Asking you

 

When you hear the birds sing
Do you see the blue sky?
When the sun shines
Do you see the green leaves?

On the rice field that you see
Is there a new season to harvest?
On the road that you are headed
Is there a darkening cloud?

In this life of ours
Is there happiness?
In what we can keep
Is there love?

On the moon half shape above
Is there anything waited?
Of all the places that you have visited
Anything that you remember?

When a windy day occurs
Do you see a storm coming?
And while you are sleeping
Is there a beautiful dream?

In all what you wished for
What do you actually get?
On this sunny river of life
Are you the one in dream?

Pham Ngoc
09052003

Chasing shadow

 

Walking toward spring season
fresh scent in the air
tomorrow will leave behind
all the sadness that have not been so kind
Walking toward the sun
owerwhelm by the heat and blowing wind
chasing my own shadow
left behind footsteps that no one followed
Walking toward the twilight
leaves come falling down in flight
surround by the strange sound
a storm is coming around
Walking toward the night
the moon no longer shines
we are now apart
all I can hear is the sound my beating heart
Walking away from you
chasing my own shadow…

Pham Ngoc
24022003

The farewell song

 

I finally realize we lost each other after you left
Yellow flowers still blooming at the place where we met
You are not here anymore – but memory is what I found
The river flowing desolately under the sky of whitening cloud
In this desperate life – How many times love has been divided
Leaves have never turn green they just turn out to die
I have not love you long enough – so why don’t you stay?
Our love has died with autumn fading away
We have lost each other in that rainy day
You walked away with sorrow in your eye
So lonely I just don’t know where to hide
The sadness in me scatters like a thousand pieces of broken glass
The scent of you is all what I have left
Your body and soul is what I always need
In my heart a flower of love is blooming to stay
Spread your wings – you have gone at the end of the day…

Pham Ngoc
13112002
(Letters from the soul)

Poem for a Butterfly

 

Fly away – there is nothing left to say
Missing you is what remains
Like the last ray of light has just fade away
Rain has come to wash off the pains
Fly away – please don’t look back
Autumn has gone from the sky
Don’t be sad – and please don’t cry
Falling rain has bring enough tears for both of us
Fly away – whatever happen I must
Return to my lonely silent self
Love has gone -
But the last poem I wrote for you will stay with me
To all the places that I will be
Fly away – winter has come at the gate
In the old town memory is laying in wait
Each time I am falling in love
Each time I have failed
We lost each other the day the rain came in wail…

Pham Ngoc
12112002
(Letters from the soul)

Intersection

 

When both of us reached an intersection
You have turned and left me without any though
Following someone else and forget me is what you got
At this corner of life
Gusted wind has blind my sight
Immense sadness is falling within me,
Even the grass on the ground can see
Hopelessly searching for you – whom I just lost
Jealousness raise in me – I am a fool for love of course
At this intersection where we are separated
Memories of you filled every place
Spring has come and spring has gone
Season changed and I am still alone
Since you have left without any trace
Our hopeless love has been wasted
No word can describe the suffering in me
Gusted wind is all that I can hear and see
At an intersection- Suddenly!!!

Pham Ngoc
12032003
(Letters from the soul)

Portrait

 

If I can paint you
I will use color of the sun
Because wicked moon is so unsettle
The different between day and night
is so empty
that you are at lost
and unable to see
You are a woman
with the heart of sadness
Deep within you the moon shine silently
Where happiness in unseen
Where laughter is lost
Living a desperate life
Decorated yourself with sadness
and unruly words
If I can paint you
I will use the white virgin color
Like a new flower in bloom
that led me to a new season of hope
Even though
happiness in you is just a stain
of what remains
Two thousand and two years has been wasted
Seasons came and gone
I am still unable to find
The color to paint a portrait
Of you!

Pham Ngoc
07032003

Autumn

The place that you have gone to
autumn never came
the place where I stayed
filled with foggy swayed
the trees stood silently
yellow leaves falling in waves
and the streets
full of memories
deep in the sea of dreams
wicked autumn moon shining
I can hear the echoes of my heart
in the darkness from afar
autumn came when you are gone
with suffering my heart mourns
just me and the small town
under dark autumn cloud

Pham Ngoc
1977

Starry Eyes In The Night

…and then we parted
the last word said
the last drink swallowed
half moon shining from above
days filled with sorrows
evenings filled with tears
and the street I passed by
starry eyes in the night
in the town with no name
sadness knocking on my door
the little soul that I have
wasted time that we shared
lost love
shattered dream
faded past
nothing last!

Pham Ngoc
1977

“Goodbye” Cannot Be A Word Of Expression

The last time we met
there was nothing left to say
the echoes of your sobbing
filled the air
the sorrows in me
vast as the night sky
the final word was silenced
because “goodbye”
cannot be a word of expression
All of the memories that we shared
came rushing back within me
like fractures on an empty field
after the quake
Snow has started to fall
covering the deserted street
the sign of winter is coming
and the last rainy day just disappearing
the only thing left now
is the air filled with the blameless white snow
from afar
a lost bird
crashed into the mountain slope
subsiding
I have been hoping for a slight shade of sunlight
I have been looking into an empty crater
for obsessions that no longer remained
You have been transformed
into the everlasting flower that is forever within me
and pains and sorrows that I have endured will never end
This strenuous and troubled life
is just like a boat in a stormy sea
that has never seen a peaceful day
love and happiness that I have been searching for
is just a dream
that continues to glitter
but will never near
And finally
everything is just an illusion
dream and reality
continuing to embrace each other
you and I
heading in different directions
dreams still hovering around
reality has become tears that are crumbling down

Pham Ngoc
1977
(Letters from the soul)

The Beginning Of Desire

Finally -
we are apart
you have returned to your strenuous life
the heated passion of younger time
buried deep in my mind
I am moving on
carrying with me fresh pain and faded memories
The wicked smile
and sweet sound of your voice
still echo
like the howling of the spirits at night.
Love -
is the express train that never stops
the lost traveler staring through the
corner of deepest sky
searching for any sign of what remains
from the train that just passed by
Night will fall
and the murky cloud will surround
this wasted land
where he is stranded
Happiness -
is a delicate flower in the wind
one day
it will be blown away
And in desperation
I am continuing to search with obstacles around me
for the vision of life
time passing by
the pain remains alive
Like a free bird
in the immense sky
nowhere to turn
the jungle is filled with unseen traps
and dangers envelop its flight
Finally -
in shattered love
even a stone will agonize
like thousand pieces of broken glass
still reflect the segregation and suffering
and in deep remembrances
we will return to
the beginning
of desire

Pham Ngoc
1977