Phạm Công Thiện | Sadness (3)

Phạm Công Thiện, the Vietnamese poet, Buddhist philosopher, scholar, under the name of Nguyên Tánh was born on June 1st, 1941 in Mỹ Tho, Vietnam. He left Vietnam in 1970, lived in Israel, Germany, then for a while in France. In 1983, he moved to the United States, settled in Los Angeles, and became a professor of Buddhism at the College of Buddhist Studies. He passed away on August 3rd, 2011 in Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm, the blogger, activist, poet and translator, born 1971 in Phu Nhuan, Saigon, Vietnam. The pharmacist currently lives and works in Western Sydney, Australia.

By Phạm Công Thiện , translation by Nguyễn Thị Phương Trâm

Sadness

There’s a sadness in the air

Hovering like a curse

There’s a sadness back then

To never meet again

There’s a sadness in the day after that

There where the pixie disrobed

Her tiny breast shy and bold

Red hot scented with moonlight

There’s a sadness in dreams

As the pixie buttoned up

Leaky rain through peach canopies

To never meet again

—

May 2022

—–

Buồn

Có chuyện buồn trên cao

Phù phép nổi lào rào

Có chuyện buồn hôm nào

Thôi hết còn gặp nhau

Có chuyện buồn hôm sau

Có nàng tiên cởi áo

Đôi vú nhỏ nghẹn ngào

Thơm nóng đỏ trăng sao

Có chuyện buồn chiêm bao

Nàng tiên cài khuy áo

Mưa dột mấy rừng đào

Thôi hết còn gặp nhau…

Nguồn: Phạm Công Thiện, Trên tất cả đỉnh cao là lặng im, NXB Văn hoá Sài Gòn, 2009

3 replies on “Phạm Công Thiện | Sadness (3)”

A poem that definitely evokes the mood of sadness.

Beautifully written.

LikeLiked by 1 person

I found it depressing lol, but there’s always acceptance in his verses. 🙂

☀️☀️

Sadness

Buồn

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3 replies on “Phạm Công Thiện | Sadness (3)”

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