Selected Poems of Ho Chi Minh
The Flute of the Fellow-Prisoner
Suddenly a flute sounds a nostalgic note;
Sadly the music rises, its tune is close to sobbing:
Over a thousand miles, across mountains and rivers,
Journey’s an aching grief. We seem to see a woman
Climbing a far off tower to watch for someone’s return.
A COMRADES PAPER BLANKET
New
books,
old books,
the
leaves
all piled together.
A
paper
blanket
is
better
than no blanket.
You
who
sleep like princes,
sheltered
from the cold,
Do
you know
how many men in prison
cannot
sleep all night?
Autumn Night
In front of the gate, the guard stands with his rifle.
Above, untidy clouds are carrying away the moon.
The bed-bugs are swarming round like army-tanks on manoeuvres,
While the mosquitoes form squadrons, attacking like fighter-planes.
My heart travels a thousand li towards my native land.
My dream intertwines with sadness like a skein of a thousand threads.
Innocent, I have now endured a whole year in prison.
Using my tears for ink, I turn my thoughts into verses.
GOOD DAYS COMING
Everything
changes, the wheel
of
the
law turns without pause.
After the rain, good weather.
In the wink of an eye
The
universe
throws off
its
muddy
cloths.
For
ten
thousand miles
the
landscape
Spreads
out like
a
beautiful
brocade.
Gentle
sunshine.
Light
breezes.
Smiling flowers,
Hang
in
the trees, amongst the
sparkling
leaves,
All
the
birds sing at once.
Men
and
animals rise up reborn.
What
could
be more natural?
After
sorrow
comes happiness.
And one after being released from prison.
