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Contents
Acknowledgments.....................................................ix
ca dao by John Balaban...............................................1
Introduction.........................................................2
Autumn Landscape....................................................18
Confession (I)......................................................20
Offering Betel......................................................22
Confession (II).....................................................24
Lament for the Prefect of Vïnh-Tu'ò'ng..............................26
Lament for Commissioner Cóc.........................................28
Confession (III)....................................................30
The Floating Cake...................................................32
On Sharing a Husband................................................34
Jackfruit...........................................................36
River Snail.........................................................38
Tavern by a Mountain Stream.........................................40
Teasing Chiêu-Hô....................................................42
Chiêu-Hô's Reply....................................................44
Three-Mountain Pass.................................................46
Weaving at Night....................................................48
On a Portrait of Two Beauties.......................................50
The Unwed Mother....................................................52
Swinging............................................................54
Male Member.........................................................56
Girl without a Sex..................................................58
The Paper Fan.......................................................60
Picking Flowers.....................................................62
The Wellspring......................................................64
Cats................................................................66
Consoling a Young Widow.............................................68
The Pharmacist's Widow Mourns His Death.............................70
The Condition of Women..............................................72
Village Schoolmaster................................................74
The Retired Doctor..................................................76
Young Scholars......................................................78
Quán Sú Pagoda......................................................80
Buddhist Nun........................................................82
The Lustful Monk....................................................84
Old Pagoda..........................................................86
Viewing Cac-Có' Cavern..............................................88
Mocking a Monk......................................................90
Trân Quôc Temple....................................................92
At the Chinese General's Tomb.......................................94
Rusty Coins.........................................................96
The Scarecrow.......................................................98
The Crab...........................................................100
Unwelcome Houseguest...............................................102
The Kingdom of Dang................................................104
The Chess Game.....................................................106
Heaven Market......................................................108
Questions for the Moon.............................................110
Country Scene......................................................112
Spring-Watching Pavilion...........................................114
Endnotes...........................................................116
Sources for Nôm poems..............................................130
References.........................................................132
Sources for quôc-ngu' versions.....................................133
About the translator...............................................134
ca dao by John Balaban.............................................135
Chapter One
Canh thu
Thánh thót tâu tiêu mây hat mua,
Khen ai khéo ve canh tiêu so.
Xanh om cô thu tròn xoe tán,
Trang xoá tràng giang phang lang tò.
Bâu dôc giang son say chap ru'o'u,
Túi lung phong nguyêt nang vì tho'.
O hay, canh cung ua nguò'i nhi,
Ai thây, ai mà chang ngân ngo'.
Autumn Landscape
Drop by drop rain slaps the banana leaves.
Praise whoever sketched this desolate scene:
the lush, dark canopies of the gnarled trees,
the long river, sliding smooth and white.
I lift my wine flask, drunk with rivers and hills.
My backpack, breathing moonlight, sags with poems.
Look, and love everyone.
Whoever sees this landscape is stunned.
Tu' tình tho'
Tiêng gà xao xác gáy trên bom
Oán hân trông ra khap moi chòm
Mõ tham không khua ma cung côc
Chuông sâu chang dánh có sao om
Truóc nghe nhung tiêng thêm râu ri
Sau giân vì duyên dê mõm mòm
Tài tu van nhân ai dó tá
Thân này dã han chiu già hom.
Confession (I)
Gray sky. A rooster crows.
Bitter, I look out on thickets and folds.
I haven't shaken grief's rattle, yet it clatters.
I haven't rung sorrow's bell, though it tolls.
Their noise only drags me down, angry
with a fate that says I'm much too bold.
Men of talent, learned men, where are you?
Am I supposed to walk as if stooped and old ?
Mò'i an trâu
Qua cau nho nho miêng trâu hôi
Này cua Xuân Hu'o'ng mó'i quêt rôi
Có phai duyên nhau thòi tham lai
Dù'ng xanh nhu' lá bac nhu' vôi.
Offering Betel
A piece of nut and a bit of leaf.
Here, Xuân Hu'o'ng has smeared it.
If love is fated, you'll chew it red.
Lime won't stay white, nor leaf, green.
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Spring Essence