Autumn Comes Autumn Goes

Words by: Mei
The melody is... yet to decide on o_O

Autumn comes Autumn goes
Autumn is reminding me of you...

Autumn breezes passed by
Falling leaves float'n the air ~

The colors of Fall when leaves turned
As beautiful as you, yeah... yeah... you!

The Colors of Fall Photo by Mei

The smile on your face
The love from your heart
As warm as they can be, to keep the winter days at bay.

Summer is gone
Winter is not yet here
Autumn is now
So, let's smile!

Autumn comes Autumn goes
Autumn is staying here with me to think of you...

In the Summertime

Wild Daisies Photo by Mei

Father and Mother’s Grace

Phụ Mẫu Ân

Mới đó mà thời gian trôi qua thật nhanh, ba má tôi năm nay đã đến tuổi lục tuần.

Ngẩn mặt nhìn lại, người nay tóc đã điểm sương, thịt da gầy theo năm tháng. Nhưng lạ thay, hình ảnh ba má trẻ mãi không già ở trong tôi vẫn không phai mờ; ba vẫn là ba kính thương, má vẫn là má kính mến.

Nhớ hồi tôi còn nhỏ và nhiều khi lắm lúc mãi đến tận bây giờ, ba tôi (nguyên quán ở Tiên Sơn, Hà Bắc) thường ca và tập cho tôi ca bài ca quảng cáo kẹo bổ si-tô-nít, lớ theo giọng Bắc:

“Đàn em đàn em thương ba nầy,
Đàn em đàn em thương má nầy,
Thương chị, thương anh, thương hết cả nhà.
Nhất nhất là ba (má) cơ!
Ba (má) cho con cục kẹo si-tô-nít.
[Kẹo bổ si-tô-nít]”

Theo thường lệ, ba và tôi thường song ca bài ấy trong lúc má đang làm bếp, chủ yếu là để “ghẹo” cho má “la”. Mỗi khi hát đến câu “Nhất nhất là ba (má) cơ!” thì ý của ba muốn tôi ca theo chữ “ba”; còn tôi thì sợ má buồn/giận, rồi “la”, đành ca theo chữ “má”. Nhưng rồi cũng thấy ba thật là tội nghiệp, nên liền ca câu ấy lại theo chữ “ba”. Vậy thì ba má ai cũng đều thương hết, ai cũng nhất hết; không phải bỏ một ai!

* * *

Hơn 30 năm qua, ba má đã cưu mang, nuôi dưỡng và ngày nay vẫn tiếp tục dạy bảo và dẫn dắt tôi đi trên con đường đời.

Ngoài kiến thức trao dồi ở học đường, sự học hỏi thêm về kinh nghiệm sống cũng không kém phần quan trọng. Làm người phải làm cho thiệt tốt.

Ngẫm nghĩ, làm người làm thế nào mới cho thiệt tốt?

When Spring Comes

Life revived, flowers bloom. . .

Spring package Photo by Mei

Happy Easter, Happy Spring!

Remember You Always

Words by: Mei
The melody to accompany the words is an excerpt taken from "Endless Love" [不了情] Bu Liao Qing, a classic Mandarin Chinese song.

Remember you always. . .
From the first time we met, and then we parted.
Though we’re living apart,
My (our) thoughts of you are with the clouds.

There is no sad feeling
Because it’s fate is destined that way.
I (we) truly do believe
One day we’ll see each other again.

Remember you always. . .
The words you taught, lessons we learned.
And now that you are gone
Our thoughts of you are with the clouds.

There is no sad feeling
Because we’ll walk with you today.
We truly do believe
That you would walk along with us.

[Remember us always...]

Writer’s Notes:
Back Stories
Before "Bright Light", there was "Remember You Always".

At the time, I was playing with the words of what to become "Remember You Always". However, I encountered difficulty in bringing those set of verses to completion, sort of writer’s block. Only then, I started to work on the now called, "Bright Light".

After bringing "Bright Light" to completion, I went back to finish up on "Remember You Always".

First

In life, there is always a first for everything.

The first cry in greeting this world that one was born into, the first sight in seeing one’s mother’s face for the very first time

The first spoken word in saying “dada”, the first step taken in walking this path of life

Plus many more, all are held with a special place in one’s heart and in the hearts of the beloved ones.

In every life event, there is an association of persons and/or places. Among those, there are the first and the second, the following and the next, the before and the after; either continue on or being interrelated to one another.

Just as the scenery began to fade and people faces became vague, one can still picture the details and be thankful for what events have had happening.

* * *

My first car, my first job, my first home; I remember them well.

