Spreading quickly, overwhelming reclaimed virgin land
You drop one burst of wild flower after another
to whirl me up from the house with its small garden
The birds cut up immense space and leave lines of endless flight
My roots reach up to your verdant eyes
Every sprout sprays warmth to wet the bosom of earth
from the breathing that transforms the sky
from the empty sky that builds clouds up
The thatch eyes burn up the old crop
To change our vision and the vacant horizon
The earth accepts all burning cinders
The new season comes with self-confidence, grinding and wiping out all
The kiss is silent, radiating heat and boring into entrails of earth
touching underground veins swollen with old mysteries
The fertile earth fused with dawn offers up a face
with exuberant plants and trees in profusion
The seasons of resurrection are pregnant with ripe ears of paddy
The thunder bursts out in the palm seeds
The cycle of fresh alluvium embraces fibres of earth
You bow down and all of a sudden, the river rushes in.
(Translated by Nhat-Lang Le. Edited by Susan Blanshard)
Nyanyian Panen: Puisi Mai Văn Phấn
Menyebar cepat, membanjiri timbunan lahan perawan
Kau jatuhkan bunga liar satu demi satu
membawaku pergi dari rumah dan taman kecil
Burung-burung itu membelah ruang yang luas dan meninggalkan garis lintasan tiada akhir
Akarku menggapai matamu nan hijau
Setiap tunas menyemburkan kehangatan membasahi pangkuan bumi
dari nafas yang menjulang langit dari langit kosong yang merajut awan
Mata jerami membakar tanaman tua
Mengubah cita-cita dan cakrawala yang hampa
Bumi menampung semua debu yang terbakar
Musim baru tiba penuh percaya diri, menggerus dan mengusap segalanya
Ciuman itu bisu, memancarkan panas dan menghunjam perut bumi
menyentuh akar-akar bawah tanah penuhi misteri lama
Tanah subur menyatu dengan fajar menengadah wajah
dengan tanaman dan pepohonan yang subur
Para musim mengandung bulir padi yang matang
Guntur bergemuruh pada biji palem
Perputaran alluvium segar merangkul serat-serat bumi
kau tersungkur dan tiba-tiba sungai mengalir deras.
(Terjemahan bahasa Indonesia oleh Fakhrunnas MA Jabbar)
Vietnamese poet Mai Văn Phấn was born 1955 in Ninh Bình, Red River Delta in North Vietnam. Currently, he is living and writing poems in Hải Phòng city. He has published 16 poetry books and 1 book “Critiques – Essays” in Vietnam. 30 poetry books of his are published and released in foreign countries and on Amazon’s book distribution network.
Poems of Mai Văn Phấn are translated into more than 40 languages.
Mai Văn Phấn has won a number of Vietnamese and international literary awards, including:
- The Vietnam Writers’ Association Award in 2010;
- The Cikada Literary Prize of Sweden in 2017;
- The Award of Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 2019;
- The Literary award from Association of Literary Translators of Montenegro in 2020;
- Twice won the Golden Pen Literature Award of Russian Federation in 2019;
- The Award Aco Karamanov of North Macedonia in 2020;
- 1st Prize in The International Creative Meeting and Festival “Together in the XXI Century” in Bulgaria 2020;
- The medal Alisher Navoi of the Union of Writers and Historians of Central Asia in 2021;
- Winner of Sahitto (Bangladesh) International Award for Literature 2021;
- The Award of Newspaper Kitob Dunyosi (Uzbekistan) in 2021;
- The Award of the International Slavic Literary Forum “Golden Knight” 2022;
- The Poetry Collection of Year Award of Boao International Poetry Award (China) in 2022 (for the Poetry Collection “Улетел на рассвете”);
- The Award of the International Poetry Competition “My heart in the Mountains” named writer William Saroyan (Armenia) in 2022;
- The Frederick Turner prize of Mundus Artium Press (USA) for Poetry in 2023;
- The Award of the International Literary online Competition “To you, Nesvizh, I dedicate …” (Belarus) in 2023.