REMINISCENCE ABOUT HISTORICAL FIGURES

Some evening, I was reminiscing about people who lived years ago
The Exiled Angel who breathed thousands of intoxicating verses
The phoenix had flown away to fairyland
For ten thousands of years, the empty pavilion waits in remembrance… (1)

The scholar weaves wishes and dreams by the windowsill
Under the flowers, two hearts in love enter the poetry realm
Her dreamy, innocent bright eyes that belong to eons ago
A dream for a hundred years of being together

in the moonlit cove of Poetry, Music, and Love. (2)
Over the Long River, the fog stretches for miles
By the quiet shore, the two friends said words of farewell
The clouds float in melancholy, like from a Tang poem

Waves of feelings of grief follow the footstep of the departee (3)
Life’s full of distresses and sorrows
Three hundred years from now, who will shed tears for me (4)
Reading a few lines of verses in the quiet night,
Feeling sad for the human plight
Talent and Fate, often at odds with each other,
make the life of a beauty
floats up-and-down with the ocean water. (5)

In a spirit of wild unrestraint,
singing as wine cups being emptied
The vast, misty earth and sky, where should I be
The four sky horizons full of wild winds and stormy rains
Tapping on the sword and sing a song,
Tilting a jug of wine and read some verses
How few understanding friends in one’s life
Who’s a friend of the heart, please drink with me (6)

A man’s life promised to the spirit of adventure and high ideals
A full pocket of knowledge and skills to tame the world’s ills
One day when wishes and dreams are satisfied,
then to a mountain abode with poetry and a jug of wine. (7)

The moon rises and brightens the night sky
There’s the “Beautiful Lady” examining herself in the mirror
The moon shining brightly on her house from afar
O Tố, Hoàng’s heart’s full of tearing pain being apart from you. (8)

The silkworms spin silk their whole lives
A poem of deep sorrow for the wife shedding tears
as she longs for her soldier husband.
Thousands of mulberry trees block their sights from each other.
Each day seems like three years for a lady
waiting alone in her chamber. (9)

The fish sauce boat of Nghệ An, rides back and forth on the river
The court’s poetry association just has that strong smell
Leg chains stumble a prince’s footsteps
A revolutionary scholar with crazy boastful arrogance
leaving a chapter for posterity (10)

“Sunshine and rain are Heaven’s jobs” (11)
His poetry simple and elegant like folk verses
The scent of country grass fields familiarly sweet
Makes fragrant the six-eight verse,
and beautify the romance of gentle lovesickness

A poet’s heart in a dreamland, or a dream harbor
Who ties the moon boat by the side of the Milky Way River
The night sky bright with the full moon
The Moon Goddess coming down to earth to have some fun (12)

The long river flows to the ocean
The soldiers of olden days, where are their burial graves
Grass by the riverside, the wind blows sad sighs

Seems like in the water waves, thousands of swords clashing
The camp fires, the war drums beating …
The cries of soldiers in pain stretch for miles
In war, since eons ago, only a few escape unscathed
The river water of Bạch Đằng Giang flows quietly
But several times, blood had dyed the river red
History record glorious victories against the invaders
Ten thousands of hearts like one,
for the race of the Mountain Fairy and Dragon King. (13)

The homeland suffers continous smoke and fires
I reminisce about the heroine who commit suicide in the Hát River
The sounds of Mê Linh drums live on in the people’s minds
Calling on the Patriotic Spirit in each person to fight against the enemies
Gloriously bright is the Spirit of our country
Incense in my heart set alight to worship the Trưng Heroines (14)

Here’s the mount Tản, and the river Đà (15)
Months and years passing by, with revelry in tea and wine
The mountain and river still echo his verse
River water flows away, away for so long, but have not yet returned
The peach blossom’s leaves falling on the mountain stream
The fairyland hidden in myst, where’s the road back to paradise?

Tầm Dương rivershore floats a sad, nostalgic melody
Years ago charming with a beautiful figure
Talent and Beauty are renowned near and far
Day and night, entertain parties with lute and song.
Life flows by uncaringly
A few mulberry-field-becoming sea events
and the passing of time
have faded her youth and beauty
The lute music in the quiet night
expresses the sorrow in her heart. (16)

Suddenly, I hear the call of the mountain and river
The “Righteous Spirit Song” rises up to the high clouds
A golden heart not feeling ashamed with the bright moon
In a human life, who does not goes through Death once (17)
A small pool too small for a whale
A gilded cage not fitting for the wings of an eagle soaring high
Need to make the worl know of my abilities
And leave a fragrant reputation to be recorded in the pages of History.

Notes:
1. Phoenix Pavilion – Li Bai
2. Tête-à-tête Under Flowers - Đinh Hùng
3. Farewell Poem - Thâm Tâm
4.Nguyễn Du
5. The Tale of Thuy Kieu - Nguyễn Du
6. Hồ Trường - Nguyễn Bá Trác
7. Chí Nam Nhi - Nguyễn Công Trứ
8. The Twelfth of June - Vũ Hoàng Chương
9. Chinh Phụ Ngâm - Đặng Trần Côn / Đoàn Thị Điểm
10. Cao Bá Quát
11. Nguyễn Bính
12. Hàn Mặc Tử
13. Trần Hưng Đạo, Lý Thường Kiệt defeated the Chinese invaders at Bạch Đằng river in the Nguyên and Sung dynasties.
14. The Trưng Sisters
15. Tản Đà
16. Tỳ Bà Hành - Bạch Cư Dị
17. "Nhân sinh tự cổ thùy vô tử ..." - Chính Khí Ca - Văn Thiên Tường