Whether it’s my angst in getting back to driving again after four years of college, my mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness on the first day at work or my contentment while moving into my new house, I remember them all.

Although it was a considerable milestone to accomplish all those “firsts” before the age of twenty five, my mother had reminded me otherwise. It’s my teacher whom I should find in giving thanks and paying respect to; because without my teacher’s lasting contribution in teaching me the basic concepts at the very beginning of my educational life, I’m not where I am today.

Nourishment

Picturesque snow covered grounds, leafless winter trees. . .

All seem so cold! But, beneath it all, the slow melting snow yields a great source of water, nourishing the fields.

When spring comes, the grounds are awakening with lives.

late winter'10

Writer’s Notes:
Reference to "the slow melting snow nourishing the fields" was originally presented in Father Burger’s homily on Sunday, February 14 Mass.

Bright Light

Words by: Mei
The melody to accompany the words is an excerpt taken from "The Dark Tales" [聊齋新誌] musical, original music by Marco Wan.

Looking upon the nightly sky,
I see the stars are shinning bright
Smiling brightly, smiling back at you and me
And the silvery moon!

Brimming from afar
Under the darkness of night
Moonlight shinning, showing us the way
To walk with love and compassion. (2x)

And when the night has ended
The sun comes up to say: ‘Hi!’
# Happy sunrise, shimmeringly bright
A new day has just begun.

Repeat # (1x)

Writer’s Notes:
Back Stories
After finishing with the set up for the Vietnamese “Tet” New Year’s postings, I checked the calendar and noticed that this year’s Easter comes early because soon after the Tet festival and Valentine’s Day celebration, Ash Wednesday (Thứ Tư Lễ Tro) is fast approaching. February 17 is the official day to mark the beginning of the Lenten season (Mùa Chay) according to the Catholic Church. Thus, I thought of putting up a post for the occasion; however, I didn’t know what I will write about at the time.

At or around the same time, one of my Hai Trieu Am family friends talked her way into asking me to record songs in different languages. Note that I listen to music recording in different languages - not to sing them. But, my friend kept on assisting otherwise and even telling another friend (in rumoring) that I can sing. In trying to “avoid” the whole issue altogether, I fearfully made the promise without knowing what to do next.

Springtime Couplet

Đông qua xuân đến mai đào nở
Già già trẻ trẻ đón Xuân sang.

Literal English Translation version:
Flowering buds bloom as Spring arrives at the heels of Winter's passed
The young and the old together are welcoming Spring.

Writer’s Notes
As for Tet 2009, I must have forgotten to write a couplet in time for the Tet festival that year :P

Well, in anticipating this year’s Vietnamese "Tet" New Year, the year of the Tiger 2010, I had to go back to the basics to come up with the idea for my second pair of verses. This time around, the couplet is composed of two seven-character line verses.

Playing on the equivalent images of Winter’s passed (“Đông qua”) as to old age (“Già già”) and Spring’s arrival (“xuân đến”) as to the young (“trẻ trẻ”) is to depict the welcoming sign of spring and the traditional celebration of a happy new age to everyone on Lunar New Year’s Day.

With that, I would like to part with a saying of the Tet’s greeting in Vietnamese to friends and family as follow:

Thương chúc một Năm Mới vui vẻ, hạnh phúc và dồi dào sức khỏe.
(Lit. Wish you a happy Lunar New Year filled with happiness and health.)

Love Letter

Đầu năm khai bút viết thư tình. . .

Mỗi khi bạn bè của tôi chia xẻ và tâm sự với tôi những chuyện vui buồn về tình yêu nam nữ cũng như về đời sống tình cảm gia đình, tôi thường nói nửa vui và nửa thật với các bạn là: tôi không biết yêu là gì vì tôi chưa từng yêu và được yêu.

Ngẫm nghĩ lại, điều mà tôi nói không được chính xác cho lắm vì tôi đã từng yêu và được yêu; tôi đang yêu và sẽ mãi yêu.

Khái niệm về tình “thương” yêu ở mỗi người hoặc/và ở mỗi độ tuổi có khác. Khi còn nhỏ thì có tình yêu cha mẹ, anh chị em. Lớn hơn một chút (độ khoảng tuổi teen) thì có tình yêu học trò, bè bạn. Trưởng thành hơn (young adults) thì có tình yêu nam nữ, gia đình. Cao niên thì có tình yêu con cháu, ông bà và tổ tiên.

Nói tóm lại, tình yêu không nhất thiết phải thuộc sự yêu thương giữa nam và nữ mà thôi. Ngoài đó ra còn có tình yêu gia đình, tình bằng hữu và đặc biệt là tình người đối với người. Cái cảm giác thương yêu và cảm nhận được sự yêu thương, mà tôi tin, phần lớn trong chúng ta đều được chia xẻ.

