In old age, the children come to visit

Food, shelter — in this life, the children come first

Coming and going, greeting properly, complete

Speech and manners, truly children of the household

No raised voices, no shouting

Always affectionate, truly praiseworthy

The children's hearts shine bright like a lamp

The children's minds pure like lotus fragrance filling the sky

Mother and father joyful and at ease

Praying heaven protects and helps the children's lives

This market has the good point of being near home

Clean, cool, easy to come and go

The floor is carpeted, spacious and fine

Lights displayed so bright, clear are the aisles

There's a place to walk, good for fitness

There's a place to sit and rest, when legs tire

Chatting happily, without worry

Want to keep going, without fear still go

Walking helps the breath, eases stuffiness

I find it good for strength; if not walking then go home

Let others praise or criticize

Here I am cheerful, coming and going all joyful.

Remembering Father's Day this year

Every household gathers, rejoicing with father

Celebrating father's added years, ruddy complexion

Wishing father more longevity, that is fine joy

For me alone, Father's Day has lost its sweetness

Because father is gone, I've been dulled long since

Life has joys and sorrows in full pairs

Joy when father lived, sorrow now father's passed.

Mother and father always cherish the children

Why do the children heartlessly no longer care

Rejoicing, warm with the spouse

With father, with mother, forgetting their merit

Father old, mother withered, left to fate

Where is the asking after them, the caring in sickness

When father is ill, mother tends him

Even if they ask after, what good is there

Cover ears, shut eyes and reckon

Acting blind and deaf, then it's done

Today is Father's Day, flowers and grass

Every household gathers, truly precious

With a father, we come to exist today

Remembering father, we today are proud

His merit likened to a high mountain

Merit of raising, nurturing, teaching wisdom

Without a father, like a body without a soul

With a father, we must honor him all our days

People chatter, calling out 'father!'

But those without a father grieve all their life

Who nurtures, who raises, who teaches

A house without a roof, how sad indeed

All year round, the self forlorn

Wanting to do nothing, only resenting heaven

The fate of a person lacking a father

With what to make up for it to keep going.

All her life mother has toiled much

The children don't grasp the ceaseless drifting toil

When the land far off burst into smoke and fire

Eating and sleeping on others' charity, counting each minute

Until the rice ran out, growing thin

Returning together, dizzy just to survive

A brood of children but still young in age

None yet able to help, still naive

Living poor through hardship, the soul here

Only hoping to have enough to live through hard days

War fierce and brutal, sowing hardship

So many households in mourning, burdens added to the body

Fortunately still living in this world

Only pity for those buried in the grave

Whoever still has uncles and aunts

Still somewhat happy, living with one another

Love and affection, most precious, come first

Whoever has lost all, the long night truly sad

While parents still remain, always

Visit and ask often to be a source of comfort

Lying sad, thinking of the old homeland

No longer hoping to have spare time to visit

Bát Tràng, born and raised, lived there

So many memories, the years receding

Mother and father are the dearest kin

Have returned to the nine springs, ascended, gone

Aunts and uncles, where is news of them

Also gone to the Western Paradise, long departed

My own blood siblings

Not a single one left, scattered, long ago

My self, born year of the Horse, a beast's fate

Resigned to fate from of old until now

Fame, talent and beauty — I do not dream of

Only wishing for health and peace

Seeing anyone hungry, poor, destitute

Struggle to help, to share the sorrow

Seeing anyone in trouble and worry

I at once confide and pray the worry ends

Grateful, once the river's crossed

Keep in mind forever whoever gave shelter

Sitting sad, I draft a poem

Wishing well those who remain, when my time comes to go.

Born, having a mother and father

Is it fate that mother left

Mother went, mother stayed with the aunt

Father with a young wife, parted far from home

Aunt then hired a wet nurse to raise me

Caring and nursing, also to run errands

A poor house, though it had adornments

Eating and drinking as duty, no one cared

Fortunately no natural disaster struck

Awake and able to live, long days without pain

Life of countless forms and colors

So many hardships, escaped in the end

Seeing anyone's life torn and tattered

My heart struggles with pity for the ruined

Helping one another in times of need

That is precious, brimming with human love

Sisters born of the same mother

Why not join forces to help each other

Seeing one another, seeing mutual need

Just five minutes in, already sniping

Blaming each other, not truly teaching

Vying to show off, then greet and off they go

We share the same mother and father

Why are dispositions so different, truly painful

Pure hearts should imitate and seek

Cast off the divisions so sorrow may end.

