The 18 Most Beautiful Poems by Poet Phan Huy Hùng

A MOMENT IN NHA TRANG

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

Listen ... listen
Nha Trang is breathing
The sea swells, blossoming with the youth of twenty
The breeze combs the hair of trees, carrying the scent of milk flowers.

The waves unexpectedly kiss the sandy shore, your side ...

A moment in Nha Trang
the night turns blue and purple with longing
Teasing the heart
why did you hurry to draw the curtain?

How could I dare to disturb the dream of the breathing sea
Alas ...
I must pack my memories and send them to you..?

--------

HA LONG IN THE SPRING AFTERNOON

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

The fair maidens wrapped in bridal veils
The islands shyly appear and disappear behind the mist
The collective wedding procession brings you to the coastal land
Boats follow each other in a line

No areca nuts
Only red corals
The groom offers a smile like the waves
You stagger, offering a kiss

In Ha Long's afternoon, the soul soars
Islands near and far shake off the white mist
The bride lifts her veil, revealing her face
The groom intoxicated by the green breeze ...

Spring in Ha Long fills with love
Eyes brimming with affection
The waves hum sweet lullabies
Leading us into a world of tranquility

I press my face into the embrace of the Bay
After fifty years, I thought I had just entered my youth ..
————
Ha Long, 1st of March, 2018
—————————————-

SUNSET

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

Round and round
day follows day
Sunset drops its golden light
Falling all over the garden behind
A fleeting sadness in someone's gaze
Heart skipping beats
While silver hair grows
Strange
the time of youth
Wishing it would not come
the days and nights wandering
Only now I know
nothing waits for us
Yet we still sow the seeds of foolishness
for one another?

Who, then
awakens the deep stream
So the moon can call the waves
white like the soft sand?
Who, then
stood by the threshold
As we brushed past each other
to create two distant hearts?
Here is the love song
of the past
Here is the melody
we dreamt of ...

The one who returns
glorious in the morning
The one who leaves
the sunlight falls around them
sunset!

————

DROPS OF LIFE

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

A small cup of coffee drips
The years of my life
The flowers smile on the lips
Remembering a kiss from the sky.

Alone with one chair
The other chair waits for someone
The morning has passed... evening arrives
The horizon still... feels so empty.

Does that person... remember me?
Alone, sitting on half a chair
The other half tilts slightly
Embracing the shadow... of someone far away...?

Every morning I still sit
The old one is like a shadow
The cup of coffee waits anxiously
Each drop of life... still falls!

—————

THE NEXT LIFE
Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

This life I place into the past
I promise you in the next life, I’ll be just the right age for love

So long we've been separated, drifting apart
Today we meet, but the salt-and-pepper hair is already here.

We search for each other's smile
In every corner of the world, searching for a lifetime

Trang An is so close to me
Why did I miss it... oh love, sweet love?

The home temple makes the Buddha less sacred
So the faraway places bring love like betel and areca

The stalactites in the deep caves are clear
Whose lips have swallowed the color of you?

I pick up the knife and cut into my heart
In the sharp pain, only then do I remember you

Hands clasped, kneeling to pray
In the next life, may I touch the colors of Trang An!

—————

A TIME YET TO COME

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

In the middle of the night, I volunteer
Amidst the flames
Volunteering
Flesh and bone scattered in the sky.

Volunteering
Waving the red flag high
Joyfully volunteering...

It's been over forty years now
In the beautiful city streets of life
My hand points forward.

Volunteering!

Thus,
The entire life stained with blood
Volunteering...

And!
In my sleep
When my wife and children rest
Alone, I
Volunteer...

One day, when I am deep in the earth
My soul will become a whirlwind
Volunteering!

——————

THE BÀ BA SHIRT

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

Oh, slender lady in your bà ba
Beautiful since the time of our ancestors
At first glance, I see the rustic charm
White and fragrant rice
Not boasting, yet so crisp...

Your bà ba, you wear in soft brown
So I remember you by night
And eagerly await you by day
So I silently recite a poem for you...

Lulling you into a dream of our homeland!

