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Decades after leaving their home country to settle in the United States, the Vietnamese diaspora has taken roots and
raised a new generation. Many among the first generation came in mid-life, leaving behind a lifetime of hopes and aspirations,
which were dashed when by force of circumstances they had to leave their country.
They have done a remarkable job adapting themselves to their new country, and
can look back with pride at the heroic effort they have made to transform their
uprooted families into ones acclimated to the new environment.
Soon, though, many of the first wave of emigration will make a passage to a new
phase of their life, retirement and old age. They have risen to the challenge of
rebuilding their own life, given a respectable account of their own ability, and
shown resilience in the face of an uncertain future. There may still be regrets and
disappointment at the lot they were dealt by fate. But by and large, these refugees have gained personal independence
and for some, even financial success, because they have pride, and conduct themselves with dignity
During moments of introspection, sensitive minds take a look at the past, and feel an underlying nostalgia that they had
silenced for so long. Ly Lang Nhan lends these souls a voice to express their regrets. Ly tells us it is all right to
feel tender-hearted about their old country, and show the soft side of their hearts
that make them that much more human.
And so let us listen to Ly as he pours out his heart in regrets about the
soul-tormenting tug-of-war between the old country he has forever forsaken,
and the new country he knows will see his final days.
We can all relate to this poignant situation.
Đôi Bờ Đại Dương
Bãi cát trắng Destin dài mỏi mắt
Sóng bạc đầu trước mặt cuốn triền miên
Rặng thông buồn say gió đến vạn niên
Đàn chim trắng nhỡn nhơ bay tìm cá
Tôi ngồi đây một mình nơi xa lạ
Nắng sau đồi chưa ấm cả tâm cang
Người lao công bận sắp ghế thành hàng
Bãi biển vắng hồn hoang nghe muối xát
Nhớ Nha-Trang biển xưa chưa nắng tắt
Đàn trẻ thơ đuổi bắt tiếng cười vang
Quán chiều hôm đã đóng cửa xếp bàn
Ta lửng thửng tay trong tay dạo bước
Xa Hòn Yến thuyền chài ai nhẹ lướt
Ngư phũ về đèn lấp lánh sương chiều
Sóng vang ầm tan vở mộng cô liêu
Đại dương đó đôi bờ ôi cách biệt!
Ba mươi năm thời gian trôi mãi miết
Bận sinh tồn nào biết nhớ hôm qua
Biển sáng nay đối diện chỉ mình ta
Tình quê cũ dạt dào theo sóng vỗ
Nha-Trang mến! đất lành chim xây tổ
Cá tôm đầy phường phố rộn người
đi
Nắng mai hồng Cầu Đá nước trong khe
Hải Học Viện ai về còn lưu luyến
Truờng Hải Quân năm xưa nơi huấn luyện
Người trai hùng hoa biển hẹn trùng dương
Quân phục chàng mầu trắng cát quê hương
Bên tà áo dễ thương chiều mùa hạ
Cầu Xóm Bóng giăng ngang qua biển đá
Đỉnh Tháp Bà cây cả rủ rêu phong
Nước dừa tươi ngọt lịm Bãi Hòn
Chồng
Biển Đồng Đế lặng trầm tâm
vẫn nhớ
Nhìn sóng dạt trào lòng nghe bỡ ngỡ
Nước non tình cách trở vạn trùng dương
Áng mây hồng giăng kín một trời thương
Hồn cô lữ bổng tràn đầy xúc cảm
A-La xứ phương này dừng cuối trạm
Người lữ hành tóc xám ngã hai màu
Triều đã dâng gió cuốn sóng lên cao
Đôi bờ biển ngàn đời phân cách mãi
6 June 2002
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Aux sables blancs de la plage de Destin infinie
En face des vagues écumeuses hurlant en colère,
Les grands pins tristes battus par le vent étourdi,
Les mouettes blanches font leur chasse solitaire.
Me voici tout seul dans cet endroit étranger
Aux collines que le soleil réchauffe à peine.
Le travailleur aménage les chaises en rangées
Sur la plage déserte et salée à l'haleine.
Ô Nha Trang ! par le soleil encor éclairé
Où les enfants faisaient leurs bruyantes gambades.
Quand les étalages au soir étaient fermés
Main en main nous prenions notre lente promenade.
À l'Île d'Hirondelles les pêcheurs rentraient au soir
À travers la brume que leurs lanternes éclairaient,
Fendant les vagues qui détruisaient nos rêves noirs
Au bord de cet océan qui nous séparait.
Trente longues années nous avons déjà vécu,
Oubliant le passé pour l'existence du jour.
Ce matin l'océan que maintes fois j'ai vu
Me rappellait le pays natal pour toujours.
Ô cher Nha Trang où les oiseaux faisaient leurs nids,
Et la ville tout animée pleine de fruits de mer,
Le ruisseau limpide sous le Pont de Pierre rempli,
L' Institut océanographique qui nous est cher.
L'Ecole Navale qui pendant des ans forme
Les jeunes vaillants qui aiment la mer immense
Dont les plages blanches colorent les uniformes
Parmi les tuniques d'été graciles et charmantes.
Voici le pont Xom Bong au dessus des rochers,
Et le Temple Thap Ba de feuilles et mousse couvert,
De la plage Hon Chong le lait de coco miellé,
Et Dong De sereine que mon coeur a tant aimée.
Je contemple les vagues avec un coeur en peine
Pensant au pays lointain plein de nostalgie.
Les nuages sombres couvrent les cieux sans haine.
Voyageur solitaire, je souffre toute ma vie.
Alabama, tu es ma dernière étape.
Ce voyageur a vu ses cheveux grisonnants.
Marées et vents élevés violemment se frappent.
Adieu, mon vieux pays, le reste de mes ans.
Traduit par Thomas D. Le
27 Août 2002
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On Destin beach of infinite white sand,
The foam-crest waves roll endlessly ahead
While timeless wind-swept pine groves sadly stand,
And sea-birds fish for prey with their wings spread.
Here I was stranger in my solitude
Unwarmed by sun that bathed the hills behind.
The worker lined the chairs in rows where stood
The beach at dawn, forlorn and salty kind.
I longed for Nha Trang beach in warm sunshine
Where with loud laughs the kids played hide-and-seek
As all the food stands closed at day's end fine
We took our idle walk our cheek to cheek.
To Swallow Isle fishing boats glided home,
Lit up at dusk to guide the fishermen.
My dream was shattered by the thund'rous foam.
This ocean split us up from our kinsmen.
Three decades long, time endlessly flowed past;
Our daily life has blurred the days gone by.
This morning sea reminded me at last
Of our homeland to which we bid good-bye.
Dear gentle Nha Trang where the old birds nest,
Chock full of seafood in this bustling land,
Where Stony Bridge on the clear water rests,
And beloved Oceanography Institute stands.
The once proud Naval Academy where were trained
Valiant young men enamored of the vast ocean
Whose uniform the sand-white hue of dear old land
Mingled with summer tunics of young dames lissome.
The Xom Bong bridge that flies above the rocky sea,
On the heights moss-covered Thap Ba stands in the woods,
Hon Chong beach with coconut milk sweet as honey,
Lodged deep in my heart's the serene beach of Dong De.
The ocean swells engulfed my soul with grief
For our old land across thousands of miles.
And the dark clouds hid our nostalgia deep
To fill my heart with melancholic bile.
Alabama, thou art my own last stop,
This wayfarer has shown his silver hair.
The ocean waves and winds have reached their top.
Good-bye forever, my dear old land fair.
Translated by Thomas D. Le
13 August 2002
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