My Dear Hanoi-Street (1) The scent of night By Phan Vu

Forewords:

     The long poem was written by Phan Vu in 1972, right after the american B52 carpet bombing in Hanoi. Phan Vu stayed in Hanoi with his wife. Suddenly he missed all the symbolic images of Hanoi. One by one he recalled them in the lines of the poem, with the fear that all of them might go away forever. The poem was not published after it. Phan Vu moved to Ho Chi Minh City and polished it for 40 years. The song writer Phu Quang, once visited Phan Vu and listen the poem read by Phan Vu and wrote the famous song "My Dear Hanoi-Street", which is the evergreen song of Hanoi. All hanoians are proud of this song today.

      The poem of Phan Vu, whose full text has been found recently in Paris, is much richer than the song of Phu Quang. 

       By reading it, I  just recalled my Hanoi, which was much more beautiful, romantic and lovely than today's one. Through this poem I would like to send my friends a significant part of my emotional world. It was one part of the reason I have returned to Hanoi after many years wandering over the world.
       I hope you will not compare my translation to the Phan Vu original poem. English is just my third language, I have never written a rhymed sentence in English. More than that, I do not have fourty years even fourteen minutes to polish my words. 

       I have to take a deep breath before trying to translate the poem which was polished in fourty years. Courage is needed to it like the courage you need when you open a fourty year old botttle of wine. Enjoy and become a hanoian like me.
      Originally, the paragraphs did not have titles. I used the most impressive character in each paragraphs, just give the readers a sense about Hanoi. For those who do not like it, I apologize.

The song by Phu Quang, Singer: Bang Kieu 

CHAPTER 1: PRELUDE

My Dear! Hanoi-Street  by Phan Vu

Interpreted by Lenh Loi Duong

1. The scent of night

Oh! My Dear! Hanoi-Street!

 I still retain you in the scent of magnolia

Still having you in the milk flower's flourish

The heel's echo calling the night veranda

The old wooden ladder creaking the sound of time in it

I still retain you in the green color of the very late night

With the lonely star  and the wind rusling in the lump of tree

The falling leaf diverting into my room in the dim light
Lilke a misaddressed letter just returned to me... 

Original text

1. Hương đêm*

Em ơi! Hà Nội - phố!
Ta còn em mùi hoàng lan
Còn em hoa sữa.
Tiếng giày gọi đường khuya
Thang gác cọt kẹt thời gian
Thân gỗ ...
Ta còn em màu xanh thật đêm
Ngôi sao lẻ
Xào xạc chùm cây gió
Chiếc lá lạc vào căn xép nhỏ
Lá thư quên địa chỉ.
Quay về ...

(Given by the interpreter)

Comments:
     Hanoi turns cooler in October, late Falls. In late night,  the scent of the Ylang Ylang (called Yellow Orchid in Vietnamese) flower, which is similar to Magnolia and a special flower called Milk Flower,  become stronger. The street lamp bring the green colour of the trees' leaves to the street. I never forget such a scene of Hanoi by night.

Nội dung:
    Hà Nội của ngày xưa cũ, với khung trời hẹp trên gác xép, chỉ đủ nhìn một vì sao lẻ loi, là cả một thế giới thơ mộng của tuổi học trò.  Vào cuối thu, tháng 10, tiết trời trở lạnh, trên gác xép vắng, tiếng mọt cọt kẹt nghiến gỗ, nằm nghe gió lùa qua rặng cây, mà mong nhớ hồi âm từ người trong mộng. Chiếc lá bay lạc vào căn phòng, tưởng chừng như lá thư đã gửi quay trờ về vì sai địa chỉ.