Top 10 Most Beautiful Poems by the Poet Luu Trong Lu

Author: Luu Trong Lu

The moonlight rose to its peak,
For five years, by the old wharf, you sat weaving.
With your hair tangled in the poem of sorrow falling,
Your sad hair, too, was accompanied by sadness.
For five years, the silk threads twirled gently...
The cold days fell, the wind whispered through the trees.

Softly, your hand, softly your hand,
The scent from the neighbor’s garden filled the winter rooftop.
With your fragrant hair leaning gracefully,
Time quietly passed, leaving behind a sorrowful stream.

Author: Luu Trong Lu

Come, let's drink this cup dry,
The golden moon at the end of the western hills holds its sadness.
The rooster crows in the village,
Only tonight remains in this wandering life.
Let the heart drown in the wine's embrace,
Now, words sting with strange bitterness!
Now, let the night be filled with mist,
The boat is still tethered, the moon coldly descending!
Now, the moon’s reflection on the water feels mournful,
Now, the flowers and grass by the river droop in sorrow.

The rooster crows again in the village...
But don't think of wife and children back home,
This moment belongs to us,
The wanderer's wine still carries a tearful tune,
Oh, how the wine never touches my lips,
Where are the sweet words to ease your heart?

Your hand raises the golden cup,
Why worry about sipping wine when my heart is troubled?
Let's pause and listen to the river’s flow,
The wind plays with the moon on the cold shore.
Why worry about sipping wine, my heart distracted,
What does it matter if I drink it to become intoxicated?
Come closer, let me take your hand,
Let go, let us gaze deeply at each other.
And in those moments, the sorrowful waves rise in your eyes, the pain swelling in my heart.

In that instant, we are lost in intoxication,
The boat is anchored tight, leaving the tree.
Let me delay this drink, my dear,
As you choose the rope that ties us together.
Wait, let's burn a little incense,
Wait for the fragrance to fill the air with song...
Afterward, I’ll gaze far away,
The Milky Way has long faded into the distance.
The rooster crows early in the village,
Daybreak brightens the grove of bamboo on the island.
Looking at your lips, tinted with lipstick,
Suddenly I remember my wife and children back home.

From that day on, I never wandered again,
Those memories of family became familiar with time.
Sometimes I remember the life of a wanderer:
Her shadow flits between near and far.
I imagine hearing her call across the lake,
My eyes blur as I follow her,

In the room, I hear the child cry,
I quickly close the door, the cold wind blows in.

That night, she did not drink the wine,
Since then, I swore I would never drink for anyone.
There were moments spent staring at the horizon,
I never thought again about a life of wandering.
Docile like a young sheep,
The grass around the yard tasted better than before.
Behind me, I hear the laughter of my son,
Turning quickly, I see him laughing still.
He hands me a small bottle of wine,
And says, "Here, this wine is for you from mother."
It dawns on me—today is my wife’s birthday!
I drink, realizing I had broken my promise,
And failed to live up to the duties of a husband!

Alas! The cold winter night,
But the last drop of wine has long been gone.
Another cup, close to my lips,
And as it empties, I become more intoxicated!

When sober, I sit in silence beside the desk,
Looking into the mirror, the wrinkles on my forehead stand out;
My wife and children laugh softly, don't mock me,
But I sit absent-minded, a tear falls on the desk.
Once the intoxication fades, I am still haunted in my dreams,
Saddened by the life of a wanderer!

Another string added to the instrument,
While the traveler suffers through the thousand winds.
It’s over, heading out to distant lands,
The rosy cheeks fade, leaving the birds behind.
The pleasures of the lakes and rivers are long gone,
The love of family, hard to preserve.
What can be done against fate?
The wanderer's fate is to drift endlessly...

Today, I sit here, guarding the long night,
At the boat inn, someone offers me wine,
The wine from afar, far from the world of mortals,
The wind blows coldly through the winter night!
Although the person is gone from this world,
Her face still lingers like the moon beneath the sky.
I imagine hearing laughter from her,
As if she were here just yesterday!

But alas, the centuries have passed,
So much talent wasted, leaving only empty promises!
Maybe there's still some old wine hidden in the boat,
The zither gathering dust in the corner,
The strings rusting, the wood still bears her name.
She was once like the moon, drifting in the winds,
Now, she has gone, leaving only memories.
Tonight, perhaps I am alone,
Burning old incense, waiting for her ghost to play the zither.

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Seventeen springs, you haven’t yet known sorrow,
The love you brought, where did it come from?
You are beautiful, and my heart is young,
We drift together in our first dream.

Love, as clear as the water in a blue sea,
As magical as the moon slipping through curtains;
Light as flowers dancing in the morning sun,
Resonating like the waves at night...

