Top 20 Beautiful Poems by Poet Vọng Thanh

SAD APRIL AFTERNOON

I searched for you all through April

Saigon hid you too well

I asked the cicadas hiding in the leaves

But they shook their heads...

... Couldn’t find you!

Saigon’s April sun blazed across the threshold

My poetry wandered, searching for you in this land of yearning

I sent my verses to Saigon, where you are...

But the clouds darkened the sky, still... afraid of love,

My verses drenched in rain

So today...

I return to a May

The mark of April still lying still as before

The purple flowers swaying as if to send a message

To the lonely park... on a Sunday afternoon

Indifferent

What does it mean, missing a stranger?

On the day we parted, I returned... to the sorrowful sun of summer

We knew that without you, my poetry would feel strangely sad

Even the cicadas keep singing their tired song

Yes, April is sad

I thought May had passed...

A little jealousy and petty anger faded away

But Saigon hid you too well

Leaving my poetry behind in the afternoon... in the summer heat

In tears.

PN - Vọng Thanh

ISN'T HANOI BEAUTIFUL THIS SEASON, MY LOVE?

This season in Hanoi

Isn’t it beautiful, my love?

With the purple flowers blooming in the sky, in the old town streets

Paint me a circle, where the corner of the street lies

Carve your name...

The girl of Hanoi.

Maybe one day, as we wander...

We'll remember the summer

The purple flowers in bloom

Remember those eyes, wet with tears at the corner of the street

Suddenly stunned... we recognize each other.

This season in Hanoi

The rooftops surely are deep brown?

The Long Bien Bridge is also fading to an old blue

Paint for me a full picture

Of Thanh Nien street...

West Lake, and even Trấn Vũ Pagoda

And tuck in the place where you lie...

So the winds and clouds won’t scatter you!

PN - Vọng Thanh

COME BACK TO QUY NHON WITH ME

Are you not coming back... to Hanoi?

Never mind!... Come to my hometown instead!

Quy Nhon is beautiful this season, the sea is a vivid blue

The soft sand, the sunset casting white foam

The boats bobbing, cutting through the wind, heading out to sea

If you don't come to Hanoi, then... that's fine

Come to my homeland

A land of martial arts and sweet welcoming people

The old streets of Hanoi will wait until autumn as you remember...

We will return, and it won’t be too late

Hanoi - Quy Nhon... two paths to our dreams from long ago...

You and I have been waiting, for how many seasons now?

Why do we keep putting off our meeting so selfishly

Leaving the city lonely... at the "Dream Hill" (*), the slanted moonlight

Today, I want to hold your hand

Let’s visit Han Thi together, shall we?

Let’s see Quy Hoa, Bai Trung, Ky Co, and Eo Gio

And make a quick stop at the bridge...

Thị Nại will catch the night breeze

Come back with me, dear!...

We’ll catch the festival season... (*) and watch the moonrise

At Ghenh Rang, the moonlight is magical

The ancient tower covered with moss by Cầu Đôi will welcome you

We’ll touch a path, two dreams—You... Me...!

PN - Vọng Thanh

DREAM

I am drunk

The sky and earth are drunk too

I feel sorrow

And the sky and earth follow my sorrow

Night is full of falling leaves

My soul wanders

In a dream, I see the moon slipping through a crack

A boat made of moonlight

Half a moon, tilted in the sky

Taking me across the vast realms of the world

From the immortal lands,

To the fairy world, endlessly

Green mountains and clear waters

Pure and serene

I - The Moon

Empty the cup of peach wine

The moon sways, spinning and falling

I fall

I wake up suddenly

Realizing there is a shadow in the endless sky

The night fades

Half a moon hangs crookedly

I - The Moon

My form bends

The distorted face of the world

I look at the moon...

And I see the moon smiling

I look at you...

And I see

The complexity of life!

PN - Vọng Thanh

SAIGON AND I

Saigon rains, the story of the sky

Why does it matter? Why do we stand there, lost in thought?

The rain-soaked tamarind trees, the dry ones

Falling leaves, scattered and unclear, you and I

Saigon sun, it makes me uneasy

The fluttering of your áo dài, the sky torn apart

People intertwining memories, as a tear falls

I think... I owe you a word

Saigon... through sun and rain, across the threshold

You are like the winds in the streets, tangled in the afternoon

The street, wet and lonely

It seems like there’s a deep pain, one that shatters everything

For centuries... dust will remain

Yet, why does it feel... so distant between me and Saigon?

PN - Vọng Thanh

LINGERING JULY

A lost day drifting by

You arrive... like a breeze

Gently pouring memories into me

Soft like a lullaby...

What wind is this, like a dream-like spell?

Lulling me endlessly into an autumn that’s yet to come...

