mountains,
Who calls whose soul? Oh, do quyen flowers!

3
Free yourself, pursue the image,
Oh, soul! Don't be lost in U Minh land.
Who seeks me in the chaotic night?
Will we encounter Poetry and Music?
I invoke the divine, laughing at fate,
Here is a joyous word written into a scripture.
My life's flowers hear the divine dream,
Preserving the page of the beautiful sentiment.

Mythical history

4
The Golden Age has been restored,
I rejoice as the Tyrant King ascends the throne.
Seeking royal poetry, the spring flows with blood,
Dreaming of the figure of the palace's beauty, the country laughs.
Looking through the illusion, just seeing a Dream,
Good intentions hide in which joyous place?
Private sadness of an ancient moon's shadow,
How the Thái Hoà star falls upon people.

5
Go to the desert, the realm of Golden Poetry,
Enter the whirlwind battle, chaos and disorder.
A thousand flags of melancholy ghosts shake the earth,
Sing, oh the blood flow of the Peaceful King!
People depart, cutting across mountains,
I lose my border, lost in the Thai Duong.
Fill the ocean with legendary stories, forget the legends,
Return, dreaming of virtuous dreams.

6
I come to listen to the common destiny,
In the night, visit the tombs of heroes.
Lean towards the sky, the distant path appears,
Across the water, the image of a mermaid's palace.
Returning from a dream, the soul is lost to the nation,
Strange currents flow without anchoring shores.
Oh, people! Wake up, don't blame unjustly,
Lam's spirit rises to cover the nine layers.

Impermanence

7
Cruel, time urges the fishing net,
I, myself, dream lost in sorrow.
Lost in tender emotions, wild and foolish heart,
Faint, ethereal brightness, hair changing color.
Spring in a peaceful moment trembles in history's tears,
Through the night of feudal chaos, the world trembles.
Ancient people arrive, laughing in the grave,
Indifferent, I leave, seeking the moon in prayers.

8
Who stays intoxicated in the poetic profession?
Is that ageless moon the age of what?
Mountains and rivers rebuild the entire forbidden palace,
Madness, I enchant a town which?
Returning from a banquet, forgetting the dream,
Thank you, poetry, lacquer, sporty tao.
The sky's intention, written on a stone table,
Arranges the chessboard, testing low and high.

9
Read books for ten years to forget,
I, in the night of Hong Thuy, roam a boat.
Angry at the perfect sky, exploit treasures,
Hands roll the river, waves rise.
Farms have cooled their wild hearts,
Leaving me in the wilderness, lost in the Tai Duong.
Where is poetry? Says no words of love or hate,
Painting a sad face of people, a mad brush?

Rebirth

10
Our ancient tribe lost the ocean's note,
Sadly tilted inland, burning with rebellion.
In a sacred night, the soul is emotional,
I invoke the devilish mountain with a sound.
The prison gate of the river trembles with fire,
The moon enamored with the color of blood, chaotic clouds.
Primitive, the age has blossomed a dream,
Bowing my head, mystical, closing the spring dress.

11
The music mourns, the platform choked with songs,
The world changes shape, dreams harmonize.
Wind, moon, govern the melancholy spring color:
Try stepping in to see the Devil's palace!
Wear a solemn robe, still strange to being a lord,
Half joyously, crouch in a flower bed.
Oh, soul tears blurred in the human world,
Still a reincarnation, who waits for me?

12
The soul's essence is clear, the illusionary fragrance,
Confused owner's spirit in a strange paradise.
Ripples in the human image of imaginary colors,
Lost land rises with the age of the sun.
Wake up from a dream, the soul is lost to the country,
Weird currents rise, no shore.
Oh, people! Wake up, don't accuse unjustly,
Lam's energy rises to cover the nine layers.

Source:
1. Đinh Hùng, Mê hồn ca, Văn Uyển ấn hành, 1968
2. Đinh Hùng, Mê hồn ca, Nhà sách Khai Trí tái bản, Sài Gòn, 1970

Two souls lost in contemplation,
Telling tales of spring rains and summer sun,
Surely both hearts wandered far away,
Speaking but not truly hearing, as one

I gaze into those azure eyes so deep,
To see my own soul within the green,
A dream boat sways into a foreign land,
Oars guiding notes of music, delicate and serene

Oh, if only life could pause for a while,
For an hour, a moment, or an autumn season!
My heart transforms into a lost love butterfly,
Thin wings fluttering, lost in a dreamlike reason

I hear you speak in silent eloquence,
In the tilt of your head and the arch of your brow,
In the vastness of the tranquil evening,
Your smile sent with the autumn wind, gently now

Hair entwined with clouds, a dreamy shroud,
Sinking in the warmth of the sun's embrace,
Soul like smoke, dispersing in silk threads,
Awakening, still like a mesmerizing dream in space

Petals gently fall, blending with the dream,
Startled, my hand hesitates to leave yours,
Creeping into the folds of your dress, a shy fragrance,
Sunlight warming the soles, heels shifting clouds

Shoulders leaning near, vast sky touching sky,
Forest love, mountains longing hidden in the lips,
Autumn sneaks into the enclosed embrace,
Awkwardly gazing at each other for a lifetime...

Source: Đinh Hùng, The Path to Love History, Nam Chi publication, 1961