That night, the autumn moon fell beneath the bridge,
You smiled, you spoke through the entire night;
We thought love would last forever,
A love that would never age...

Time flows by with love...
By the bridge, the leaves have fallen countless times!
...
...

Love, like a dream at the edge of the world,
In a fleeting moment, bitterness remains forever.
One goes to the mountains, the other to the city,
Our paths diverge, love is left behind.

Today, I sit and wait by the window,
And hear the news that someone has gotten married;
Before I finish my sentence, love is gone...
She is mad on the "dream pillow" of a lover.

Am I dreaming in life or in a dream?
The chrysanthemums outside, wet with dew,
I press my hands against the glass,
Startled, I forget all my pain...

I sing a few meaningless lines;
The yellow leaves fly into my room.
I write a few lines of nonsense;
Only the mad ones understand my heart.

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Oh, you in the red scarf, how old are you?
You say you’ve just turned ten.
Ask the old man with silver hair, how old is he?
He replies: I’ve been given exactly eighty by the heavens.

You say: The spring wind blows,
The beautiful clothes flutter in the breeze.
The old man says: The spring wind blows,
The bamboo staff also journeys along.

The greetings and questions echo through the village,
Firecrackers are lit one after another.
This year, we’ll do even better than last year.
Just call out and let the old man’s staff fly...

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Oh my, the red phoenix blossoms everywhere
The sound of someone calling, "Boat, oh boat!"
Boat heading to Mĩ Lợi,
Boat reaching Qui Lai
Boat, oh boat, flowing upstream and downstream
Take me back to the places of our promises.

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Softly, the slippers step out
The night wraps itself up, and the flowers begin to bloom
As the mist lifts, the birds sing nearby
The distant forest echoes a harmonious melody
Look: The water's surface lies still
The sailboat's reflection gently glides on the mirror-like surface
You just draped yourself in a misty blue shawl
Now it's a pale purple shade, turning into peach-colored silk
Is it the sail or the seagull's wings?
Is it the golden autumn sun or the fresh spring sunlight?
The sea, the sky: Two twin sisters
Does the boat drift or does the mountain itself sway gently?
How real is the scene, how artistic the strokes?
Strong like a tiger's power, delicate like Kiều's grace
With each glance, a new beauty is found
One day, how many emotions does it stir?
Oh, the scene! It feels like we're in the same hammock, gently rocking
The horn just sounded far away
The clouds gather, a thunderstorm passes through swiftly
The waves ripple, stirring the mirror-like water
Before the storm ends, the stars light up the sky.

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

With the crowd gone,
The vast sky and sea stretch endlessly, only four eyes gaze at each other silently,
On the sand, unintentionally, a word is drawn: Vân,
As the hand finishes the line, the waves gradually erase it...
With a smile, Vân would say:
“My love, oh my love!
Why are you so mad?
This body fades, but what about the name?”
What we thought would last a thousand years, thanks to the sandy shore,
Fades away, unknown, in the silver waves.
In this hundred-year life, don't overthink:
Lovers are like sandcastles built in vain.”

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Don't you hear autumn?
Beneath the dim moon, is your heart aching?
Don't you feel the stirring
The image of the soldier in battle
In the heart of the forsaken lover?

Don't you hear the autumn forest?
The autumn leaves rustling in the breeze
The golden deer stands bewildered
Stepping on the dry yellow leaves?

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Each time the new sunshine shines through the window.
The rooster's midday crow calls out mournfully;
My heart is heavy with memories of the past,
Faintly bringing back those lost days.

I remember my mother when she was young,
When she was still alive and I was ten;
Every time the new sunshine called from the field,
She would pass by with her red dress hanging by the fence.

The image of my mother is not yet blurred,
Her figure still clear as she came and went,
Her smile hidden behind her sleeve,
In the midday light, by the open fence.

Author: Lưu Trọng Lư

Your eyes are silent with sorrow,
Just looking, yet no words are spoken,
Our love stretches far apart,
Even if we speak, we wouldn't be understood.

I loved an entire winter,
Without ever speaking once,
We looked at each other in deep sadness,
Even if we spoke, we wouldn't understand.

The sky has passed through an entire winter,
The wind blows on the doorstep forever,
The season of affection is over:
The cranes have crossed the river.

You sit by the window,
I stand leaning against the flower-covered wall,
We gaze at each other, tears flowing,
With each passing day, we drift further apart.

This is the Milky Way,
I am the Swallowbird,
I'll build a bridge to pray,
Crossing it only once every night.

Leaving me in agony,
Love is now at its end,
Close the wings, both of us!
Close the heart as well!