Top 20 Beautiful Poems by Poet Trần Thanh Nhàn

REMEMBERING MOTHER

Remembering mother under the April sky so green

As the pink lilies bloom high and pure

The sun is scorching, passionate, aching

Longing for the gentle days of childhood.

When weary, I want to return to my mother’s side

Quietly resting my head in her loving embrace

My hair marked with the dust of the road

With strands of black and white intertwined.

Mother is brewing familiar soapnut in the sun

Gathering wild betel grass and fresh balm leaves

The yellow-brown pot of water makes me reflect

I bury my face in it, feeling a sting in my eyes.

I gaze into the clear well water

And see my fractured face, my incomplete smile

A face etched with life’s wrinkles

With dreams that remain unfinished.

I want to be the child, unsure of every step

So that when I stumble, I have mother’s hand to lift me up

I still want to be pampered and loved

Though I’ve crossed many turbulent paths...

Remembering mother, I softly hum a song:

Mother, I love you!

HCM, 20th April 2019

DOUBLE APRIL

I fold April in half

Neatly tucking it into the chest of my memories

Hiding my sadness deep within my heart

For one lie made me believe in something false.

April arrives, with the confusion of a glance

Soft and white like the lilies beginning to bloom

The sun shines so brightly, teasing my longing

And I smile, shining from the promise you just gave.

Halfway through April, the winds still sing loudly

The first rain of the season rushes by in haste

The old tamarind tree sheds its leaves

The familiar path is now covered with wet yellow leaves.

Alone, I walk through the wide city streets

April ponders as it bids farewell to spring and welcomes summer

I ponder, bidding you farewell as you go far away

South, do you still remember the changing of the seasons?

April returns to Saigon, thirsting for rain

Like the blue sky thirsting for white clouds

Like my love thirsting for a song to be sung

Even if it’s just a word whispered on the tip of the tongue.

There’s a longing that suddenly feels so distant

When the pink lilies burst into bloom

When the lilies play their unfinished tune

I still wait for that lie to make me believe!

HCM, 17th April 2019

WISH TO BE A SUMMER LOTUS

Halfway through life’s journey

I’ve tasted every bitter and sweet

But happiness remains in quiet moments

Earned through hardship and struggle.

I’ve passed through countless seasons of flowers

I wish to be a lotus of the summer

Facing the thunder, urging me forward

Rising from the mud with dignity.

My round bud doesn’t flaunt itself

It forms like the Buddha’s gentle hand

Born from the earth’s mud

Absorbing the essence of the heavens and earth.

The lotus may not shine brightly

But it radiates quietly in the sun

White and pink petals open softly

Releasing a sweet fragrance into the air.

Whenever my heart grows weary

I remember the summer lotus

To let go of all burdens

And sink quietly into the muddy depths!

HCM 15th April 2019

RESTING ON YOUR SHOULDER

I’m so tired!

The road of life has many twists

One misstep and I’m lost in confusion

Through so many hardships, so much clutter

The road is long, but my steps must not rush

I fear I might go astray...

What I need is a shoulder to lean on

To rest when I am weary

To feel that life is so peaceful

When I’m with you, or even when alone.

My dreams are so close, they’re no longer far away

Leaning on your shoulder, I watch our children grow

They’re well-behaved, even more beautiful than I imagined

Happiness fills the air, outweighing all worries.

Leaning on your shoulder, we face every challenge

No matter how rough the road, we walk together

The journey ahead is long

But if we take it slow, we’ll find our rhythm.

HCM 9th April 2019

THIS MORNING

This morning, the sky poured rain

The world was as clear as the color of your eyes

This morning, the sky seemed to sulk with jealousy

Leaving us confused, forgetting our promises

This morning, I called for April’s return

The white trumpet flowers bloomed, captivating my gaze

This morning, your cheeks flushed with beauty

Your smile soft, just like when we first fell in love

This morning, the tamarind leaves fell in abundance

Your steps gentle, like the autumn’s quiet evening

This morning, I heard the cooing of birds

The golden light of the early sun, awaiting summer’s joyful song

This morning, I remembered the mornings of March

Remembering our vows, our paths forever intertwined!

HCM, 7th April 2019

The Girl Selling Lilies

April is coming with white lilies

Delicate and graceful, like a misty breeze

The scent lingering, filling every street

The season of love waits right before us.

I saw the girl selling flowers, her face covered

Worn clothes, a conical hat, carrying bunches of lilies

My heart raced, though she passed in a moment

Before this girl with simple beauty and expressive eyes.

April comes, and my heart is confused

Before these pure, white flowers

The buds look like your lips when you smile

So gentle! The girl selling white lilies!