Your bare chest glowing in the warmth of July

And I, foolish since that day...

Missing you...

What breeze clings, like a hypnotic charm?

Flesh, soft and tender, longing

We are like wild creatures, lost in the desert

Thirsty for a waterhole

Stumbling into a dream of rest

July, why do we stumble over empty promises?

The peacock’s wings lost in the storm

Who silently follows the footsteps of summer?

As the city sighs, the leaves flutter into autumn’s embrace...

I love you, wind, endlessly... brushing past my hand

I love with all my heart, as if singing a song

Yet, I know you’ll never cross the flood’s horizon

Nor sip from the crystal clear waters of my village’s stream

I know you’ll never bask in the fading afternoon sun

And I cannot believe you’ll bring the dawn to me

I foolishly sleep, lost on this fated bed

Thinking life is a gift just for me

Ah... but why hold onto a distant breeze?

Though I told myself to forget, I still remember

Now it seems you’re far... really far away...

Forever

I love myself... yet have never touched the bloom of your lips.

PN - Vọng Thanh

THE RETURN

I return
to visit Mother this evening
Listening to autumn leaves falling, covering my dreams

I return
to gather fragments of the unreal
And feel them in the blurred winds of time

I return
to light an incense stick
The smoke rises, sketching the image of a falling flower

I return
to collect the passing years
Slipping through the canal, I laugh at the world

I return
to draw in the golden light of wisdom
Stringing together the worries of time, wondering, Mother

I return
to pick up the pieces of the falling evening
The stork now carries both joy and sorrow beneath the earth

I return
lost in the village river
Borrowing the Lục Bát verse to spend the night

The river deep and the boat lost in the waves
Listening to Mother's voice on the wet Vu Lan doorstep
Hands pressed in prayer beneath the Golden Shrine
Asking for the Mother’s blessings, calling for the spirit to manifest.

PN Vọng Thanh

SEARCHING FOR HOME

I will return to Mother’s village, so far away

Back to the burning heat of the summer sun

Back to the river of my childhood

With the fragrant scent of straw

Though I gather the sorrow and the tattered remnants

Sad - longing

I shed the worldly burdens, searching... forgetting the footprints of the mist

Brushing off the dust and buttoning up my chest again

Hanging on to the fleeting days that pass by

The rice harvest and the young girls

The bare land, wasted and barren

Mother, oh Mother!

The wild birds call...

Soaked in my thoughts, I weave and stitch

Across a forehead lined with criss-crossed paths and traces left behind by my eyes

After the stormy days have passed,

I thought peace would come, but the sorrow lingers, endless and deep

I curl up, feeling the sting in the corners of my eyes

Mother!...

Let me return, find the peaceful sleep

On the small bamboo bed, the days of lullabies...

Mother sings

In the bustling life, amidst the busy markets

In the silk and satin, I forget

A footstep in the village

Today... I return

Though not as it once was

But I try to paint the shadow of the village on me

Not in the flowers and the city rooftops

I still hold on to my shape, untouched and raw

To gather the little hardships from Mother’s hands

That day...

This evening, the wind blows a few leaves

I pick up a yellow leaf that falls...

And shudder, hearing the silence

The river turns red

The evening sky tinged purple

A forgotten grave

Overgrown with thick green

Evening falls...

PN - Vọng Thanh

APRIL, THE EVENING WIND CHANGES

Another season...

April blooms again

The traveler, lost in thought, feels the wind shift

Oh, April!...

The feeling slips through the door

Sad eyes, burdened by the tides of life

Leaving tears on the lashes

April is filled with sorrow...

Quietly tugging at the threads of separation

The hem of the dress still holds the last button in the strange breeze

I cannot pick the flowers for you, the season is over, with only fallen leaves

What will Autumn say?

When Summer bids farewell?!

What longing remains... so fragile

A life spent wandering

Vanishing in the harsh heat, lost in desolate days

I am young

But dying in defiance

The heel of my foot stumbles

Choking

In the midst of an appointment

April returns...

Anxiously waiting for something to come

Grant me faith, don’t let it shatter

Even if late, let me breathe with the wind

So that sadness...

Falls like a broken shard

Worry..!

PN - Vọng Thanh

THE EVENING ROAD

The evening road

Is shrouded in dense mist

The traveler, since ancient times, has known sorrow and joy

The river flows, one bridge at a time

Yet forgets the depth of its heart, measuring the distance with kindness

As they return

They gather the dust of the world

Fallen grains left behind

As humanity remains in its turmoil

Centuries... an endless, dark dream

Diêu Bông searches forever... “a lullaby adding to the sadness”(*)

The evening road

Heavy with the falling rain

Please, don’t be sad

As the season passes...

Tomorrow

If the spring is lost

If we meet again

Then, yes... old friend!!!