Thường thì ngày Tết Nguyên Đán (Vietnamese “Tet” New Year) đến vào khoảng trước hoặc sau ngày lễ Tình Nhân (Valentine Day’s). Ít khi nào ngày Mùng Một Tết Nguyên Đán lại đến trùng đúng với ngày lễ Tình Nhân đặc biệt như năm nay, năm Canh Dần 2010.

Trong mỗi người Việt chúng ta, ai cũng biết đến Tết là dịp cho gia đình đoàn tụ, con cháu sum vầy cùng nhau sinh hoạt vui vẻ và hạnh phúc và để tưởng nhớ đến gốc rễ, cội nguồn, tổ tiên, ông bà và người thân đã khuất. Đó là một tập tục truyền thống đáng quý mà không thể nào loại bỏ ra khỏi trong mỗi người.

Welcoming Spring

Tết đến tí tách pháo nổ đầu năm
Cả nhà khanh khách tiếng cười ngày Xuân.

Literal English Translation version:
New Year’s firecrackers crackling and flying with sparks
Family reunion gathering filled with laughter and happiness.

Writer’s Notes
Playing on the Vietnamese rhythmic sounding compound words of “tí tách” (lit. crisply crack) and “khanh khách” (lit. giggling laugh) in parallel, respectively on each of the two line verses, is to depict the sight and sound of the Vietnamese New Year festival, which is best known as “Tet” (Vietnamese: Tết).

Conceived and recorded back sometime between summer and fall of 2007, this couplet is the first pair of eight character verses I had attempted to come up with for the 2008 Vietnamese “Tet” New Year.

Although the couplet was intended to be written for such occasion, I didn’t officially put it on display or to publicize electronically, excepting for sending them as a part of the Lunar New Year’s wishes to family and friends.

With the 2010 Tet festival that is fast approaching, it seems fitting to blog this couplet at the stroke of midnight on the Lunar New Year’s Eve to say goodbye with the old and welcome the new year. Still, preserve and capture the true atmosphere of Tet; happy family laughing in celebrating the joy of reunion at the sound of the firecrackers crackling and showering with sparks.

Love Life

Choose Life

Life is fragile. Life is hard. But, life is also beautiful and life is blessed.

Cuộc sống thật mảnh mai. Cuộc sống đôi khi gặp phải những khó khăn và sự đau khổ. Tuy nhiên, cuộc sống cũng thật tươi đẹp, mang lại nhiều niềm vui và hạnh phúc tràn đầy hồng ân Thiên Chúa và Phật Pháp.

Settling the Unsettled

Try to forget, but never forgotten
Try to remember, but not lingering on
Past years’ sadness woe and happiness bliss
Either, neither
So, just let go.

Moving on from yesterday, let nothing to hold us back
Looking forward to tomorrow, do not let things to get us drunk
Tears of the past or laughers into the future
Either, neither
So, just be. . . happy
Now and today, the present and this moment!

Writer’s Notes
Those lines are originally inspired through the writing process of Memories of War in which I considered them as parting thoughts.

Memories of War

Hồi Ức của Chiến Tranh

I have no memory of the war. Yet, its long lasting effect once dwelled in me, subconsciously; years after the war had ended.

Tucked away somewhere inside my head and/or buried deep down at the far corner of my heart. . . As I grow older, I found myself revisiting it every so often seeking for an understanding, to touch it and to make peace with it.

I carried no grudge then. And that I don’t look back in anger now. There is only love, a love for one self, for my orphanage cousins, for my parents, for my grandparents, for the lost souls and the living of unsettled souls.

* * *

The Atmosphere of Tet
Hương Vị của Tết

Like many other Vietnamese families at the time, our family also tried to flee the country for neighboring countries’ refugee camps in search for resettlement in the United States, a place where many hold out hope to escape poverty, to seek freedom and opportunity for a better future.

Instead of taking the sea route, my parents chose to travel by land. And unlike the timely few, we got caught in Cambodia before making a border crossing into Thailand.

After being accused and labeled as traitors, we were then transported back to Vietnamese Correctional Center, the Chi Hoa Prison (Khám Chí Hòa), where I was kept together with my mother while my father was kept separately at the men quarter, away from us.

Paper Cranes

Whenever a co-worker at work stopped by my cubicle to hand over an interesting piece of note paper with written task information, I use to fold a paper crane to give back in return once the job is done.

Treasure + Appreciation Photo by Mei

Some would say it’s a hobby while the others would see it as a show off. Personally, it’s just something that I simply like to do. Until recently, it occurs to me perhaps there is something else. . .