Three players at tam cúc, gathering to play

Reflecting on it, one learns life's affairs

Hot-tempered, gentle, and self-conscious

Laid bare and clear, easy as play

Only then know one's nature, who could tell

But understood when playing, at loss or gain

Pay attention and you know your friend's temperament

The closer, the more respectful, don't break your word.

For diversion, tam cúc, played by four

Few cards, so easy to attack and subtract

Winning or losing, hardly worth mentioning

Sharing joy and sorrow in leisure hours

Discussing together the needed news

Advising grandchildren and children to hold steady

Hair grey, teeth loose, headed to live on

Sitting playing tam cúc, all worries gone.

[?] Lê thị Mai

Come to An Lạc, let me play.

But here to make a living, hardship a whole life

Little capital, success, risen up

Must borrow capital to swim along

Building up, not yet dry and [?]

Learning ceaselessly to gain profit

I advise going up, better each day

Hard to grasp, a few words of encouragement.

Grateful that you came to visit me

And offered blessings with sweet abundance

Years ago we met once

This year meeting again, the fondness remembered

Wishing you joy and ease

Hoping you happy under a forgiving sky

Learning from you [?] a good friend

Always sharing joy, distance made near.

Father old, mother weak, with children to look after

Flesh and skin, nurtured naturally, medicine enough or not

Warm news, dieting carefully, here I have plenty

Lying, sitting, walking, so much effort spent

Medicine always decocted, never forgetting to drink

Therefore staying healthy and normal

When free, also set up to play tam cúc

Winning gladdens, losing then, light as cotton

Horizon and sea's edge, how to describe

Go travel to the North Pole and see at once

Oh oh! scenery beautiful and dizzying

Sky high, sea wide spread out, full unseen

Snow and ice cover all the streams

The weather freezing cold, we drowsy

Sky birds seen only sparse

Together a flock, two lines wandering must be [?]

Waving with life as it gradually appears

The cruise ship, so many decks within

Folk astonished as they look

Nature's true work, the boat, half [?]

Where the scene, so beautiful, hard to describe

Human life so many turns joining, joining after

The sky's beauty in leisure, scenes gathered

Still dreaming, still imagining, Alaska in mind.

If the house leaks, fix the roof

If the wall totters, rebuild it, what's hard about that

That tree's leaves wither and change color

Buy pesticide, spray carefully, and pests are gone

With people, big matters and small

Want to forget but can't, so it lingers

Fabric sewn, not lacking, not excess

Then the heart is content, morning to noon done

Hoping regret is set aside

To forget the past, rise up and sleep well

Is this perhaps the last time we meet

Then separated deeply from here on

Mother and father, withered and thin

Though not yet a hundred, the tree is old

Soon the feet will go far

Gone forever, far from home, far from children

Loving each other, strive to live it fully

Forget the parting, only then children endure

Compassion and charity put above all

True-hearted relief of suffering, then lasting, then wise

Dying, leaving behind a good name

Generous of heart and nature, big hamlets, small villages

Hoping the children realize the dream

Live truly, giving to the people, hoping for the nation

This year I am ninety-two

How many days left before the boat comes for me?

Time drifts slowly along

Do something useful for the country to be worthy of a person

So many suffering people who cannot smile

So many who weep, wanting to laugh but cannot

They are sad, wretched, their faces withered with grief

We must find a way to help, so they remember the deep affection

Do not be cold and indifferent

We should protect them like a bank holds the river.

Why so cold toward me!

Why so silent as if mouth were mute

What sorrow makes you sulk

What grudge makes you hold hatred in your heart

Life will teach wisdom and folly

By the time you understand, there is no way to make amends

Crossing the river you forget the bridge

Once warm you forget the one who sewed your clothes!

