Don So’
Lạc loài trên dất tạm dung.
Dựng căn chòi nhỏ bên vùng biền êm.
Bàn tay chai cứng, đà mềm.
Đêm trăng soi bóng bên thềm đọc thơ.
Đong đưa chiếc võng chùng tơ.
Điệu ru ngày cũ À ơ…ví dầu…
Chòi sau lắc lẻo nhip cầu.
Buồm xa thấp thoáng bóng tàu lắc lư.
Bềnh bồng sóng nuóc vô tư.
Gió ơi, đưa mối sầu dư sang bờ!
Glossary
|
WORD
|
DEFINITION
|
POSSIBLE SYNONYMS
|
|---|---|---|
| A ơ...ví dầu... (phrase) | lyrics from a song; literally means Well err...for oil... | Well err...for oil... (song lyrics) |
| bàn tay (n.) | the end parts of a person’s arms beyond the wrists | hands, palms |
| bên (prep.) | situated within or close to someone or something | nearby, along, on, inside |
| bềnh bồng (adj.) | carried slowly by a current of air or water | floating, bobbing up and down, drifting, meandering |
| bóng (n.) | a mark, object, or other indication of the existence or passing of something | shadow, hint, umbrage, image, trace, sign |
| buồm (n.) | piece of material extended on a mast to catch the wind and propel a boat | sail, canvas, sailcloth, tarp |
| căn chòi nhỏ (n.) | a small, crude shelter used by the poor or for temporary use | hut, tent, shelter, hovel, shanty, shack, shed |
| chai cứng (adj.) | having an area of hardened skin | calloused, work-hardened, rough, coarse, rugged, crude, chapped |
| chiếc võng (n.) | a bed made of canvas or rope and suspended by chords at the end | hammock |
| chòi sau (prep.) | at or to the further side of | behind, beyond, after, past |
| chùng (adj.) | not held tightly in position | loose, sagging, slack, limp, hanging |
| đà (n.) | a piece of hard, solid mineral matter | stone, rock, boulder, pebble, gravel, granite |
| dất (n.) | an expanse of the earth’s surface that is not covered by water | land, country, area, region, territory, terrain, soil |
| đêm (n.) | the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise | night, nighttime, after dark, nightfall, darkness, dusk to dawn |
| điệu ru (n.) | a quiet, gentle song sung to send a child to sleep | lullaby, cradle song, nighttime song, hymn |
| đọc (v.) | to repeat aloud for an audience | we read aloud, we recite, we deliver, we perform, we reel off, we repeat, we chant |
| đong đưa (v.) | moves slowly or rhythmically backward and forward or from side to side | sways, swings, rocks |
| đơn sơ (n. / adj.) | the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do | simplicity, simple, plainness, plain, ease, clarity, candor |
| dư (adj.) | remaining after the greater part or quantity has gone | residual, surplus, extra, lingering, enduring, leftover |
| dựng (v.) | to assemble parts or materials together in order to create something | we build, we construct, we erect, we put up, we fashion, we make |
| đưa (v.) | to move something or someone to a place | bring, take, carry, fetch, bear, shepherd, haul, transport |
| êm (adj.) | free from disturbance | quiet, tranquil, gentle, peaceful, restful, calm |
| gió ơi (n.) | perceptible natural movement of the air | wind, current, breeze, draft, gale, gust |
| lắc lẻo nhip cầu (n.) | raised platform on a ship that allows safe passage when the weather deck is washed by heavy seas | monkey bridge, flying bridge, flying gangway |
| lạc loài (adj.) | having no home or having wandered away or forced from home | lost, stray, exiled, misplaced, wayward, banished, outcast |
| lắc lư (adj.) | moving unsteadily from side to side | shaking, swaying, wobbling, rocking, teetering |
| mềm (adj.) | easy to mold, cut, compress, break, or fold | soft, brittle, tender, delicate, fragile |
| mối sầu (adj. + n.) | the speaker’s feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune | my grief, my sorrow, my melancholy, my worries, my strife |
| ngày cũ (adj.) | from former times | old, olden, past, ancient |
| sang bờ (adv.) | to or on land from the direction of the sea | to shore, ashore, to dry land, shoreward, across the sea |
| soi bóng (v.) | gives out a bright light | is reflected, is illuminated, shines, glows, glimmers, glistens |
| sóng nuóc (n.) | slow regular movements of the sea | waves, ripples, swells, surges, tides, ebb and flow |
| tạm dung (adj.) | not previously visited, seen, or encountered | strange, foreign, unfamiliar, alien, unknown, new |
| tàu (n.) | a vessel for transporting people or goods by sea | ship, boat, barge, sailboat, yacht, ark, skiff |
| thấp thoáng (v.) | makes small, quick movements | flickers, flutters, quivers, spasms, dances |
| thềm (n.) | an elevated structure on which people or things can stand | threshold, platform, deck, scaffold |
| thơ (n.) | writing arranged with a metrical rhythm | verse, poetry, poems |
| tơ (adj.) | made of a fine, strong, soft, lustrous fiber produced by silkworms | silky, silk, of silk |
| trăng (n.) | the natural satellite of the earth, visible at night by reflected light from the sun | moon, orb, satellite |
| trên (prep.) | surrounded by or within the confines of | in, upon, within, among |
| vô tư (adj.) | having no particular anxiety, interest, or sympathy | carefree, indifferent, disinterested, fair, even-minded |
| vùng biền (n.) | stretches or bodies of colorless, transparent liquid | waters, oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, shores |
| xa (adj.) | situated at a great distance in space or time | far, faraway, afar, remote, far- flung, outlying |
Background
About Lục bát
Lục bát is a traditional Vietnamese verse form, historically first recorded in chữ nôm script. Lục bát is Sino-Vietnamese for six-eight, referring to the alternating lines of six and eight syllables. It will always begin with a six-syllable line and end with an eight-syllable one. Unlike other verse forms which are traditionally enjoyed only by high-class Vietnamese, lục bát is traditionally composed and enjoyed by people of all classes, from the lowly peasants to the noble princes. It can be regarded as a living style of Vietnamese people. The rich treasure of Vietnamese folk poems (ca dao), which consists of hundreds of thousands of verses that reflect on life, morality, human relationships, and natural beauty, is almost entirely composed in lục bát form.
Bio
Born in South Vietnam, Lê Pham Lê was introduced to poetry by her grandmother, who sang traditional lullabies to her as she went to bed. At the end of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), Lê Pham Lê’s country was taken over by North Vietnam. She fled the country with her husband and baby. The three of them spent a year at a refugee camp in Malaysia before immigrating to the United States. During that year, Lê Pham Lê wrote poetry in order to escape from the tragic reality around her. Her poetry is inspired the 2,000-year-old Vietnamese tradition of “sung poetry,” which originated from the verses sung by peasants as they worked in the rice paddies.