Mother's Children

Mother's Children

(excerpt)

 Author: Pham Xuan Hang

.....

Nowhere on earth

Bearing the pain as much as Vietnam

The weight of war curves into an S shape

Had to suffer so much injustice

The journey country, why so many scenes of war?

Oh, what pain is there?

Pain equals the pain of dehydration.

Whose pain is it?

Scratching the land with people

Painful to see loved ones bleed

The country was exhausted by the bombings.

Many mothers have sleepless nights

Waiting for the day of victory when you return

The wives are full of memories

Seeing her husband off, burdened with village chores

Mothers holding their disabled children

Lives or mutants

Agent Orange kills the living

Distant dreams kill near desires

To Thi, do you know?

How many wives wait for their husbands

Only see white rows of stone tablets without words

Like a funeral cloth, it cannot be petrified.

Vietnamese mother's tears dry up,

Carrying the war on the back of the country

Stand up straight and create eternal green

In the midst of life, cultivating dreams...

Vietnamese mothers are thrifty and hardworking.

Even though two dews and one sun, I am willing

The road in my hometown is slippery when it rains and storms.

Oh, the road of life is slippery when it doesn't rain.

Mother's hands cherish history

Any tears of war left

Mother swallowed inside as a fulcrum

Mother sows fresh buds and green branches.

Mother's lullaby becomes an eternal folk song

Green bamboo groves lull the golden rice fields

The sound of drums and Quan Ho songs

See the shadow of the stork wading on the river bank

Oh what lovely children

Feet walking on rocks must wear away

Wild vegetables, malaria and bombs

News of a happy day brings millions of cheers

Hanoi 2006

Listen to me sing in the middle of the ocean

I stood here through many stormy seasons

Island guard far from beloved motherland

Crossing the ocean, I come back here to sing

Not far away, Truong Sa*.

Truong Sa big tonight light wind

Make background music for the gala night

Her voice is passionate and sad

I love the soldier on the far island.

Oh sweet song you sing

Brighten up the big island of Truong Sa

Oh the chorus of the song is so melodious

Not far away Truong Sa*.

Listening to you sing makes me feel close to my mother.

See the blue smoke of the afternoon blending with the blue sea

Truong Sa is not far away, full of happiness

Truong Sa is always with me, Truong Sa is always with you*

I hear your heart sing

Among island soldiers like you

The waves seem to stop tonight.

Listen to me sing for the green island

I transform into the words you sing

To keep my heart always warm with love for my homeland

Keep your posture standing in the vast ocean

And let me keep my oath

Truong Sa 4/07

Pham Xuan Hang

* Lyrics by the composerPhuoc Long Image