Original Poem: "Mùa Xuân Yêu Em" by Thái Tú Hạp 

English translation by Vuong Thanh

For Ái Cầm

Life’s a long season of Spring 

ever since I fell in love with you, my darling.

Even the mountain grounds of Quảng, 

had become, under our footsteps, soft and tender, 

Rows of trees, sprouting new buds, gently whispered 

a melodious stream of love and affection, 

that seemed to come from the high heaven.  

Springtime it’s been 

with your generous tolerance and cherishing affection. 

Your ever faithful heart and your loving words are like honey. 

There were endearing moments of sulking jealousy,

and times of resigned sorrow to the fortunes of life.

There were moments of knife-cutting pains

and there were happy joys and memories

of our sweet and tender love. 

From early morning till late at night 

in our impoverished home town 

and during wartime when a soldier’s life 

often hangs on a thread, 

your loving heart always remained constant.

And when we lost the war and I was taken

to a prison camp in a remote mountain,

you still came regularly to visit me 

and brought food supplies and basic necessities. 

A human life so fragile, the human fate so sorrowful

for those refugees fleeing the homeland across the sea.

On the island housing the camps, sounds of bitter laughs 

and distressful lamentations can be heard all around. 

So far away now, the silver falls of our memories.

Human life’s illusive like  the fleeting shadow 

of a bird passing over the mountain range’s end. 

Earth and sky, fragrantly fresh with newly growing buds, 

to grant me a springtime of immeasurable love 

for you, and just for you, my darling sweetheart.

dành tặng Ái Cầm 

mùa xuân từ thuở yêu em

núi non xứ Quảng cũng mềm bước đi

hàng cây nẩy lộc thầm thì

nghe như dòng suối từ bi cội nguồn

mùa xuân từ độ bao dung

tiếng chung thủy ở. tiếng đường mật vui

tiếng hờn ghen. tiếng ngậm ngùi

tiếng đau dao cắt. tiếng mùi mẫn yêu

lúc khuya sớm thuở quê nghèo

lúc chinh chiến lửa phận treo tuổi mình

lúc ngã ngựa, khi tàn binh

lúc non cao vẫn trọn tình thăm nuôi

trùng dương u thảm phận người

quẩn quanh hải đảo tiếng cười đắng cay

xa rồi thác lũ trời tây

đời hư ảo thoáng chim bay cuối ngàn

đất trời thơm ngát lộc non

cho ta xuân thắm vô vàn yêu em 

Thái Tú Hạp