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Mountain and River

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Translated by Andy Kale

 

One gets back and hears the smoke rolling inside
Should one sooth by the hands smeared with dirt
The day becomes a light yellow in the storm of late summer
Which is in me the water ripples in the moonlight

You are as sweet as the field and the plain
I make the pledge hidden among the moon and the stars
On waking up I put my head on the present
This mountain and this river are still the mountain and river of yesterday

Love is still bright and adoration may last how many lives
As planets which still shine side by side
Still build up the successive days and months
Step forward if you approve

Nguyen Duc Batngan

Original title: Nui Song
From: "Binh Minh Cam" (Shrouded Dawn)
A collection of poetry written in 1975
published in 1985.

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