Top 10 Outstanding Poems by Poet Nguyen Van Chuong (Bac Ninh)

THE GATHERING

Poem by Nguyen Van Chuong

Stored in the blood of jealousy

We gather tonight at the Nga Hoang Assembly

Removing the entire village tonight

Cai Nuong and Cai Non bustling and lively

The drum beats, the gong resounds

The path of love is near and thirsty

Dark as if the eyes of God

Who else would lift the scales for what!

Drums and gongs are all sealed

The loose bag in front slips behind

Long arms and legs quickly flinch

Where the towel falls, the laughter disappears

Competing to like a tilted shoulder

Regardless of the disorder, regardless of the whisper

Flute makes mist - joy makes how

Surely the field and pond are fruitful

Surely the lake is full of shrimp and crabs

Surely... even Buddha on the old pagoda is drunk

Every house, every tile, what is this?

Once a year... tonight, turn off the lights!

Nga Hoang Village: Nga Village in Nôm,
Quế Võ District, Bac Ninh.

STILL FATE

Poem by Nguyen Van Chuong

My hometown, three months of festive spring

Wishing to swing together once, just a pair

Flower mats spread invitingly in the village

Fresh betel leaves are lively, lime is rosy

Don't divide between those in the north and those in the south

Choose a line, make friends, and don't want to leave

The young moon is like making a vow

Tender grass seems like a bewitching spell along the road

People of quan họ, guests of literature

Is the poem draped over the shirt carrying the charm of a boat?

The graceful girls, the gentle boys

Still fate, still singing: Love is like...

THE ROWING FESTIVAL

Poem by Nguyễn Văn Chương

Life is like ripe apples, still a bit sour

Thought it was scary, teeth gritting at the drum tower

Making the bamboo clumps lean gracefully

Clothes fluttering, skirts flirtatiously dancing with the wind

Do you want a fan? Well... here's an ivory fan!

Release poetic lines, swing your hands boldly

Painting meticulously the pillar, the beam

Couldn't paint meticulously the layer of rowing on her shoulders

Tonight is the only real night

Bat errors in rhythm, add more mistakes, oh dear

Hmm... a... want to tear down the fence

The festival dissolves like the yellow moon hasn't dissolved yet!

COCONUT INSPIRATION

Poem by Nguyễn Văn Chương

- Look at me, my silky dress

Lift the high waist to feel the smooth skin

How many steps is the coconut tree?

Round, taut fruit, drop them, oh me!

- Don't be shy, just drop them, sir!

Spring coconuts, white inside, green outside, still soft

Just a pair, don't pick more

Lift the dress to test, how about this girl...

- Linh La, you also know how to be thick

Love is love during the day if it happens...

(- Look at me, clever in the family

Competing to cling to the trunk or learning to climb?

Cool hands cultivate in the morning and afternoon

Counting the days of picking fruit, many days of sun and rain)

Step up a bit more for the fit

Okay, then I'll take you, no worries

Like jealous, the wind whispers

With spring. Youthful freshness spills into the painting.

VIEWING JEALOUSY PAINTINGS

Poem by Nguyễn Văn Chương

In life, it's just a common sight

A comedic scene, boiling with fervor and heat

- Unity? Will they ever share a spouse?

At this point, even with a cut... no injustice to be found

Not filthy - Some strive to enter

Others proudly flaunt their bosom, oh village!

The child brings a bottle for mother

For us to whittle away, apply it generously

- An old woman still craves sourness

Is this ordinary and must succumb to an old woman?

Disgusting, the itch is fierce

Now if she's good at cutting, let's see...

- Oh look, it's her mother - her aunt

The whole river is crowded... oh well, stop, stop...

War has broken out

It's not easy to end the night yet - defeated.

THROUGH THE TẤM TEMPLE

Poem by Nguyễn Văn Chương

Now, where is Cinderella heading?

Who will pick the betel leaves and prepare the areca?

Spiders smile on the doorstep

The moon stretches to create a soft connection

Now, where is Cinderella returning?

Shoes drop, lonely on the bridge railing

The green grass is more than enough

Hand plow selling moons has rusted long ago

Now, where does Cinderella know?

All the sacred mat has been exchanged for imprisoning cows

Those who plow the fields with bare hands

Do any cows get hurt during the day?

