Spring-Watching Pavilion - Hồ Xuân Hương

A gentle spring evening arrives
airily, unclouded by worldly dust.

Looking For Each Other - Thích Nhat Hanh

 I have been looking for you, World Honored One,
since I was a little child.
With my first breath, I heard your call,
and began to look for you, Blessed One.

Crossing the Ngang Pass - Bà Huyện Thanh Quan

The sun sets just as I reach the Ngang Pass,
Where plants jostle with rocks, flowers with leaves.

Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death - Dieu Nhan

Birth, old age, sickness, death
Are commonplace and natural.
Should we seek relief from one,
Another will surely consume us.

Night Rain on the Hsiao Hsiang River - Lê Thánh Tông

Dripping, dripping in the Hsiang forest

All through the windy night

The rain falls heavy and light,

Kiss The Earth - Thích Nhat Hanh

Walk and touch peace every moment.

Walk and touch happiness every moment.

The Temple of Fragrance - Hồ Xuân Hương

Who could have fashioned this marvel?

The mountain cracks into a wide, hollow cave.

A Plough And A Spade - Nguyen Trai

A plough and a spade, that's all.

A row of chrysanthemums, and orchids,

A place to plant beans: That's all I need.

Elsewhere I don't know, but here must be different - Nguyễn Quốc Chánh

Here in Phan Thiet

It's 7 o'clock.

The red sun flares.

The Bathtub - Duy Quang Mai

instead, the poem begins when

the bathroom light brims my hands

A Chant on the Mustard Hut - Trần Minh Tông

The Mustard Hut is extremely small. Barely room for the knee.

Peaceful and drowsy, the day moves on by itself. 

Animals do not come. The spring day is tranquil. 

The Stone Dog - Lê Thánh Tông

With a heavy paw he guards the frontier,

Squatting alone in the middle of the pass,

Lord of the Flies - Duy Quang Mai

10:07 at central station,

platform one, too many

overcoats. walked

wide steps. lord of the

flies, roslyn theatre.

Return - Phi Hoàng

Let me return the sunlight to the sky,

the cloud to the mountain, this life to the void.

April - Bùi Chát

Bouts of rain drop on people’s heads

Wetness that changes lives

Lots of folks don’t know where to take refuge

Cam's Love - Hoàng Cầm

If I were young as in the days of old,
I'd take you in forever to live with me.
On each golden sundown that gently rolled,
You'd sing to my lute as in younger days.

The good news - Thích Nhat Hanh

They don’t publish
the good news.
The good news is published
by us.

Still Too Far Away - Xuân Diệu

The other day you sat too far away from me
So I asked you to move over a bit closer.
You inched over closer, but I demurred.
To be a good girl you inched still closer.
As I was boiling over, in haste with a smile
You scooted closer soothing, "Here I am!"
I brightened up then scowled at once
For I thought, you were still too far away.

A Little Love - Lưu Trọng Lư

I do not know your age or name.
Why is it my hearts in turmoil?
This lonely love does so embroil
Through long cold nights my soul in flame.

The Sound of Autumn - Lưu Trọng Lư

Did you hear this season of fall
Sobbing in the dimming moonlight?
Did you hear at all the stirrings
For the image of the war knight
Of his lonely wife's strained heartstrings?