Just A Dream

I ventured into Love

And found myself bitterly alone
I gave to Love my all
But Love was like an indifferent cloud
In silence Love passed me by
Then one night Love came back to me in fervor
Entrancing me with a passionate ardor
My soul soared to heavenly bliss
When the birds’ songs brought me back
From my ecstasy with Love in paradise
My earth is still moving in the same direction
As when I entered the illusion of Love
Oh! Ephemera! Dreams!
I shall go search for Love’s footprints by the old brook

Translated from Chỉ Là Mơ Thôi in poem book Bên Suối Trăng Mơ by Hoàng Phượng

Springtime in a New Land

I let my feelings flow freely
As I sit by myself in an empty room
The years of innocence flash back in my mind
Of a young girl embraced in warmth and love
How I miss the time of my youth
When around a springtime meal we’d gather
As the New Year was about to begin
Food was shared and best wishes bestowed
On the altar, the incense was lit
And we had, next to it, lovingly set a plate of fruits
I had no worries
Basking in my family’s love and harmony
Suddenly a storm came and shook my being
Taking everything away but the clothes on my back
Today as I sit and watch a springtime snowfall
Can anything be as cold as the chill of my soul
Carrying the burden of being far from home
I do not know what will warm up my frozen heart

translated from Xuân Trên Đất Khách by Hoàng Phượng in the poem book of Bên Suối Trăng Mơ

Collage #46

In the spring when the birds begin to sing
The flowers bloom and Milli is dressed in red
The Easter eggs we gather are laid in baskets
Our toenails are painted purple as we sit side by side
We are two shadows under the city lights
We go visit DanDan in the countryside
The angels who come to greet him
Tell him no more sorrow no more pain
It’s not easy to say goodbye
Our lives intersect but for a short while
Yet we love you tender we love you pure
We will hold the memory of Sealy forevermore

In Search of Ma Hong

We were waiting for a dinner table. We were on the 6^th floor of a building. Standing next to the large glass window that spanned the entire wall of the room, I could see the stage on the street level where a comedy show was being held. Sitting at the window would allow one to see and hear the show, I believed. We were a party of six. The only empty table at the window had only four chairs. I was telling my husband that we would therefore not be able to watch the show. Too bad, I thought.

We decided to sit at the bar while waiting. The bar table and stools were very tall. I felt tipsy with the first glass of wine. A waitress came and demanded to see my driver license. While I was trying to get my purse, she began telling me that the underage would be prosecuted. I mumbled a plea for her to stop being scary, while thinking this would be a story to tell my children. I struggled to get my purse from the floor because the stool I was sitting on was so high up. I was nervous because I didn’t feel too sober to maintain balance. I was afraid of falling down, but I didn’t.

Somehow that episode was over and out of my mind. I don’t remember what I drank or anything that happened before I was walking on soft sand and that was hard to do. I tried to follow my husband, but progress was slow. I still felt somewhat tipsy. Somehow I felt we were not adequately dressed, but we forged on. When the hard dirt came back underfoot, I was so relieved. No more sand. We were able to walk faster.

We got to an intersection and someone told us we were walking in the wrong direction. The Ma Hong restaurant was in the opposite direction, we were told. I turned around and was not sure of the correct way. I asked a man if he was going to Ma Hong. He said yes. I decided that the sure way was to follow him. But he got onto a motorcycle and got out of my sight quickly. I was separated from my husband by this time, but I figured I should aim for Ma Hong. The streets were not familiar. I wasn’t sure if I was going the right way; but stopping to find my husband or to ask someone for directions never crossed my mind. I blindly walked in uncertainty. Then I got to a shopping center, I stopped a lady who was with a man and a child. I assumed they were her husband and son. She seemed reluctant to stop to speak to me. I could understand the uneasiness people might have towards stopping and talking to a stranger. I asked her for Ma Hong restaurant, she pointed and told me to follow a direction. She was encouraging, but her directions were not entirely clear. I went on and found myself in front of a merchant. I stopped to ask him if he knew where Ma Hong was. But then miraculously, my husband was right behind me and told me that we were at the restaurant. I was standing right in front of Ma Hong restaurant. I felt foolish that I didn’t look up for the sign. But I was happy that I found the place and reunited with my husband.

Then I woke up….

So I didn’t get to eat at Ma Hong… I have no idea where the other two couples went, who they were, and why we went to Ma Hong instead of staying at the restaurant on the 6^th floor of a building.

But then perhaps that was a different day, a different dinner date.