Bat Trang has now changed

Kilns fired by gas, firewood now abandoned

The wares come out beautiful, deep green

Always first place whenever competing

Must reform what is wrong

Should open trade schools, study to advance

Warehouses to store goods, made durable

Roads wide, going up and down easy

Places of recreation spacious and neat

Workplaces orderly so goods aren't damaged

Riverbanks must be repaired with pilings

Hygiene principles, thought through together

Meetings must think of how

To carry it out so the people are happy

That flower beautiful in color, fragrant in scent

Bat Trang always advance, never retreat, to endure.

Fellow folk of Bat Trang, oh

Discuss together joyfully while living life

So many tasks that should and must be done

Compete in learning, Bat Trang oh

Training the body for health is most needed

Nurture mind and heart throughout life

Study letters, study trades, to the fullest

Come out to serve the country, easy as play.

Already long-lived, why wish for longevity

If you don't help the country, long life just crowds more

Rich in coin, rich in silver, ever fuller

Rich without charity, in death you're mocked

High rank, salary and perks fresh

If without great righteousness, servants despise you

Living, healthy, in grand splendor

Better to die young, there's no glory at all.

On Father's Day, remembering father's grace

If father lives, visit with wine and tea

Unlucky if he's gone, then show filial piety

A hundred thousand ways, why only flowers

Family rites and manners, who does not know

Words that are gentle, worth millions of gifts

Please don't be arrogant and selfish

The softer, the humbler, that is altruism.

America's Father's Day has come, ah

How could father leave, not stay

Children and grandchildren full of joy, house empty of father

The house now lost its roof, so sad ah!

Pray to heaven, pray to Buddha, to help lift up

So my father here enjoys old age

Pure Land from now, he dwells forever

Joyful reunion with ancestors and forefathers

My family has more than a dozen children

Only eleven remain still alive

The eldest son, sickly and gaunt

Has a doctorate, adrift because of love

Three sons, two wives, glorious bearing

Who'd have thought the hardship, blaming misfortune

Ox-year age, at a beggar's age

Working honestly eating falsely, how sad is life

Second child, cross-eyed, oh how sad

Ears are fine but the mouth stammers more

What hope of a peaceful life

Surely will suffer, day and night blaming heaven

Fortunately, not yet fully wise, one thought

But studies excellently, people praise

Each day bright and clear like a lamp

Earned a doctorate, many times helping the world

Helping with money, with ideas, everywhere

Family, homeland, express thanks

Whenever meeting hardship, undaunted

Even more he tries, harder each day

Although not observing vegetarianism

But doing good deeds, all day and night

Reputation has risen at the doorstep

The nation awards more diplomas as gifts

Over the years, building the nation

Bat Trang native place, the homeland's fragrance spreads

By day so hot, oh heavens

By night bitter cold, living, one gets used to it

But when the fire goes out, pitch dark

Lacking a soulmate, lacking strong wine's ferment

Blame heaven, why so unjust

One in the underworld, one rosy with no news

My fate born exactly at the Dragon hour

Yet why so beset, as if printed with this Snake

Because of what, are the trees so green

Because of what do the buds smile and show off

The land of brocade and silk, ancestral

Women and men united, love without bounds

Whose care makes it poetic

Whose heart pursues, waits and longs for news

A heart that adorns and preserves

Heaven pities, heaven blesses, unasked, enjoyed fully

Remembering whom, could I reach so high

Including advice on doing what is right

Years and months, day and night, always helping

Helping with labor, with work, how precious

This merit, that kindness, how could I forget

Therefore, whenever I am free

Come to visit and pay filial respect

Father's merit, mother's grace, high as the sky.