The lovely girl in simple fabric, equally lovely
Your bà ba
Shy
With love so tenderly shared
A thousand years later, it will still be bright...

Your bà ba has wrapped itself into my heart!

—————

THE CLOUD BRIDGE WINE

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

The wine you brew with sky's cloud
The essence of a thousand-year-old forest
Please don’t open it just yet
The scent of love will quickly fly away.

Your wine is as delicate as those fingers
Slender like fresh bamboo shoots
Drinking it stirs memories
Swaying, holding onto a crescent moon.

Crossing the Cloud Bridge, I arrive at the restaurant
You once waited for me
A glass of wine stands in for words
I drink for you, and I drink for me.

We sit, drinking until the night is gone
Drinking the cloud-white sky
Drinking the quietness of mountains and hills
Drinking the smile while swinging on the Cloud Bridge!

———

THE HIDDEN CAVE

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

You and I paddle the boat through The Hidden Cave
As we dive deep into the heart of Ninh Bình’s memories
The bells have turned to stalactites
Before we can strike them, their echoes fill the air...

Your laughter is delicate
It clings to the thousand-year-old stone walls
The wind caresses the waves softly, like a silent love call
I hear your breath quicken as if it were mine.

Oh, The Hidden Cave, vast and endless
It curves like the legendary dragon of our homeland
It seems we merge with the cool river’s current
Immersed in a love that will last forever!

————

NHỊP ĐIỆU THỜI GIAN

Thơ Phan Huy Hùng

Thời gian bây giờ như trang phây - búc
nhoắng nhoằng đã gặp được nhau
bầu trời và mặt đất
nối không gian như có phép mầu.

Những lúc đi xe tầu
bớt được thời gian trống
nhắn tin qua di động
xong nhiều việc như chơi ...

Con cháu hôm nay lạ quá trời
mở vi-tính xách tay cái gì cũng biết
bên kia bán cầu ngỏ lời yêu người Việt
phía bên này hứa hẹn sống cùng nhau.

Dòng thời gian xưa có gấp thế đâu
thanh thản nhịp nhàng kể cả trên mình ngựa
còn hôm nay đất nghiêng trời ngửa
thời gian đi vùn vụt đêm ngày
hôm nay kết vợ chồng
ngày mai đã chia tay
tất cả hiện ra trên màn hình điện tử
chát chít thâu đêm
lẫn lộn trắng đen
nào ai giải mã?

Những bạn già
nhịp điệu thời gian dừng lại trong quá khứ ...
Ta từ miền sơn cước trở về
sau năm mươi năm có lẻ
chẳng còn nhớ đâu là lối rẽ
đâu bến nước sân đình
làng quê lô nhô nhà cao tầng hiện đại
đường nhỏ đường to nhoáng nhoàng xe máy ...

Ta đi trong mơ
sau một giấc ngủ dài thức dậy
như Từ Thức trở về
từng lạc bước Thiên Thai ...

——

THE LIGHT OF SOUND

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

In the cool of the night
there is sound
that spontaneously creates light
softer than the moon's face
wider than the Milky Way
more mystical than ancient myths ...

This light
dispels suffering
healing every wound
lighting the path
that we walk towards ...

This light
can speak
can express love, anger, and longing
knows when to stop
never leading us astray ...

Like the invisible
in the vast night
the sound spontaneously forms a beam of light
from the love of two hearts
clearly hearing the sound tightly entwining ...
Opening up the light of Heaven!

———

HON GAI

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

Hon Gai embraces Bai Tho Mountain
Cool, fragrant with seaweed
and white-pink corals

The streets lie at the foot of Ha Long's waves
Summer dries with sea winds
Winter glows with ember fire
Spring arrives on the winding paths
Autumn brings a chill
the leaves turn a yellow-red hue
The village of poetry gathers for coffee
Eyes half-closed, wet with tears
lost in reverie...
the waves of love
O who returns to Quang Ninh land
The girl
pale skin amidst the black coal...
enchanting!

———

COUNTING THE MAY WIND

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

Feeling melancholy, I count the May winds
Faint strands, swaying through several seasons
The wind enters through the front window, the blinds sway
Before a full sentence could settle, it escapes through the back door.

