Top 10 Beautiful Poems by Poet Bế Kiến Quốc

Waiting for Autumn to Return

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

Today, I wait for autumn to return
With the chilly wind
Blowing from all directions
Leaves fluttering among the trees
In the soft evening, the sky is gently calm

The earth and sky are both in anticipation with me
If you return, it will truly be autumn…

September 24, 1976

The Small Stone Ring

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

Whose wrist wears the small stone ring
Who carved and shaped it first
Then who bought it, who gently cherished
And gifted the small stone ring on the wrist of someone...

Tonight, I remain silent
Hiding what I wish to say deep in my heart
The late meeting of deep affection
The small stone ring on your wrist.

Long Hưng, July 4, 1984

Voluntarily

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

In my homeland, I live wholeheartedly
Love you, love you with all my heart

I arrive late for the lotus season at Tháp Mười
The river is full, with water hyacinths drifting
The acacia trees scatter new white flowers
The small boat gently sways on the water...

The rhythm of life has always been the same
But I am in a hurry, because for so long
I have longed to meet this river
The river of joy and sorrow...

Amid crowded buses, I squeeze in
The three-wheeled car rides through the rough road
Sometimes stuck, trying to navigate the canals
How can I go across the land...

The sound of laughter mingles with the waves
The boat carrying rice bumps into the boat carrying the bride...
To shed tears in silence
Listening to stories of Long Hưng from a bygone time...

Awake in the late night by the mangrove thickets
The boat quietly drifts beneath the moon
Someone’s light flickers through green leaves
What untold emotions linger in silence...

Across Cao Bắc, the ferry glides through the wind
The sun of Tiền Giang warms both riverbanks
Rich silt nourishes the rice fields
It nurtures the heroes daring to dream.

Feeling fully engaged, every sense alive
My heart is drawn to the South
New trees, new flowers
The sweet voice of my homeland is so tender.

The folk songs echo, full of love
The soft, wet lyrics carry deep meanings
The mù u tree, please bear fruit for me
With the song, the boat crosses the bridge and I follow.

The revolution is filled with miraculous stories
The people are warm under the sun
Mother, I wish to be your child
To keep the promise I made.

The first love of mine with the South
To love with all my heart, to live with all my soul
The lotus awaits the blooming season
Oh, this homeland—this land of mine...




Sa Đéc, July 18th. Sài Gòn, July 19th, 1984

There Is Someone Waiting for Me

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

There is a place
There is someone waiting for me

Though the days pass, the branches shed leaves, and new buds grow
Flowers change seasons, but the person still waits for me

Though friends of my age
Have paired up in couples
Though many suitors come to my door
That person still waits for me...

I travel, I search
Keeping love in my heart

If the evening shadow falls
I won't feel much sorrow
If the road is empty
I won't feel much sorrow

A few girls have given me their love
If they take it back
I won’t feel much sorrow...

I go. And I know
I trust in life
Though I arrive late
The one waiting will still wait for me...

End of Roots, Beginning of Branches

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

Stretching deep into the earth
The young root seeks a path for the tree
Through stones and rocks, sometimes bleeding

Always reaching higher
The young branch faces harsh winter and scorching summer
Sprouting leaves as if giving birth

Who is sitting and singing before spring arrives?
Life seems to naturally bloom with green
Only the earth knows how to love the tree, and it understands
The storms that occur at the end of roots and the beginning of branches...

Xoan Plum

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

The Xoan plum stands on Hang Ngang street
Boldly amidst the busy street dust
Between Ray-Ban, Senko, and Adidas...
How many people notice, how many know the Xoan plum

The manager praises the market economy
The consumer is satisfied, everything is for sale
I, the poet, pass by the market street
Feeling for and worrying about the Xoan plum...

When the Xoan season comes, the sky and earth begin to welcome spring
The trees and plants join in the festival
Countless thoughts drift by, and people need them
Even with money, some things cannot be bought

But this morning, I stood frozen
The Hang Ngang street's Xoan plums bloomed white
And the rain gently, silently fell
Surprising someone with its flowers...

(2-1992)

The Sound of the River

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

One afternoon, beneath the shade of a tree
Near the office of the Sơn Đà river survey team
I saw a few Vietnamese workers
Teaching a specialist Vietnamese
- "Sơn Đà" - "Son Da"... - "Sơn Đà" - "Son Da"...
"Son Da", "Son Da"... it almost sounds like Volga
The sound is refreshing like the river's flow
What river from your homeland, in Russia, do you call yours?

Here in this land, taste the water of Sơn Đà
Try the longan fruit grown in fertile soil
Endure the scorching noon sun of summer
At night, feeling the longing for a distant river...

How many rivers has he crossed in his life?
The specialist, whose life is devoted to surveying
Living in construction camps, drinking water from many sources
With a Russian accent blending with voices from other lands...

"Son Da" "Volga" - Two familiar names
And at times, he would call them together by mistake
The greatest happiness is bringing light
Wherever we are: The Vietnamese River or the Russian River.

He practices saying: "Son Da". I silently remind him: "Sơn Đà"
Listening to his voice, a new love fills my heart
As if for the first time, calling out the river's name
Sweet words echo softly in my heart...

What river from your homeland, in Russia, do you call yours?
Though the names differ, all rivers are beautiful.
Taste the water of Sơn Đà and let the Vietnamese accent sink in
One day, you will clearly call: "Sơn Đà!"
The sound of the river in the voice of a Russian...

Ha Son Binh, 2-7-1976

This poem is included in the anthology "Sơn Đà Poems: Past and Present"

Lily Flower

Poetry by Bế Kiến Quốc

The white lily flower. And the white wall.
Why does the flower's shadow on the wall appear black?

Don't look away, my dear
I don't know why I have caused this fault
But forever, the question lingers:
Why does the flower's shadow on the wall appear black...


(1969-1987)

This poem is often mistakenly attributed to the German poet Heinrich Heine, but it is indeed by Bế Kiến Quốc.

Who Plants the Tree

Poem by Bế Kiến Quốc

Who plants the tree
That person has a song to sing
On the branches
The birds sing with joy

Who plants the tree
That person has the wind
Shaking the branches
The flowers and leaves sway in the breeze

Who plants the tree
That person has the shade
Under the tree
They forget the long, hot road

Who plants the tree
That person has happiness
They wait for the tree
To grow bigger with each passing day

Who plants the tree...
You plant the tree...
You plant the tree...

This poem has been turned into a song called "Planting Trees" by Thanh Ly.

Source: Vietnamese Language Textbook for Grade 3, Volume 1, Educational Publishing House, 1997

Breaking the Calendar

Poem by Bế Kiến Quốc

Holding a worn-out calendar,
- Where did yesterday go?
I go outside and ask my dad,
He rubs my head and smiles:

- Yesterday stayed behind
On the branch of a flower in the garden,
The rosebud keeps growing,
Waiting for the day to bloom.

- Yesterday stayed behind
In the grains of rice my mother planted,
The field waits to be harvested,
The golden crops hold the dream.

- Yesterday stayed behind
In my pink notebook,
If I study hard, then
Yesterday will still be with me...


Source: Vietnamese Language Textbook, Grade 2, Volume 2, Educational Publishing House, 2002