How did I get my education

How did I have the advices on life and everything

Over the years, over the time, constantly

I received love, I received help, I got everything

I shouldn't forget this blessing

I shall take advantage of all occasions

To visit and spend time with my parents

And enjoy loving moments with them

Thank heaven for lighting the way

Thank heaven for showing clearly what to follow

Through misery, over mountains and passes

Only then comes awakening, hardships all ended

Forgiveness, to understand it is to be a saint

Forgiveness, practiced, is worth more than money given

Living honestly, far from ashes

Builds more trust, warmth and plenty all life

The tunnel, so dark, oh heavens

Father and child separated for too long a stretch of life

Fortunately, the miraculous light

Helps to see clearly, the scene, to understand life

Forgiveness is a dream

A dream fulfilled thanks to the heart

Living far yet still caring

Better than being close but not intimate at all

Long ago my father married two wives

He always accepted the household with a cheerful smile

The reason why he lived so cheerfully

Gradually I understood his life

Storms and cold months, he wanted a pair to warm him

He lies in the middle, one rosy, one wife

Thus husband and wives, all three kept warm

How could one know such comfort, warm indeed!

Now with the uncles, Bat Trang oh

Our village's mutual-aid society is founded

Chief, deputies, members, all volunteers

Helping the suffering to keep company

Those elderly who need help

And those poor and sick, oh

The society will care for and support

A little mutual-aid money, so joyful oh!

Whoever is rich, keeps money in the bank

Please give a little kindness to help friends

To save the poor and the sick

And those old and frail, toothless

The deed seems small, but is very great

At death, empty-handed, you'll finally know

Money is fleeting yet useful

Given to the right one at the right time, your reputation grows.

Long ago, he took two wives

All were happy with that matter, ah

Everyone complains, also blames fate

Why did my father have a love triangle

Husband and wife blame it on the suffering ox

Hardship falls on the children, half is dumped

Since it's already done, don't resent anymore

Endure the bitterness, the suffering, do not cry out

I'm saddened that father took two wives

My parents said, taking someone, ah

Seeing this, mother then built a warm nest

Fearing the marketplace at road's start, degrading herself

A young child, how could I know to intervene

Nursing, cradling, playing, tending, ah

The hardship of caring became a duty

What joy is there in father having two wives!

We are schoolmates from the same school

Same class, sharing the same fate

Blaming that the Creator did not care

Leaving the body toiling as a wife

The family spins around, children dwell

Wanting peace but can't, how to cultivate

Night after night I've asked the moon and stars

The moon and stars stay silent, clawing more at my heart

People are joyful like flutes and lutes

Hoa and Trang are gloomy, hearts choked with words

I ask the Creator, oh sir

Why not reconsider, so life can be lucky

I have no sin that must be repaid

Here I accept my lot, high and low in harmony

Only wishing spring beautiful, flowers blooming

Only praying all be harmonious and at peace

Not wishing for storms, floods, overflowing rain

Only wishing all inquire after one another

Going to the temple to learn Buddha's tolerance

Going to the shrine to learn the saints' forgiveness

Only wishing peace for country and home

Only praying friends near and far understand

Pray to heaven, pray to compassionate Buddha

Stop the hand that strangles every path

We are close soulmate friends

Heart and mind devoted to carrying out unity

Please don't go too far into injustice

Please grant blessings, a triumphant future

Namo, pray to Buddha's altar

Hoa and Trang forever grateful, someday keep the word.

