I reminisce about an autumn years ago
when we sent each other scented letters.
Scented with the fragrance of Love and flowers.
The penned strokes, flirtingly romantic, fly on the pages.
I remember the heart’s hesitancy when I wrote
“How many lives have I waited
for us to love and be together.”
O My Love,
the letters still here,
but you’re somewhere faraway.
I search for you in the starlight of yesteryears.
Remember that day when we walked together to the bridge,
You let down your long silky hair,
and we promised each other to love and be loved.
The words of Love gently floated down the river to some harbor…

Oh Time!
The passage of Time seems to have erased the words of Love.
The passage of Time has faded the color of many letters.
I returned to this place to burn the letters,
to forget the love that seems like thousands of years ago.
Love with the passing of months and years has withered.
The love in the artist’s heart has died.

I reminisce about an autumn years ago
when I wandered alone in the forests and rivers.
The autumn leaves fell and withered.
I reminisce about that day
when we walked together to the bridge.
You let down your long silky hair.
Where’s the Love now that was in our hearts then…

Translated by Vương Thanh

Lá thư

Nhớ tới mùa thu năm xưa gửi nhau
phong thư ngào ngạt hương
nét bút đa tình lả lơi
nhớ phút ngập ngừng lòng giấy viết rằng
chờ đến kiếp nào
tình đầu trong gió mùa
người yêu ơi
em nay về đâu?
phong thư còn đây
nhớ nhau tìm trong ánh sao
nhớ tới ngày nào cùng bước đến cầu
ngồi xõa tóc thề
hẹn lời ân ái
trôi đến bến nào hình dáng thuyền yêu

Thời gian
như xóa lời yêu thương
thời gian
phai dần màu bao lá thư
anh quay về đây đốt tờ thư
quên đi niềm ân ái ngàn xưa
ái ân theo tháng năm tàn
ái ân theo tháng năm vàng
tình người nghệ sĩ phai rồi

Nhớ tới mùa thu năm nao
mình anh lênh đênh rừng cùng sông
chiếc lá thu dần vàng theo
nhớ tới ngày nào cùng bước đến cầu
ngồi xõa tóc thề
còn đâu ân ái chăng người xưa?

Đoàn Chuẩn

This book released in 2017; therefore, it sounded dated. I didn’t get much out of it. My sense of design is simple and straightforward. My design doesn’t need to tell a story. My design just needs to connect and communicate. Not sure where I am going with this.

Everyday I feel like walking into a minefield. The mines could explode anytime. I am trying to stay calm. I am trying to relax. I am trying to sleep. I simply can’t. I don’t know what the fuck I am doing anymore.

Life is hitting me from every corner. One issue is piling up on another. I can’t get a grip on anything. I am living on the edge. I can slip and fall anytime. Time is a motherfucker. The days go so fast and so slow at the same time. I don’t know how to cope with stress. I drink to ease the tension in my head. I rollerblade to give me some physical activity. I depend on my wife to prevent me from breaking down.

I need to hold myself together. I can’t hold on to things beyond my reach. I have to let go. I want to prevent the worst case scenario, but I can’t do anything out of my control. I just need to face the crisis when it hits. I just have to deal with whatever throws at me. I can’t let depression get to me. I can’t get beaten down. I will survive. I will be fine.

Thanks for reading my rants. I don’t have the comment section on this blog, but I always welcome your thoughts. Hit me up.

Miklós Kiss’s Type Beasts are so damn beautiful and expressive. I love his clever ligatures.

Even if it rains daily, I want to walk with you till the end of life
Even if dark clouds or storms are gathering, I long to be at your side
Even if it’s windy and biting cold, or the roads muddied with snow
Even if the leaves are falling, sad and desolate…
Even if whatever… Whatever happens…, I Will Still Love You…

Leaning on each other’s arms, sharing peace and warmth
Finding each other’s lips with a passionate kiss
Hand clasping hand, feeling imprisoned desires stirring…
My hair, unkempt and gray with memories of a sad love
But just looking at you,
just looking at you for a moment,
I long to say “I Love You.”

Let me be a breath of sleepiness,
just this one time,
lulling you into a world of dreams,
taking you with me
into the yesteryears of Love…

I long to hold you in my arms
Like a dream pillow, you are so soft and warm
I long for a night full of passion
A night of love between wife and husband.

