TO
YOSEMITE
THINKING BACK TO VIETNAM
To
visit picturesque Yosemite, here I came
Just
by becoming an exile being affected;
I
looked at this scenery of universal fame
Upon
which from my heart I sadly reflected.
Oh,
this land in this corner of plain mirth
Over
this far-away Pacific Ocean shore!
Any
unusual things in the entrails of the earth
That
send my sobbing soul sinking in sore?
How
great mountains and rivers: this version!
But,
why is it to differ from this glitter
So
that suddenly I felt on a mere excursion
A
confusing mixture of blithe and bitter?
My
native home Nature had favored its flag
Nearly
five thousand years to fly in its domain.
Alas!
Who began to render it a tattered rag?
Its
subjects scattered, sulking, suffering pain!
People
have flocked to Yosemite here,
Each
a contentment receiver and a peace giver.
Plants
and trees, birds and beasts: clear sphere;
No cause to worry, fear, hesitate, shiver.
You
may express to one another each view:
No
police cordons on your way, the heavy load.
Everybody
would stop and wait as due
For
the tiny squirrel carefree to cross the road.
Night
after night your sleep comes securely,
All
right for you, honey, and for me too.
Life
is wide and smooth like dreams to surely
Increase
sounds and colors all the time through.
One
nurtures of happiness a good sense
Obviously
on his or her own face to tomorrow.
His
talk and her smile need not be a pretense;
Your
foreheads are not furrowed by sorrow.
Although
for a brief moment here I came,
I
did bear a grief for my old nation’s sake.
Such
high sky and deep waters are the same,
But
just pondering over it makes my heart ache.
No
difference, yet why in this strange world
Life
has incessantly offered its open arms
While
my left-behind Vietnam is swirled
Down
into misery by the evil that only harms.
Well,
Yosemite! I have already come here,
This
beautiful site, from such a dark chapter.
I
think back to my former country dear
And
crave for a near future filled with rapture.
Translation by THANH-THANH