I Want

Lyrics: Hoàng Dân Bình

Music: Trần Đại Bản

Singer: Duyên Quỳnh

English translation by Vương Thanh, 2024

 I want poetry to be like threads of silk

Weaving into the fabric that you dream about

So you can sew a dress for our wedding day

And I'll have a golden moon to gift you poetry

I want poetry to be like drops of rain

Seeping into the long-waiting thirsty earth

to nourish roots for trees to grow

And turn rice fields green

 I want poetry to be like rivers

Bringing silt to irrigate the fields

So you can splash water on the seedlings

And make your mother happy as the rice flowers bloom.

 I want poetry to be like a gust of wind

Spreading pollen in all directions

Bringing love to every tree and grass

To produce ripe fruits and fragrant flowers

I want poetry to be the moon and stars

For anyone in the countryside to sing sweetly

As you splash water and I plant rice

Who’s washing silk cloth by the riverside

Who doesn't want life to be like a dream

Yet we hold onto regrets and hopes

If not seeking inspiration to make life anew,

then how can we have verse-intoxicating wine.

Trần Đại Bản      Duyên Quỳnh