You and the flowers both shine brightly in the sun

In April’s sky, I only see you

Oh, girl I just met at the flower stand

Let’s be friends! I’m already falling for you!

HCM, 13th March 2019

MARCH MEMORIES

You were so beautiful, March, full of nostalgia!

Stepping out, the streets were filled with floral scents

Memories of the subtle fragrance of pomelo flowers floating afar

Pure white, like a time when we were young and naïve

Hiding in my hands a bunch of flowers I picked

Regretting why I didn’t give them to you!

March comes, calling the winds to stir

I bring sunshine and wait at the doorstep

Ban flowers bloom like deep, longing eyes

I meet you and get flustered, turning away

My heart keeps thumping, whispering softly

How fragile, yet so deeply engraved in my mind?

I remember this season when the flowers bloomed lightly

When I saw you, it felt like a dew drop

Clear and pure, like the girl I secretly adored

I couldn’t touch you, afraid my heart would melt

I couldn’t hold on, afraid to feel regret

So my soul was left covered in falling snow

Snowfall in the spring! Oh, my dear!

HCM, 11th March 2019

The Leaf

If you were a leaf

When it was green and full of life

Clinging tightly to the branch

Just like how our love holds on so strong.

If you were a leaf

When it turned yellow and withered

Would you feel lost and afraid

Afraid of being separated forever?

One day, the tree weakens

Even green leaves wilt and die

Would your love turn foolish?

Is it true devotion or blind faith?

In love, you forget time

Until the leaves fade and fall

The leaf drops one morning

And the tree replaces it with a new one!

HCM, 26th February 2019

The New Year is Coming!

Mom, what does the New Year mean?

Why is everyone in such a hurry?

Why does everyone seem so frantic

Just like you, Mom!

Mom, what does the New Year mean?

When both sides of the streets

Are filled with vibrant flowers

Red, brown, purple, and orange

The sky stretches wide, so vast

The golden sunlight flows like honey

The apricot blossoms awaken

Spreading their petals gently in the breeze.

Mom, what does New Year look like at our house?

What do we have, Mom?

Our house is clean and orderly

Everything neat and tidy.

Dad is still working

Mom is still at the market

The flowers in the garden are blooming

I can feel Spring has arrived!...

Spring is here!

The little boy with big round eyes

Be good and kind

Listen to your parents

Get along well with your friends

Then every day will be New Year’s Day!

HCM, 30th January 2019

The Old New Year

The last days of the year

The mustard flowers bloom yellow

Dreamy

Waiting for the New Year!

I remember the smell of kitchen smoke

Boiling sticky rice cakes

My mother’s face red and glowing

Dry and cracked!

The spring breeze gently blows

Teasing the strands of hair

Around here

The scent of leaves, fresh and fragrant.

Your dress stained with ink

The wind blowing through

Mom stays up late, sewing and stitching

Making me a new outfit

The children eagerly wait

Dad is roasting crispy firecrackers

At midnight, the sound of firecrackers fills the air

The red glow in the yard brings luck.

Mom carefully reminds us

On the first day of the New Year

Not to visit other houses

So we don’t bring bad luck!

The peach blossom branches from Nhat Tan bloom

The delicate pink petals

Call for the warm spring to return

Bringing back my childhood memories

The Old New Year!

HCM, 8th January 2019

The Girl Born in May

I am just the girl born in May
The sun is warm enough to soothe your heart
The wind is soft enough to cool our love
Just enough clouds to guide us to paradise

In May, the jacaranda blooms in shades of purple
The afternoon rains don’t dull the color of falling petals
The delicate, charming flowers gently allure
Quietly showing their beauty to the world!

In May, do you feel a little lost?
Sitting, counting the years on your delicate fingers
The years rush by, too quickly
Leaving behind the traces of a smile

Like a bee sipping the sweet nectar of the earth and sky
May is full of bright, dazzling colors
The cicadas still sing, the phoenix flowers are redder
It’s still just me, with all this passion

I am just the girl born in May!...

HCM, 13th May 2019

Happiness

What is happiness? I can’t quite understand

I keep searching for it in places far away

Thinking that as time passes by

I will find happiness at the end of the road!

But in reality

Happiness is all around us

So close, like a breath of air

It’s the cheerful faces

Of the kids when they get high marks,

The lively chatter

After a joyful family dinner

Sharing stories, both sad and happy, after a tiring day,

It’s the morning

Stepping out into the garden to inhale the morning dew

The little dogs following my every step

I hesitate...

Picking the little pink rosebud

Sweat on my brow...

Cleaning the house...

I once thought happiness had to be grand

It had to be a tall house, closed gates, a luxury car

Silence in the house

The watchdog glaring at you

In the morning, everyone rushing to leave

Forgetting a simple, friendly greeting

A late excuse?!...

