Why does the moon appear to be flicker under water? Let the fish swim around looking for it

Dr. Trinh Quoc Thang, an eminent poet from Vietnam, the Land of Blue Dragon, shares his four poems

Dr. Trinh Quoc Thang from Vietnam, the Professor of HUCE Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, is Member of Hanoi Writers’ Association and Vietnam Writers’ Association. He is winner of the literary award from Association of Literature and Arts of Vinh Phuc Province in 2000 for the collection of poems “Thesis and you” published by Literature publishing house in 1998.

MOON AND FISH

Why does the moon appear to be flicker under water?

Let the fish swim around looking for it

As the moon are caught, it vanished into water

As swimming away, the moon rounded back, gentle

Moon and fish, in the sky and under water

Shall never be able to meet

For the moon’s aspiration is so high up there

Its illusion, on the other hand, is so close

That is why fish swims into hope

In a lifetime search for the moon

Dreamy fish or illusory moon

Waste this life in vain for incapable of fishing the moon out.

***

BIRD AND CAGE

Little Oriental skylark

Lives in a cage that is huge

It has space to sing

Sing all day long

Big cuckoo

Lives in a small cage

Cramped, makes the bird bound

In sadness, it clucks

A man caught that

He then switched the two cages

Small bird go to smaller cage

Big one go to bigger cage

But how strange, since then

Seems to be fair but

The cuckoo only jumps

Little Oriental skylark, only flies.

***

FLOWERS IN THE DESERT

In the dry desert under burning sun

The flowers still blossom with all their hearts

No bees, no butterflies, no passengers

The splendid colors flicker

And so flower blooms, blooms for no one

So hot the sand, so hard the rock

Flower must blooms, simple as that

For the flower itself has always been before.

***

YOU AND SPRING

To the edge of frigid

I see the sun rising

To the end of pain

I see a peaceful joy

To the end of time

I see you and spring.

(Translated into English by Vo Hoang Long)

___________________ 

Published under International Cooperation with "Sindh Courier"