PN - Vọng Thanh

THE FAIRY TALE OF MARCH

March arrives, the sky blazes with the red of the cotton tree flowers

The cold winds of the old season change clothes, counting the passing of time

Summer peeks in through the window, playful and elusive

The bitter orange flowers wait patiently, swaying in the breeze

March comes, bringing with it soft, fleeting showers

The milk flower’s fragrance turns dreams into reality

You and I suddenly become memories

Pages of love poems transform into a gentle fairy

March returns, and the butterflies dance again

Your smile is as deep as the golden coin, making a soft sound

You bring poetry, hoping for a quiet afternoon together

Let’s make this fairy tale our own, a peaceful one

What fairy tale is the most beautiful and real, my dear?

Or perhaps, it’s just a fantasy that fades into the past

Let’s give a name to this overflowing dream

Echoing forever, the beautiful fairy tale of March.

PN - Vọng Thanh

THE MARKET STREET IN THE EVENING WITHOUT YOU

You remain the same! The eternal green moss

A little affection... we’re bound by life’s debts

The rain taps gently, filling the cup with sorrow

Where are you now... I can’t finish my drink through the night?

The evening... the marketplace, lost in the coming darkness

My soul sways, intoxicated by the stars above

You’re like the evening breeze, ageless

Whistling through the mundane world, causing me pain...

The evening market street turns into a resting place for me

The rhythm of life lulls me, as strange winds pass through my hands

I drift in the dream of this world, in a delicate trance

The wine of devotion, cold lips, drops of mist in the air

You remain the same! At the far edge of the wave

It crashes into me, disturbing my regrets

You are the wind, guiding the sail of my dreams

I am the river, endlessly drifting with the moon’s boat

Oh, my dear! Is this the small street we once knew?

Its elegance captures the place where I lie

Life trims its hair and gives me a brush

To paint the sky, dreams... for a hundred years.

PN - Vọng Thanh

WRITING ABOUT GIRLS BORN IN AUGUST

You!

The girl who walks through

The trials and twists of life’s turning wheel

Shining a light on the shadow of clouds bending through countless days

Turning the verse

Borrowing the full moon of August

Crossing the stormy river of existence with all its turmoil

August, the season of autumn

A photograph capturing a million souls

But you, you carve out a sculpted masterpiece, piecing together the written word

August

You were born

The first wing stirs gently, alluring

A soft breeze teases, carrying a delicate scent

August

You were born

Suddenly, the sky pours rain

Soaking the tender leaf, a chrysanthemum still waiting to bloom

The wandering wind carries the sorrow that dare not rest

Only the gentle sound of strings lullabies...

To the tune of Nam Ai

You!

The girl

Carrying autumn’s heavy, wet season upon her shoulders

A fallen leaf holds the shape of a memory

You... wish to call the sun back to the highlands

To reverse time and count it backward

But alas...

Summer is gone, yet the memories...

Refuse to let go!

PN - Vọng Thanh

YOU AND I

You and I...

Two strangers, worlds apart

By chance... we brushed against each other

I married a man, a bird of the sky wandering

Drinking from the cup of life's hardship, yearning for a full meal...

You!...

The woman... pure yet passionate and dreamy

With half a moon's light, humming a poem intoxicated by June's season

I!...

A kite with a broken string, hanging on a stormy day

Bound by a thread of love, capturing a fleeting moment of affection

Half a life lost, wandering, lost in a wayward afternoon

Touching the season of love, the night folding into the river's sorrow

Yes! I admit... I am a fool, marked by scars of the whip

Yet I still drink it all in, lost in love... dreaming of eternity

You crossed my life, as if you belonged to the stars

But how could I know that the vast universe would collapse on its final day

I love you, I love your gentle hands, untouched by the storm

Through countless seasons sowing the seeds of memories... carefree

Yes... the last of summer fading into autumn

The petals of the flamboyant tree swaying, bidding farewell in the wind

Tomorrow, when I return, I'll give you a branch of the storm tree, planted at the edge of your gate

So you can block the doubts, the fear of an unnamed storm

You!...

The woman resting peacefully in loving arms

Wrapped in a delicate, dazzling veil of silk

You let me bathe in the river without a bottom

Melting in its flow, I feel the endless river’s embrace

I accept folding the kite, ready to become the sail for a drifting boat

My joy is, seeing you safe and happy each day

You keep your dreams wrapped tight, awaiting the sweet fruits of life

While the wind rages, deceiving the sinful soul

I dare not imagine or dream of a future

Or a mirage, “the hair swept aside waiting for a hidden kiss”(*)

I don’t wish for my presence to sour your life

When two innocent hearts

Keep... missing each other's beat!