Even if one day some other walks with you till the end of life
Even if you have the heart to rip and tear apart mine
Even if I wish a thousand wishes,
or blames fate my whole life
it’s already too late!

O Love! Whatever happens, I Will Always Love You…

Translated by Vương Thanh

Niệm khúc cuối

Dù cho mưa tôi xin đưa em đến cuối cuộc đời
Dù cho mây hay cho bão tố có kéo qua đây
Dù có gió, có gió lạnh đầy, có tuyết bùn lầy
Có lá buồn gầy, dù sao, dù sao đi nữa tôi vẫn yêu em

Dựa vai nhau cho nhau yên vui ấm áp cuộc đời
Tìm môi nhau, cho nhau rã nát, rã nát tim đau
Vừa đôi tay, ước muốn tù đầy,
Tóc rối bạc màu vết dấu tình sầu
Nhìn em, nhìn em giây phút, muốn nói yêu em

Xin cho tôi, tôi như cơn ngủ
Ru em, đưa em một lần
Ru em vào mộng, đưa em vào đời
Một thời yêu đương

Cho tôi xin em như gối mộng
Cho tôi ôm em vào lòng
Xin cho một lần, cho đêm mặn nồng
Yêu thương vợ chồng

Dù mai đây ai đưa em đi đến cuối cuộc đời
Dù cho em, em đang tâm xé, xé nát tim tôi
Dù có ước, có ước ngàn lời, có trách một đời
Cũng đã muộn rồi

Tình ơi! Dù sao đi nữa xin vẫn yêu em.

Ngô Thụy Miên

This photo was licensed for $500 and only the left half was used.

Heller and Anderson are prolific writers. I can’t keep up with their sheer volume of books on graphic design. The Logo Design Idea Book, which released in 2020, featured 50 logos with a one-page explanation for each. It is short, sweet, and insightful. It’s a perfect switch for me from poetry to design.

Raindrops are tears for a love that’s fading…
Clouds drifting… are the nostalgic regrets of a time gone by…
You told me that you were happy, but your eyes say otherwise
Alas, my heart still cannot not forget
the heartaches of those days…

Fragile is Life, like the autumn leaf withering on the tree branch
Is it rain or warm teardrops falling, crying for a lost love?
Still there in my heart
are the months and years of longings
for us to live a happy life together.
Alas! The pains of Fate, of being late for each other.

I remember that autumn day,
grey clouds drifting in the far horizon.
The sad rain, your tangled hair wetting your lips
You give me your first kiss,
and wrap your arms around me.
I sing for you a song of youthful love in the twenties

Wandering in search of you but you’d already gone
Treading the streets that we had been together with lonely footsteps
O Love, do you hear the autumn leaves falling
Do you know that when autumn arrives,
we have lost each other in this life.

Translated by Vương Thanh

Nỗi đau muộn màng

Mưa rơi là nước mắt tình đã phai rồi
Mây trôi là nỗi nhớ tiếc thương mà thôi
Hạnh Phúc sao mắt môi em còn chơi vơi
Sao trái tim anh còn chưa nguôi
Những xót xa một thời

Mong manh đời như lá vàng úa trên cành
Long lanh giọt lệ ấm khóc cho tình xanh
Còn đấy bao tháng năm âm thầm em mang
Bao vấn vương cho đời thênh thang
Những nỗi đau muộn màng

Em nhớ có mùa thu mây giăng lối
Cơn mưa buồn tóc rối ướt bờ môi
Em đã trao anh nụ hôn đầu vòng tay ấm vui
Anh hát cho em bài tình ca đôi mươi

Lang thang tìm đâu thấy người đã đi rồi
Mênh mang đường phố vắng bước chân lẻ loi
Người hỡi anh có nghe lá vàng rơi rơi
Anh có hay khi mùa thu tới
Ta mất nhau một đời

Ngô Thụy Miên

Read through the collection and understood just a bit of it. My brain is just not picking up poetry and I simply don’t know what write even a few brief sentences. After five months of reading poetry books, I am taking a break and return to novel and fiction. It was a fun journey. Of course I will continue to read poetry, but not exclusively.

Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh are driven by sex, money, and power. They are gangsters of the corrupted Supreme Court.