Fog climbs up to the top of my head
My shoulders long for the touch of a hand
My eyes glance, asking short questions that stretch long
Who can count the May wind in the heart?

——

EYES OF THE WELL
Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

The well at the schoolyard from days of old
During break, you gently sway as you comb your hair
He calls to the drifting clouds over the waves
The laughter resonates deep within the well.

One day, you joined the local defense force
He went to the battlefield to fight the enemy
Only the eyes of the well remain between us
Reflecting the many roads we travel.

Upon his return, the eyes of the well waved the national flag
In his eyes, your image shone on the day of reunification
Love, like the shape of the land
Complete, with unwavering faith.

Memories of the schoolyard, the bottom of the well still etched
We met again with a glance of happiness
The world, at times clear, at times cloudy
Our lives, in the well’s eyes, forever unblemished.

Memories flood back, weaving together lines of poetry ...

——

HUẾ NGÀY XƯA
Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

Now, I remember Hue of the past
The boatman on the Perfume River, gently guiding the boat to the end of the day
The paddle moves in graceful sways
Your hands, worn and weathered, working the boat.

Where has your smile gone?
Why do I feel the deep echo of your song?
How long will you row
Until the shores are broken and the boat is battered?

The violet hue of Hue remains
But why does the night feel so cold,
The days so heavy, the months so melancholic?
Your hat torn, hanging by one strap,
Rain slapping as if a reprimand,
The sun scorching, searing my back.

Now, Hue sweetens along the Hương River
Far from you, I send my thoughts in the form of a song
For the violet hue of Hue to live on in my poems
And for the cool breeze of rowing to lull me to the boat...

———
For Hue, my love

THE FLEA MARKET
By Phan Huy Hùng

I thought of taking my conscience to the flea market to sell
But people suspected it contained chemicals
No one bought.

I tried to sell deceit...
But before I could call out,
Before I could spread it on the table
People kept coming, asking politely?

Hùng Phan

.....................................................

Mai Trần Đắc Kỳ's commentary on the poem "The Flea Market" by Phan Huy Hùng:

This is a concise poem, yet filled with deep meanings.
The poem opens with:
"I thought of taking my conscience to the flea market to sell."
Conscience is something abstract, invisible; and yet the poet considers selling it. But what about the buyer? How will they receive such a "product"?
"People suspected it contained chemicals,
No one bought."
Living in a society riddled with deceit and fraud, with food and goods often found to contain harmful chemicals—like noodles, vegetables, fruits, and even coffee—it's understandable that people's trust has eroded. Thus, even conscience is suspected of being tainted. The poet wonders if the conscience of those who create such products has also been tainted.
So, the poet decides to try selling something else:
"I tried to sell deceit...
Before I could call out,
Before I could spread it on the table
People kept coming, asking politely?"
This line starkly reveals the harsh reality of a society where negativity prevails, where fake triumphs over real, and where money manipulates conscience. Yet, there are still brave individuals like Phan Huy Hùng who speak the truth.
This poem is a powerful critique of society. Furthermore, the unique and creative structure of the poem reveals the poet’s free spirit, unbound by rules and conventions. We thank him for his honesty!

THE SMILE OF THE WASP'S WAIST
Poetry by Phan Huy Hùng

Last night, the cold tugged at me
This morning, the winter opened its mouth with a smile as the sun shone through
The sun enveloped the curved waist of a wasp
The line of poetry
wove with a strand of pink thread
a dream ...

As you walk, I wait with bated breath
I step, you step, counting to match our pace
But why have you disappeared from sight?
In the busy street,
I stand there, feeling lost ...

The sun barely shows a verse
Why has winter quickly drawn back the golden thread?
As night falls, I curl up in the cold
The winter winds steal the smile of the wasp's waist!

———

EVENING IN THE VILLAGE

Poem by Phan Huy Hùng

The evening tilts
the sound of a flute from the back of a buffalo
The golden evening over the rice fields
bends to greet with an invitation
The evening, you pour
a cup of life's wine
The evening, I sway and spin
holding onto a smile ...
The village dock!
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