PN - Vọng Thanh

LIFE'S JOURNEY

No promises made, afraid of being remembered forever

As the leaves drift with the fleeting winds of time

I understand it all through a single glance

One feeling... best to let the winds carry it away

So much wandering, the boat waits for a passenger

The winding, turbulent flow of life's course

Let me pause, to hear the world’s endless complaints

The cool breeze of the season drops the rains of regret

I bury my face, listening to the river's sorrow

Among the people, we try to stitch a smile back on

Love has not yet grown, what can protect it?

Which words are enough to convince you, my dear?

I hold the moon as a witness

Why does the wind slip through the cracks of loneliness?

I embrace the moon's shadow, feeling its pain

The desolate remains of a love that couldn’t bloom

Perhaps I must wait... for a few more autumns

Until the leaves fall, covering the land with history

Hidden beneath the earth, memories leave no trace

And the pine trees whisper... calling me to rest...

Could it be... ten years... twenty years...?

You and I will become distant echoes

The realm of spirits, where the walls never fall

A soul in exile, without a place to settle

We will return, together in eternal dreams?

PN - Vọng Thanh

A SILENT JUNE PASSES BY

I have a love hidden deep in my heart

Only I know, no one else... except me!

Well, no... There's also the sad June

Silent, without noise, yet full of sorrow

It passes quietly... silently...

You and I...

Like a song of love

Like the red wings of a phoenix in late summer

The waves of Quy Nhon call to my heart

Memories roll like mud, soaking deep in my chest

The day I met you

My heart stirred with a trust

That had been frozen long ago, like a tombstone

The distant sky... is blurred, silent

Who has prepared a feast to welcome you into my heart?

I don’t understand this love...

Deep longing, unwarranted sadness

Only the sudden June rains return to the alley

There’s something we understand...

Between You and Me!

Gentle June

June, with tears falling from the sky

I fear your tears will dry up, afraid of a tomorrow without you

The summer passes, leaving only a thread of memories

A fading evening

As the wind, the rain, and my thoughts drift...

I suppress my anger and play a tune on my hands

Sending some warmth on another fleeting day

Listening to the pieces of my heart break apart

Somewhere out there...

Do you remember...

Me?

PN - Vọng Thanh

A BIT OF MAY

A bit of May remains in my hair

As the breeze lingers until the evening

Did you pass through the season of old love?

Please, don't let the wind scatter your heart.

A bit of May rests in the quiet depth of the afternoon

The wind whispers, sharp and clear

The soft flowers, scattered, their dew as pearls

Shine down, bringing peace and sweet dreams.

A bit of May was spent rushing by

Leaving behind a poem, incomplete

A smile hangs, like a leaf still attached

Clinging to the shore of my heart, leaving a mark.

A bit of May remains, lingering

The South gathers it all and sends it here

The sunset spreads the color of mist

The fading red embers of a day slipping away.

PN - Vọng Thanh

I

I!...

Carrying

a heart so wild

Since the day

I died cold in this human world

I!...

Like shattered fragments of meteorites

Falling to earth, breaking apart

In the infinite universe

Among countless stars...

And I...

... met you again

Like a brilliant star

Piercing my heart

Rising... turning into paradise.

PN - Vọng Thanh

THE FINAL SUMMER

I leave behind the last summer

The road I walk is now filled with the sadness of autumn dust

No need to mourn a season that was full of mistakes

What does it matter if we remember each other?

I leave behind the windy horizon

Carrying only the gaze from when you looked at me

And I keep a bit of love, a little memory

The small, sweet moments hidden deep in my heart

The summer burns brightly in memories of love

Who can act as if they’ve never known summer?

The evening lingers as the sunset torments the soul

I feel a tinge of sorrow in the verses I write

Tell me, is autumn waiting for someone to sit and wait?

So the leaves in the evening tremble with thoughts of love

If only you could be like a gentle breeze

To lull my soul through an eternal dream

The evening wind makes me tired and weary

In a noisy city, I remain all alone

I gaze aimlessly at the fading evening sun

Forever hesitant, as if... someone once loved me.

PN - Vọng Thanh

THE SOLO SONG OF THE SUMMER EVENING

The summer evening...

Touches the depths of a lonely soul

The sunset

Encroaches upon the steps

As the dew falls upon my head

From afar

The distant sound of the monsoon

Echoes softly

With a sorrowful refrain

The steps of life

Heavy under the pouring rain

Where’s the dress to measure my heart’s journey?

You walk away...

Tomorrow, we return

To chase the coming of spring

Wrapped in a tattered blanket, battered and worn

Swaying side to side

Tomorrow...

If only I had a gentle dream

I would draw flowers on my sleeve

Stitching the years together

Tomorrow, I’ll return

Borrowing half of the moon’s light

To help you battle the waves

My dear...

So naive!

PN - Vọng Thanh