One hand helps mother and father

One hand helps husband and three children

Hoping always to stay complete

To keep the good name fragrant, the loyalty unfaded

So many struggles have passed

The more experience, the more one advances

If tempered and made supple

The future will win, day and night undeterred

Be happy with wife and children

Laugh your fill while strength endures

In-laws and friends for long days

Wishing more longevity, one day joy together

Sons and daughters, in-laws, gathered together

Help family, help nation, help the village region

Then goodness will spread like fragrance and gold

Mr. General, Mrs. Định, the people honor, the clan awaits

Be joyful with the childhood years

Laugh and talk, then let the youth pass

Body, heart, and mind be strong and well

Mother and father hope and wait through the night watches

The future is a dream

Learn the good things, cast off the foolish

Whenever one distinguishes gold from lead

Helping family and nation is walking the right path

The heart that helps mother and father

This kindness remembered forever, unforgotten until old age

Wishing relatives to repay the debt

Show every way, harmony above and below

If the wish is agreed upon

This heart connected, surely beautiful

Hoping this meaning is understood

The whole family will eagerly build the foundation

Heaven has granted the age of ninety-two

That is longer-lived than several relatives

Looking back, life has been full of hardship

Now only wishing peace and then to depart

Let others gossip, praise or blame

Let the ill-hearted sit and slander falsely

Only wishing the world to be at peace

Only wishing society peaceful and happy

Please don't frown unpleasantly

Please don't speak harshly, leaving it for others

Please don't sow separation

Please don't create grudges as a lasting mark

Be joyful everywhere

Smile so friends have words of praise

Let deeds be clear as a lamp

A pure heart, not dark, lest people laugh

Thank you, brother and sister, for your kindness

Not minding the long road, the homeland hoped for

Visiting, inquiring, then offering blessings

Before returning to Vietnam, the Lạc Long lineage

The journey, the wishes, all fulfilled well

Caring for the old gentleman as wished

Building the grave of old lady Lộc

Truly worthy descendants of fairy and dragon

Whoever returns to visit country and home

Please stop by Phan Rang, help a little

Visit the grave of the old lady, named Hạnh Nguyễn

Then come and help the old gentleman

A filial heart, gratitude and duty

Alive or dead, never forget mother and father

Virtue heaven grants, if the child is dutiful

Remember this example forever, the root of grandparents!

In-laws became friends just a few years

The old lady hurried into the earth to lie

Leaving the old gentleman so much longing

Along with children and grandchildren far away

Hoping the old lady rests peacefully

Then relatives may come to visit

Pray God bestow grace and miracles

Reborn for the old lady, freed from sorrow

Mother! I have come back here

Bow to heaven above, help with this matter

For my mother named Hạnh Nguyễn

May she be released quickly, rise to the clouds

Amen! Lord, reach out and save

For my father, be well this season

I resolve never to forget that beautiful kindness

Year after year, month after month, praying for blessings

Why you give birth to me

then you don't care of me

When I was young, I didn't know anything

But now, as I'm growing, I don't have a mother to see

Oh! God! I need your help, because I'm sick

Don't kick me but bless me

I curb my head, then I knee

Just to ask you to help me

Because I don't have a mother to see.

Why did mother give birth to me

Then why not stay to help the child

Childhood knew nothing, and the child suffered

Now grown up, mother and child are far apart

Oh Heaven! Please help me

For I am sick, so many times my own self

Bowing my head, kneeling before spirits

Beg for protection, for my limbs have failed

For I suffer more than anyone

No mother anymore, long days, an empty life!

For a long time there has been no news

Perhaps ill and weak, or due to hardship

My younger sibling is not harsh

My sibling is gentle, honest

My sibling is forgiving

My sibling is generous, gentle and sincere

A precious heart like sandalwood incense

Why the silence, mouth mute for so long

Knowing father and mother have grown old

A life of hardship, now living abroad

America, immigration without fault

But able to enjoy, singing the song of freedom

Knees trembling, hands weak, having to crawl

Ears hearing crookedly, head worrying life's end

Moved at heart, the children ask after us

Each one comes to stay, to chat

Delicious food, the children invite

A warm quiet spot made a place for the bed

Whatever needed, they buy to show love

Words of eating and speaking, cherishing, how beautiful

No scolding, no shouting, no burdening

A precious heart, heaven surely bestows

Today is Kenny's birthday

Wishing good health, may wishes come true at once

Train the body, train the mind day and night

Train the heart further, eagerly improving oneself

Skilled in all aspects, then honored

Once skilled, help awaken the people

Help day and month, far and near

Help so as to fulfill the waiting self

Life achieves its dream

That is crossing the waves, reaching the peaceful shore

Today is Kenny's birthday

Wishing good health, luck in all endeavors

Later, repay duty and kindness

The word 'heart' is inner, above all else

Success, please don't be arrogant

If defeated, don't despair, don't recklessly risk yourself

Always keep a gentle tone

Remember trust is the measure of a person

Day and night keep a cheerful face

Heaven grants joy, capital of a hundred thousand words