Poems by Duong Huy from Vietnam

 

Poems by Duong Huy from Vietnam

His biography:
Full name: Phan DuyHuong
Born on January 1, 1939
Hometown: QuynhDoi, QuynhLuu, NgheAnprovince.
Member of Vietnam Writers’ Association, Member of Vietnam Journalists Association, Member of NgheAn Culture and Arts Association.

Printed works:
7 poetry booksfor children; 4 satirical poetry books; 5 satirical skits; 3 poems used in textbooks for children.

Literary awards:
Prize A for satirical poetry of Van Nghe newspaper; Third Prize for Poetry Book (Three Rats); Official Prize for mischievous; Official Prize for A boat sleeping at the bank; Ho Xuan Huong Award (NgheAn province)

His poems:

Mischievousness of No. 0

In the sequence of natural numbers
No. 0 is mischievous
It is fat round
But it is really nothing
Adding a beard suddenly become fat
No. 0turns to 9

Hang it upside down and count
No. 9 falling 3
Piling buds of flowers
Two No. 0 turn to 8
Using a stick to visit friends
The No. 0 turns to 10.


A round world

Uncle Compa has two legs
Legs, one long and one short
The long leg holding a pencil
Running around the page
The short leg standing firmly
Nobody can shake

Then oh, you see
The round world appeared
Here are the diospyros, annonasquamosa
Here are red and blue balls
The ball rolling on the field
The egg lying in a haystack

Tiny marbles
The huge globe
The naughty No. 0
Using a stick for long ways…

Thank you, Uncle Compa
Diligent and hard working
The world it draws
Fully, not distortedly.



Everybody working

The wind bridges
Through two apple branches
A locust pound rice
Uncle Cicada plays an instrument
A yellow Bee flutters

Reaching out to suck nectar
Earth Antscheer up!
Carrying rice all day
Ms. Spider’s hands are busy
Weaving to catch mosquito

Uncle Worm works hard
Digging soil and caving
A mouse clicks on the table
Saving the data warehouse...

No complaint tired
Hard-working
Good pupils every day
Happily going to school


The moon

1st, 2nd, 3rd
The tiny moon is called the new one
15th is bright moon, full moon
It is as delicious as shrimp cracker in the sky
16th to 30th
It is faintly visible, the crescent moon


A bread

The fragrant yellow bread
Hot and crispy
BoyTi takes a bite
Oh delicious, so delicious!

-Come on, let me eat together
BoyTo’s covetous voice
- Oh! I'm sorry
I'm half-eaten

GirlHoa clings to Ti's shirt
-Let me take a bite
- You are so fat
Must abstain, do not eat

And boyToan, the best friend
Often sharing happiness and sadness
But not now
Tomorrow, could be!


The grandma slowly gets smaller

When the granddaughter was a little baby
As high as on grandma’s waist
The granddaughter fell and cried
The grandma quickly helped her up

The home gardenwasfamiliar
The grandma growed jackfruit, annonasquamosa
Annona squamosa boomedmany seasons
Jackfruit beared fruit

The granddaughter grows up every day
The tree gets taller every day
The fruit is bigger and bigger
The grandma slowly... gets smaller



From 1 to 10

A stork sleeps with 1 leg
A bird flies with 2 wings
Mother setsa pot of rice cakes
On the 3-legged tripod
Baby spells
On a 4-legged chair

Flag flies in the sunshine
5 yellow stars
Parents go to work
Off on Friday afternoon
Grandma comes to visit her granddaughter
Crossing 7 spans

Invitingthe grandma to eat betel
With rice 8*
Kite fluttering
Among 9 layers of clouds
Beautiful writing, good singing
10 points for a red book
Read more time
A stork sleeps with 1 leg

*A delicious and fragrant rice like sticky one


I am a ball

I am a ball
My body is round
Leather jacket, empty stomach
I am hyperactive
Love to dance, love to fly…

Whistle calling to the yard
I'm shouting
A long and wide lawn
Jumping and rolling happily.

Just kick me hard
I'm not angry
Even though it hurts
I don't grumble.

I fly in the net
Millions of people cheer
Good player
They named a king (scorer).

I like "fair play"
I hate war
Who loves peace
It's my fans.

I am the ball
Flying across the planet…


12 crayons

12 crayons
Hibernate quietly
Suddenly wake up, call each other
Turn its head upside down, work

The green crayon draws the field
Floating and waving rice
Red crayon paints the sun
With thousand new sunshine rays
A yellow crayon draws apricot branches
Waving the flying swallows

A purple crayon draws traditional long dresses
Graceful dresses in festivals
And on grandfather’s chin, the beard
A white color
One flash, new page
Green, red, yellow, purple, white
Fun colors singing.

12 crayons
Looking at each other, laughing satisfactorily
Suddenly realized something strange
All of them are shorter.



The mother’s lullaby

Ah Oh!
The bird lulls thewords of the dawn
The wind lulls the words of sunny and rainy fields
The river lulls the words of two banks
The sunshine lulls the words of white stork wings
The blue sky lulls dove wings
The garden lulls the words of the faithful betel piece

The mountain lulls the words of the falcon
The sea lulls the words of far away waves
The land lulls the words of ancestors
Thousands of beautiful historicpages shine with victories
Ah Oh!
The native country
Mixing in the warm voice of mothers lull the children.



(Translated from Vietnamese into English by Hanoi Female Translators)