BELOVED FAR-AWAY
How
I fret with memories
this evening in
exile
of
my native soil, Da
Nang - Hoi An
polychrome:
Duy
Xuyen sunlight like
golden silk on
bamboo gates,
yellow
mums dazed with
longing on your way
home,
dreamy
cranes hovering over
the Que Tien Spring,
bewildered
fawns under the Dai
Binh moonlit shroud,
where
I once came back to
revisit Trung Phuoc
contemplating
autumn fade like
each sad cloud,
the
sun appealing
friends to Tuy Loan
to have dates,
flowers
flying on Ai Nghia
Road in the green
days,
and
do you still
remember this
adventurous bird
on
the Son Cha top, how
lovable the Tra Mi
fays?
the
Ngu Hanh Mountains
seeming forever
meditative,
the
Han River sound
always worriedly
awaiting alone,
the
Phuoc Kien Pagoda
bell beating in calm
evenings,
and
my mother grieving
under that roof
mossgrown,
the
illustrious
victories recorded
in historical books,
our ancestors’ flame of struggle handed down to all,
between heaven-and-earth sparkling our poor land,
the vicissitudes of life, taking it in turns rise and fall.
nursing abstract dreams resignedly as an expatriate
I suddenly miss Quang Nam kin so much adore,
alongside the Thu River waits impatiently Giao Thuy,
gratitude to Da Dung - Hon Kem I always store.
Oh Da Nang! I will return from this faraway abode,
wild horse confined, from long trips to be immune,
lighting candles to illuminate the old historic feats,
finding sense in Hoi An birth place in the full moon.
The universe is infinite but my heart is limited,
Here is my constant loyalty to my Country just right.
I have got you, Mountains and Rivers affectionate
As the sun trees and fruits would cherish in delight.
Translation by THANH-THANH