The Lycee

Far from Home Dr. Jacques Nguyen Hieu Liem Translated by Thomas D. Le and Ly Lang Nhan

En souvenir de mes deux ann�es au Lyc�e Augustin-Thierry de Blois (Loir et Cher, 1950-1951), et surtout gr�ce � Monsieur Gruault, surnomm� �Poil�, et R�gis Bouis, nos Professeurs de Fran�ais et d�Histoire-G�ographie, qui m�ont appris � aimer la France.

Je leur d�die ce petit po�me, en t�moignage de ma profonde gratitude pour l�enseignement et l�amour de la litt�rature qu�ils m�ont prodigu�s. Mes ann�es de pensionnaire �Du Petit Annamite� en classe de Premi�re Moderne et de Math�matiques El�mentaires, au Lyc�e Augustin-Thierry de Blois.

Et loin de chez moi

Je garderai toujours
De ce charmant s�jour
Un souvenir tr�s tendre,
Je crois toujours entendre,
Nos jeux m�l�s de joie,
Nos plaisirs d�autrefois,
Nos propos, nos paroles,
Et nos histories folles,
Et nos rires sonores
Qui r�sonnent encore
Dans le fond de mon coeur.
Oui, j�aime la douceur
De ces ann�es pass�es:
Le bon temps du Lyc�e.

Dr. Nguy�n Hi�u Li�m
St-Andr�-Les-Vergers, France, 9 March 2004

To remember my two years at the Augustin Thierry Lycee at Blois (Loir et Cher, 1950-1951), and above all my memory of Messrs. Gruault, nicknamed 'Poil', professor of French, and Regis Bouis, professor of History and Geography, who had taught me to love France.

To them I dedicate this short poem as a token of my profound gratitude for their teaching and the love of literature they imparted during my years as 'the little Vietnamese' boarding student of the classes of Premiere Moderne (11th grade, Modern Track), and of Elementary Mathematics at the Lycee Augustin Thierry.

And so far from Home

I'll keep forevermore
Of charming days of yore
Their tender memories.
And I'll always hear
Our games full of joy
Delights of yesteryear,
Our talks and words galore
And zany stories more
And our laughs' hearty sound
Whose echoes still resound
In the depth of my heart.
Yes, I love the sweetness
Of those years far away,
Good old Lycee school days.

Translated by Thomas D. Le
9 March 2004

Dầu Xa T�i

T�i xin giữ m�i trong đời
Bao nhi�u kỷ niệm đẹp thời thiếu sinh
Tiếng cuời c�n vẳng b�n m�nh
Bao khi đ�a giỡn, bao t�nh chứa chan.

Bao nhi�u c�u chuyện nồng n�n
Chuyện vui năm cũ, nửa qu�ng nửa đi�n
Giọng cuời tiếng n�i huy�n thi�n
Dư �m dội m�i triền mi�n trong l�ng.

Thưa v�ng, t�nh đ� mặn nồng
Những ni�n học cũ, bạn chung m�i đuờng
Bao năm xa vắng ng�i truờng
��u qu�n cảnh cũ y�u thương suốt đời.

Bản dịch Việt ngữ do L� L�ng Nh�n
Madison, Alabama, 11 Mars 2004