I no longer wait

For such grand happiness!

TTN, November 9, 2018

Try

Try once to close your eyes

As time gently slips by

In the vastness of the world

Peace smiles, confidently.

Try once to hold back

Anger will soften

Close your eyes softly

And love will return to you!

Try once to walk away

Who will search for you?

Life is full of struggles

Who waits at the end of the road?

Try once to hope

Walk over the stones ahead

Will they bloom into flowers

Named HAPPINESS?

TTN, November 15, 2018

Crow's Feet

I look in the mirror and count

One, two, three, four, five...

The crow's feet

Etched at the corners of my eyes

Surprising the gaze!

I stand alone

Thinking deeply

The path I have walked

With tears

And pain

And together

We looked in one direction

There were times when I thought

We could never overcome

The storms...

But life

Does not betray the persistent

Peace comes after the storm

And a rainbow appears!

I justify the crow's feet

As marks of seeking

A warm family!

TTN, November 17, 2018

Six-Eight of March

I walk through the old path to your house

Suddenly, memories flood of when we first met

Spring rain dampens my hair

The grapefruit flowers bloom pure and white

The fragrance fills the air, blending with the earth

A gentle breeze sweeps through the flowering street

In the midday sun, shadows stretch lazily

Your graceful form blends with the colors of spring

And I stand there, hesitant

Unable to move, my lips silent

The grapefruit flowers smile gently

That young man is lost in memories

Still walking the same road

Following the same silhouette, under the March sky

The day you wore your wedding dress, the bridal car

The old path is still there, but you are gone

The white grapefruit flowers fall

The spring rain brings melancholy, and the sky feels heavy with sadness.

HCM, February 20, 2019

TALKING TO MY CHILD

Hey, stop looking at the screen

The world outside is far more exciting than your virtual one

Run out to the field, kick the ball around

Laugh and play with your friends in the sun.

There’s so much more to explore outside

Wander in the midday heat

The sun beats down, but the sky gives shade

Our darkened skin, we chase grasshoppers together.

The noise outside is endless

The schoolyard hums with the sound of cicadas

The flame tree stands tall, quietly remembering

The children, so innocent, like blank pages.

Put down your book, smile in the sun

Go to the countryside, fish, fly a kite

The scent of dry hay mixes with the evening smoke

Bamboo trees cast shadows on the purple evening sky.

There’s still so much you haven’t seen

It’s not as tiny as that lifeless screen

Life is a journey to be experienced

Start by exploring what’s closest to you!

HCM, April 28, 2019

MY CHAU

Why must I forgive

Every time you make a mistake?

Is loving you a crime?

When my heart leads the way!

I am not Mỵ Châu

Blindly devoted, but not foolish

Loving without counting the days or months

As my blood sinks deep into the ocean.

I vow to stay by your side

Flying like a white goose across the sky

The dreams we wove are no longer real

Are there any threads left to hold onto?

We still walk the same path

Your horse's hooves lead the way

At the end, I wait for you

But this is not paradise!

The sea reflects the fading moonlight

The jade of Mỵ Châu gleams brightly

You stand silently in the wind

Leaving behind a broken vow!

HCM 7th May 2019

The Bayon Smile

I wander into the forest of Bayon faces

In the heat of noon, the sun pouring down like a waterfall

What am I searching for in this world of suffering?

On these faces, lies the essence of human emotions.

What do I pray for in this sacred place?

The Bayon statue, with four faces, smiling enigmatically

Which smile is not filled with deceit or anger?

What philosophy breathes life into this lifeless stone statue?

The era of wars and separations has passed

The compassionate Buddha continues to guide all beings to peace

Which face gazes at me in this fleeting world?

Who will embrace tranquility, and who will carry sorrow?

With a calm heart in the grandeur of nature

The Bayon statue smiles through the ages

I suddenly feel like a person devouring the past

Longing to return to a time without hatred or desire!

HCM, 2nd May 2019

SUMMER COMES

I sense summer's arrival since last night

A downpour awakens the sleeping seeds

The cicada, wet, lies in the earth

Waiting for dawn to transform and sing its song.

I see summer arriving across distant fields

The thin, hunched figure of my mother, carrying bundles of grass

The rice plants grow green, swaying in the wind

Waiting for the first thunder of the season, bringing purity to the world.

Summer has arrived, faintly visible at the village's edge

Sunlight falling on the ancient pagoda roof

The old banyan tree spreads its branches, offering shade

The children, tanned, herd the buffaloes home.

Summer has arrived all over the countryside

The green fields cover the red-tiled roofs

The scent of lotus wafts gently in the breeze

The flamboyant tree flaunts its color, signaling the arrival of May.

HCM, 24th April 2019