LÊ THI

 

 

Greeting November

 

A new month arrives

carrying the gentle, drying winds

Autumn lays down

a golden carpet of memories

Everyone rushes through

unfinished, scattered work

while time slowly hollows out

the pages of the calendar on the wall

The hydrangeas close

another fragrant season

Birdsong fades—

their wings now turned south for shelter.

I, beside an old maple tree

confide in winter days

carrying your love

as a small, glowing flame

warming the passing years.

Into the earth

I send the seeds

of seasons long gone

pressing into winter

our tender, romantic tales.

Sunlit drops return

and I gather them to keep.

November comes

and I remember

your clear, shining eyes

that once led me

through so many realms

of longing.

By your side, I was drunk.

on the sweetness of your breath.

Life’s diary remains unfinished—

yet traces of our yesterday

still linger.

Ohio-11–2025

 

Golden Autumn

 

Golden autumn

dyes the whole evening sky.

I miss that slender dress,

those late-spoken words of love.

Our romance—

a bitter, twisted fate.

I vow to wear

a mourning scarf for life.

Autumn returns,

there it is again, my dear.

By the lake I stand

adrift in a foreign land.

In the wind,

I hear your laughter—

Why did you leave

abandoning the one

who loved you so?

Wandering,

I search for your fragrance

the footprints of memories

still lingering here.

How many months

how many days

we walked together—

hands clasped

in tender dreams.

You gave me

your untouched, pure heart

entrusting to the heavens

the story

of you and me.

Auturm 2025 

 

LÊ THI

 

LÊ THI, born in 1969 in Hương Khê, Hà Tĩnh, is a modern Vietnamese voice whose poetry carries emotion, nostalgia, and deep devotion to homeland. He graduated with an English Pedagogy degree from Ho Chi Minh City University of Education and later taught in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu. In 2019, he and his family resettled in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, USA. He published the poetry collection Love Story by the River (Writers’ Association Publishing House, 2023), featuring notable poems such as Invite Me to Phuc Trach, Lullaby, A Childhood…, and Chung Chung My. His poems and stories have appeared widely in magazines and newspapers around the world, connecting readers through his steadfast love for Vietnam and his desire to build bridges of understanding.