Truyện Kiều – The Tale of Kieu (Verses 1230-1265)

Truyện Kiều (Câu 1230-1265)

Nguyễn Du

1230.
Cuộc say đầy tháng trận cười suốt đêm.
Dập dìu lá gió cành chim,
Sớm đưa Tống Ngọc tối tìm Tràng Khanh.
Khi tỉnh rượu lúc tàn canh,
Giật mình, mình lại thương mình xót xa.

1235.
Khi sao phong gấm rủ là,
Giờ sao tan tác như hoa giữa đường.
Mặt sao dày gió dạn sương,
Thân sao bướm chán ong chường bấy thân!
Mặt người mưa Sở mây Tần,

1240.
Những mình nào biết có xuân là gì!
Đòi phen gió tựa hoa kề,
Nửa rèm tuyết ngậm, bốn bề trăng thâu.
Cảnh nào cảnh chẳng đeo sầu,
Người buồn cảnh có vui đâu bao giờ!

1245.
Đòi phen nét vẽ, câu thơ,
Cung cầm trong nguyệt nước cờ dưới hoa,
Vui là vui gượng kẻo là,
Ai tri âm đó, mặn mà với ai?
Thờ ơ gió trúc mưa mai,

1250.
Ngẩn ngơ trăm nỗi dùi mài một thân.
Nỗi lòng đòi đoạn xa gần,
Chẳng vò mà rối, chẳng dần mà đau!
Nhớ ơn chín chữ cao sâu,
Một ngày một ngả bóng dâu tà tà.

1255.
Dặm ngàn, nước thẳm, non xa,
Nghĩ đâu thân phận con ra thế này!
Sân hòe đôi chút thơ ngây
Trân cam ai kẻ đỡ thay việc mình?
Nhớ lời nguyện ước ba sinh,

1260.
Xa xôi ai có biết tình chăng ai?
Khi về hỏi liễu Chương Đài,
Cành xuân đã bẻ cho người chuyên tay.
Tình sâu mong trả nghĩa dày,
Hoa kia đã chắp cành này cho chưa?

(English Version)

The Tale of Kieu (Verses 1230-1265)

Author: Nguyễn Du
Translation: Đặng Hoàng Lan

1230.
Plunging herself into drink for months, she laughed each night.
Customers became clients flocking like hummingbirds to nectar.
She bid adieu to Tong Ngoc at dawn, awaiting Trang Khanh at dusk.
However, those times she lie awake in the night, accidentally sober,
She was startled with fear, and sorrow and bitterly pitied herself.

1235.
Aghast, that she who had came from silken gowns and rich brocade,
Should now be left to disintegrate upon the road, to be trampled!
Relentlessly battered by rain, should such beauty meet such a fate?
Should an innocent body serve only to sate butterflies and bees?
Caresses such as those from revellers hailing from Chu to Jin,

1240.
Made Kieu feel hollow, with none of the sweetness love brings.
Even now, when she caught the wind or noticed the flowers,
The snow covered windows, or a glorious autumn moon
She saw every scene thru her gloomy and sorrowful outlook.
Such scenery could bring no joy, causing still deeper melancholy.

1245. Sometimes she would draw a picture , or write some verses,
Or played her lute in the moonlight, or played chess the trees
These motions helped her pass moments, but she felt nothing.
Where could she find a true friend who might understand her heart?
She dreaded the wind rustling bamboos and gentle rain on apricots.

1250. Unendingly she toiled, alone, surrounded by disturbances and grief.
When something evoked a good memory or a moment felt pleasant,
Her gut didn’t churn. She came to realize she was
broken, not dead!
She was haunted by receiving the “Nine Labors” from her parents,
Knowing their lives were fading shadows as mulberry trees at dusk.

1255. Thousands miles from home, beyond deep rivers and many mountains,
Her parents couldn’t know what had happened to their daughter!
And what of her brother and sister, two green and immature shoots,
Could such children be her substitute for the caring of her parents?
Suddenly, Kieu sadly remembered the oath she had made with Kim

1260. In that faraway place, and wondered whether Kim knew of her fate.
Upon his return, will he ask for the willow from Chuong Dai Terrace?
Who can tell him she’s ripped from the tree, passed hand to hand?
She hoped her sister, as was agreed, would prove herself faithful,
And be wed to Kim Trong, a flower grafted to the tree, in her stead.