poems from 2025

i live in a state of constant reverie.
conflicting thoughts scar my mind like a battlefield

i long for a connection which lasts forever

whenever i get attached to somebody
there is no denying the fact that i have accepted them to become a part of me
whenever i think of them
i really feel in my chest and stomach
in every single fibre of my flesh
every moment, every touch, even the warmth

whenever i leave them
my mind just fills with ennui
thats how i know i am deeply in love

but love does not have to hurt this badly
sometimes it pains me like a dagger through my heart
triggering the horrid spasms
throwing me on the verge of tears

but i know
“my tears mean nothing
and they won’t change anything”
since i first knew my parents did not care about me as their own child
i am no beyond a byproduct or consequence of them

i don’t sob anymore

bright and warm
blue and fresh
everything feels relaxing
the apple tree laughs out its fruits
the dog had its day

dark and cold
grey and smoky
everything feels suffocating
the willow tree weeps for the leaves that fell
the dog foolishly closes its eyes and wait

how stupid it is, they all point and say,
the sun will set
the soil will turn yellow and barren
the water will turn black and still
the crows will croak
the fog will prevail
!

then i shall wait until the sun rises again
until the soil turns green and lush again
until the water turns clear and flow in serenity again
until the crows go away, and the pigeons coo again
until the fogs go away, again,
the dog answers
.

then he buries his head under the straws of hay,
silently closes his eyes,
waiting, dreaming and fantasising,
about the day he had

mother nature picks him up

the dog opens his eyes
the sky is still bleak
the soil is still barren
the water is still dead

he shakes his head in slight disappointment
but he still clings to the fantasised hope he had

he knows that grief won’t make things any better
again, he buries himself, in a hole of dirt
deep and cold
closes his eyes

he knew he was never good at letting things go
he couldn’t live in the past forever
he knew he would have to let that day go
eventually
.

mother nature picks him up, again

the dog opens his eyes,
what a peaceful day, he feels
surrounding it, lushful blades of grass
colourful blooming flowers
the limitless blue sky
fluffy clouds casting over the shining sun

in front of him, the apple tree
the dog did not think twice
he ran and screamed
oh, how long have i yearned for your return
oh, how long have i longed for your gifts
the apples, that fell from your branches
oh, please stay
forever
don’t ever leave me waiting for you again
!

he kept chasing
his paws, bloody
his legs, hurting
his eyes, swollen
still, he kept chasing
he knew the suffering would end if he reaches for it

the sudden gust of wind wakes him up
the dog opens his eyes
he comes out of the hole he digged for himself

nothing changed.

he goes berserk
rabid
crazy
uncontrollable

why would you do that, he asked
why didn’t you stay, he asked
why did you leave me, he asked

he drops down in a bush of spiky roses
and closes his eyes
thorns pierce through his bare skin like daggers
tears drop down his bare canine face
wondering why he waited for nothing

mother nature lets him go

the dog opens its eyes
the spiky bushes of white roses cover him
the fog shroud over the deep forest
the water, stagnant
the soil, wet and littered with decaying leaves
everything is as devastating as it was

then, a faint scent, as he raises his head
the scent of nostalgia
the fragrance of grievousness
the aroma of something which was familiar to him

then, a blurry silhouette, as he looks forward
the silhouette of what he remembers
the shade of what he misses
the shadow of what he yearns

the apple tree.

the dog runs again
more desperately than ever3
more selfless than ever
more mindless than ever

his paws, crumbled
his fur, drenched in blood
his eyes, teary and swollen
everything of him is slowly decomposing
in every step he gallops

but, the dog thinks
it is all okay, it is all okay for him
because oh, the apple tree is here again
where everything will be normal
where his suffering will forever end

in his tears
he knows he should have forget it
he knows he should have let it go
he knows the pain inflicted by its disappearance must be remembered
with all his resentment concentrated inside his canine mind

he wishes to hate it
but he couldn’t

it is all he wanted
to let him feel like he is wanted
and it is all he needed
to let him feel like he is needed
.

mother nature has long gone

i saw it. in my dream. my eyes. throbbing in pain
i saw something forbidden in my dream
and i shall not tell it to somebody.

but if i have to, i would say it was everybody.
cluttering into a mess
into one
even you (me). you are (i am) one of them (everybody)
(i am who i am) you are who you are
.

i see your corpse and the sun is shining
i see your corpse
i see                    the sun
      your corpse and the sun
       your corpse                 is shining
                       the sun is shining

everything seems to be going in a bad way
and i can’t deny it
you can’t either
they keep fighting and dying and fighting and dying and fighting and dying

nothing can stop the inevitable
human keeps leading themselves to their own death

you are awake, and the corpse is hanging from the ceiling
you are awake,                                hanging from the ceiling
you are                                             hanging from the ceiling
you                 , and the corpse
             awake,        the corpse is
              awake,        the corpse is hanging from the ceiling
              awake,                              hanging from the ceiling
you                   and the corpse
you are                    the corpse

in midnight, you appear
your eyes, weeping, fierce, miserable

may you find the salvation you yearn for

i miss you, my ray of sunshine
i tried to sleep, but to no avail, i'm still awake now.

