HE / UPLIFTING POEMS / poems by THE PHONG.

                                                  H  E
                                       a poem by THE PHONG
                                translated  BY ĐAM XUÂN CẬN

.
      1.
  He wrote poems   to sing freedom and to denounce slavery
  His wish to be a willow tree on the windy coast
   He wrote in poems
        this world is full of great expectations
  He and a deep love for less lucky countrymen

  His hate :
         the trucks of screaming prisoners
         on the way   to court
  To make money
         was the last thing he would think of
   He lived a good life,
         he was nice to those around him
   He even shared the poverty of his fellow mates
   He spent many years to pore over books
                                            in the university

His talking straight
        and thinking straight endeared him
        in the eyes of many
He solemny swore,
       I will never do bad things to others

He wept over the death of Frederic Gacia  Lorca
       the Spanish poet
 He pointed to the picture of Francisco Franco
       loudly condemning him as a cruel man
 He paid homage to Vietnamese hero Nguyễn Tháí Học
" I shared his conviction and held him in admiration".

2.
Time passed  ...
Time was a great master
       time taught us to do good is never easy
Many  a night I could not  sleep
        because of him

Now that he was a judge,
      be betrayed his own beliefs
Holding the conspiration notice,
      he shrugged his head
' Tell me, what is this all about
      tell me
      I only want to live
      I am afraid to die
      I love myself
      I have only one life and I don't want to lose it "
He burst out crying as a little kid.

On the way home
       I could not say a word !
[]
Saigon, July 2, 1963.
THEPHONG.

(  from' Uplifting Poems'  in ' Asian Morning Western Music
poems by  The Phong.
    This Edition- Jan 2012- Ho Chi Minh City)