Top 10 Most Beautiful Poems by Poet Từ Nguyễn (Nguyễn Thị Nguyệt)

Sometimes, I long to find
A familiar silhouette
That has gone to a distant place
Lost deep in the darkness of night

Sometimes, my heart stays the same
Knowing yet still denying
The person doesn’t go too far
Here remain countless thoughts...

Not crying but feeling the pain
The sorrow of endless separation
Flowers drift, the current rushes
Oh, old friend, where have you gone?

(22/10/2009)

No matter what, they have gone
Some babies never even had the chance to know
Still warm in their mother's embrace
The water submerged them, separating life and death...

Some fathers couldn't save their children
Their call of 'Dad' still ringing in their ears, painful
The rushing floodwaters, like a cascading waterfall
Snatched away the very life of the people...

Some young girls, not yet twenty
Before they passed, what did they think? Who knows?
In their final moments, was there any regret?
Or just an overwhelming fear?

Did any of them think they would die in the Lam River?
The river named in a song
What destiny could not be different
So that the pain wouldn’t muddy the waters?

On the riverbanks, there are husbands
Fathers, mothers
Even wives with eyes blurred by tears
Stunned, bewildered, anxiously waiting...

Then one day, people pass by the river
The Lam River waters again clear and blue in Ha Tinh
Passing through Nghi Xuan, stopping at Hong Linh
With a deep sorrow for the lost souls...

21/10/2010

No one can truly guide the heart
In moments of calm, we tell ourselves
Life is accustomed to the ebb and flow
So even a little love should be cherished!

There are times when trust wavers
Crying because we fear we've betrayed ourselves
But let not our hearts be silent
For love always needs a way back...

We still know there are dreams lingering
Feelings of restlessness with no place to release
But it’s not easy to turn ourselves into the wind
Blowing away all the weariness, the regrets!

We don’t dare to dream of a perfect world
In the midst of chaos, we seek a small haven
A little peace nurtured in our hearts
Enough to nourish a distant dream...

(26/4/2009)

What would the world be like if we lost our trust?
Millions of hands reaching out, struggling?
No, it's not so
Only I am hasty
A grain of sand matters not in the heart of the sea...

How much I cherish this small life of ours
Wavering between the currents
I've tried to hold on
But then I’m swept away again
Chasing after the dazzling circles of the sun!

When the waves subside, does it gather joy and sorrow?
To grow older
Or forever remain a child in the game of fate?
Ups and downs, light and dark, unity and fragmentation...
Spinning around in the mill of human destiny

(31/7/2010)

The baggage of any life, who can say it is the same?
Though heavy or light, it’s not easy to refuse
Feelings that once were caught
Do they remain intact in the corner of the soul?

A hand brushing the hair, a kiss
Whispers softer than the breeze
Eyes that speak more than a thousand unsaid words...
The path we cross... does the heart still remember, still keep?

Then one day, everything flies away
What was familiar now feels distant
Even memories seem to turn away, hurrying
Who will be left to linger, to anxiously gather it all?

The trace of love fades, the heart withers
Tomorrow, the next day... what meaning remains?
When passion has withered, worn and torn
The evening breeze stirs lightly...
The leaf groans in pain!

30/12/2010

Every weekend, we drift farther apart
Isn't it ironic, my love?
Others eagerly await the weekend
But for me, I long for the weekdays!

Saturday and Sunday are days of sorrow
You are far away
And I am often busy
Life’s many tasks and burdens
Draw a dividing line between us...

When you call, I’m out there somewhere
I answer, but you’ve gone somewhere else...
A river of distance keeps us apart
We’ll always be on opposite banks!

Between the longing, where do I send it?
This love, I must keep it hidden
Every weekend, we are both caught up
In our separate worlds
Two paths
Flowing far apart!

(01/5/2009)

(Written for Th.Ng)

Listen to a heavy heart
Sorrow lingers on a warm spring day
The spring bustle suddenly quiets
As life's burdens weigh heavily...

Peaceful moments seem so fleeting
Search, yet it feels hopeless
The spring breeze stirs
Leaving happiness fragile and fading.

Swallows return to their flock
But I remain alone
Who understands my secret pain?
Silently, I swallow my tears!

What spring comes too late
Only my fate is broken
Once a boat crosses the river
And I sink deeper with it...

When will the garden bloom?
When will my sister’s cheeks blush?
When will spring return
And a smile no longer feel distant?

(The First Day of the Year, Canh Dan)

Life is like waves, so I need a moment of silence
A corner for poetry
From time to time to lull myself
Silence is necessary for me
Amidst the bustling world
I long to keep a place of solitude!

Life is like waves, every day echoes
A moment of peace
Sometimes shattering completely
I soothe my chest, telling my heart not to freeze
Why do I feel this flutter?
Why this ache in each breath!

Life is like waves, on one side calm and warm
On the other side
The silent sobs go unnoticed
My eyes want to close but my heart refuses
So life and poetry...
Remain, in that delicate balance!

(26/01/2010)

(Written for an Indian student who was killed by Russian skinheads in Saint Petersburg on 24/9/2006)

I offer a small incense here
To mourn for the departed
A life, though small on this Earth
Still deserves to live
To love and be loved!

I despise and loathe violence!
Hot-headed individuals with darkened souls,
Are they truly delighted to stain human conscience?
Is this madness their only joy?!

I wish to share the pain of all
I send it to the distant banks of the Ganges...
Where a grieving mother weeps in sorrow!
The incense of my heart
As a shared moment of collective grief...

(28/9/2006)

(Written for someone who has gone far away...)

When the leaf falls from the branch...
Remember not to carry the green color with you
Your heart will ache, for life is so fleeting!

A sorrow that cannot be forced
The fleeting traces of impermanence mar the face...

What feet once moved lightly in their youth
Now wander in a distant, endless place
A flickering candle, appearing and disappearing
The question sent into the void
Who will answer?

Oh, those leaves falling from the branch
How can they carry the color of green?

(22/3/07)