i still remember yesterday, when we first met:
when we stood shoulder to shoulder, skin to skin
when we talked for the first time
when i noticed your face, your adorable face blushing,
after each time our eyes met.
when the warm sunshine hits your vibrant hair,
your pretty face,
your beautiful brown eyes,
oh so gently.
when i gazed lovingly at you,
while you looked away, embarrassed.

oh, so tenderly, so dearly, so innocently,
i love you with all my might.
i devote my heart to you, lover.

tặng em, quỳnh, với niềm yêu dấu khôn nguôi. sau hứa không ngủ muộn thế này nữa.
daniel đào.

ngày buồn, tuần mừng, tháng vui, năm loạn
tôi lao đầu vào học đến chết

học, học nữa, học mãi
học oằn mình ra, sau mới có ăn

mày học chỉ bổ vào não?
thế thì yên thân (mà) tự kỷ một góc

bán lưng cho trời, bán mặt cho đất
miễn nếu lương cao, thì chả ăn tất?

nhưng muốn lương cao,
tuổi trẻ (phải) xã giao

tuổi trẻ mà không xã giao,
đời khinh, bạn chê, ra đường ngồi xó

ngồi xó mà gặp chuyện khó,
khổ đau đến mấy, cắn môi mà chịu

(nhưng)

học rất vui. kiến thức rất vui.
ai lại không muốn mình đầy kiến thức?

(nhưng)

buồn thay thước đo giá trị cuộc sống
mà xã hội áp đặt lên mi,
từ khi mi sinh ra, oà khóc thực ngây thơ
chẳng dừng đó

darling, don't you cry
your tears pierce my heart like a dagger.

so soft you are, so emotional you are, so tender you are,
from the cracks in your innocent, adorable soul.
thus, should it be treated with utmost care.

i beg you, don't you cry my sweetheart,
let me be the armor,
so i can protect you from the sorrows you suffer;
treat me like a mattress,
so i can feel every strain of your sadness;
constrict my chests with your laments,
so i can recognise every ounce of pain you endure.


please, may you remember this deeply,
you are my spine, my ribcages, my heart,
the scaffolding you are, keeping me truly alive.

your joy, a secret currency i spend,
to buy more minutes, where the world feels more bearable

thenceforth, my dear lover, may you remember this in yourself,
that my love will never fade.
as long as you exist,
so do i,


-to quỳnh, my love.

i still yearn for your warmth,
the ferocious french kisses we gave to each other,
the first kisses we ever gave to anybody.


i remember,
when i hugged your waist from behind,
when we got closer and closer,
closer and closer,
until both our arms embraced each other,
until you rested your head upon my shoulder,
and until i rested mine upon your chest.

i could feel,
the peculiar warmth of your pale smooth skin, your petite slender body.
deep in your chest, a racing heart,
a heart that can jump out of your fragile chest,
at any moment.

looking up your pretty face, i could see,
your pink-ish, puffy bunny cheeks,
and your big brown puppy eyes, gazing at me so cutely;
so adorable, my hand couldn’t stop caressing in admiration.
your hair, golden brown, shining so kindly,
under the quaint, gentle lights.

(and then, we kissed, so feral, but so intimate.)


i still remember,
when i feel your soft tender lips lay upon my lips,
when they locked, oh so passionately.
when our tongues mingled, when our saliva blend,
when i felt (and still feel) every pieces of you, intensely aching, inside my guts.
again, again, again, again, and again.
too intense it was, you breathed heavily;
too fierce it was, i could hear you silently sobbing,
between the interludes.

but still, we held our faces again, lips tight.


now, (laying) on my bed, i still miss,
how soft your voice was, how fragrant your aroma was,
and crucial, the most,
the french kiss you blessed upon my mere soul.
(although we will sure meet again soon.)

-to quỳnh, my sweetheart.

so soft your face is,
my hand kindly caresses;
please never leave me.

from daniel to quỳnh

the sky turns bleak white,
branches still, in deep silence;

but i will not frown.

hopeless, things once were,
love approaches with sweetness.
embrace me, fully.

-for quỳnh, my love

may god forgive me,
for what i once were, now not.

the leaves are still green

the clouds turn dark gray,
raindrops fall in dissonance;
your warmth, i yearn, still.

to quỳnh, my adorable tú quỳnh

to my great despair,
for things have gone so wrongly;
i weep silently.

the fog blinds me wet;
flickering strobes of light pierce,
the smoky white veil.

-memoir of a sad january.

impotent, you are.
useless, alike your own self,
i hope you refrain.

debilitation.
sharp knives run across sinews
carpe diem, i say.

i, unwillingly,
gave the heartless, an attempt;
despair, they wished upon.

giọng em thật dịu dàng,
hai con mắt em thật đáng yêu;
xin đừng rời xa anh.

-gửi quỳnh, với lòng nhớ thương da diết.

thao thức giữa đêm khuya,
trong cơn mơ anh thấy em khóc,
liệu giờ, em còn ổn?

-gửi quỳnh với niềm yêu dấu bao la, tú quỳnh mà anh luôn nhớ nhung cả ngày đêm.