Fun with Vietnamese poetry

李白 

Sometimes when I am going about my daily life, I get inspired to compose poems in Vietnamese. It's nothing profound, actually just humourous 16 syllable "squares" of rhyme that reflect microcosmic aspects of Vietnamese culture. Enjoy!

Ăn như nông dân
Mạnh hơn con dần.
Muốn thành chủ to
Ăn nhiều thịt bò.

*I know that "con dần" is technically not correct, but it rhymes better than "con hổ " ! Besides, we're having fun, right?

Vietnamese farmers can endure anything

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Hai người ngồi đây
Thuốc bắc uống đi
Mặt em xanh cây
Sức khỏe có phí

Two people sitting here
Drink up the herbal tea
Her face is deathly green
You know health has a fee

*I made this up to exaggerate my wife's distaste for herbal medicine.

Goat stew with medicinal herbs, drink up!

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Hút thuốc răng vàng
Rượu nếp giá cao
Không tập thể thao
Trăm năm làm sao!

*I intended this one to reflect the paradox in Vietnamese society about a strong desire for health and long life contrasted with the nasty habits of excessive smoking and alcohol consumption.

An indispensable part of Vietnamese culture, tobacco and alcohol

Anyways, they're simple to create, funny, and make you look like you are seriously down with the Vietnamese language. Happy composing.

-WLR
-as a side note, I'll be traveling for two weeks, my next post will be on December 1, so please check back then!