Now, where does Cinderella go?

Lan trees lean, young trees climb

People pass like drifting leaves

Dâu market has Thai goods, Keo market has Chinese goods

Now, where is Cinderella?

April eighth, Dâu festival, she doesn't return

Porn films play at Bồ Đề's door

T-shirts soar with cool dusty motorbike horns.

Now, where is Cinderella... searching?

NOSTALGIC MELODY OF MARCH

Poem by Nguyễn Văn Chương

Indeed, in this place

The village gate of the old days with ancient rice trees

The mound scratching in the March wind

Blooming flowers still look like hanging flames

March, innocent and poor

Chicken legs, bird eyes wrinkled, pitying the grandmother

Called it rice but only saw flowers

Beautiful, but beauty cannot fill a bowl

Entering the field, meeting fragrant grass

Fragrant, but the fragrance cannot fill any bowl!

Blaming the peach for its tangled hair

Earthworms, banh duc layer upon layer

Pity the old rice tree

Still bursting with clusters of pink flowers

Regret for the sweet grass in the field

Fragrant as ripe sugarcane in buried coal

Now, sweetness and bitterness, mouthful by mouthful

Where to find grandmother in the melancholy March...

TEARS FOR TEACHER TRƯƠNG NGỌC LIÊN

Poem: Nguyễn Văn Chương

(A poem arrives like an eternal decree.
Poem: Trương Ngọc Liên: Sea of East Storm).

Stirring the hidden grief
Embracing the heavy block of life
Countless sorrows and frustrations
Teacher aging fast, Oh, Teacher!
The students are no longer young
Tears flow in a torrent.

It will never cease
Remembering those thirty-five years
A group of rural students
In the early years when you taught

The one who sowed the seeds of dreams
The one who nurtured the green shoots
Will the dust ever be worthy
Of the pure spiritual realm.

You meet the students in difficult times
Still composed as always
When students seek you in trouble
Suddenly, it becomes a harsh confrontation.

Avoiding those Spring - red - haired ones
Disliking the third-party people
Teacher and students, like Mr. Thursday
In a daze as if lost at home.

Teacher has evidence of sleeplessness
Destiny like a storm
Sweeping away the tape of youth
Absent of complaints - the heart remains rosy.

Yearning to return to the Ghenh homeland
Teacher plants flowers and raises fish
In leisure, go to THUẬN THÀNH
Meet the old students for joy.

He who follows the path of poetry
Lingers in the common affection
But... why such haste?
In the blink of an eye, the realm of human life!

Astonished, seeking the Heavenly Inquiry
For the humble virtue of the reserved Teacher
Students orphaned, swallowing resentment
To remember and love endlessly.

P/s: Hanoi 1994.

Autumn Belongs to You

Poem by Nguyễn Văn Chương.

Do you know, little one, that autumn is here?
When the water of your gentle rivers flows
The sky seems to widen even more
Clouds scattered like soft cotton, resembling flowers.

Do you love autumn, little one?
When the breeze sweeps over the green fields
The storm subsides, fruits ripen on branches
The golden sugarcanes in the fields, the moon clear in the sky.

Oh, the fragrant autumn, little one!
When the drums invite your childhood
Countless books await you
To understand, dream, and brighten your heart.

Do you enjoy autumn, little one?
When lanterns light up, pulling the parade
Wearing lion and unicorn masks
Friends gather to dance around, laughter echoing.

Autumn belongs to you
Bamboo lanterns waving, the moon full. Autumn...

Mid-Autumn Festival 1981.

The poem was published in the collection: TO THE ONE I LOVE

GUIDING YOUR JOURNEY TO UNIVERSITY
Written by Nguyễn Văn Chương

Father's health is no longer robust
Be a good child, life will teach wisdom
The challenges of life are imminent
No one can bear them for you.

Well aware that times have changed
What to eat, what to wear, what vehicle to choose
Money for rent, electricity, water
Who will listen if you complain about buying books?

Father earns money in the rice field
Don't run for grades, run with knowledge
Three countries' flags must salute the general
Will Father be content, my child?

A hundred universities in the country
Tens of thousands enter each year
My child, don't forget your roots
Compete but maintain your noble character.

If something is broken, repair it
It's easier to fix things than people
In our small home with few possessions
Father's heart is filled with worry.