A Touch of Fragrance

<The Tender Inner World of a Saintly Poet>

From the poetry collection Traces of Previous Lives
(Originally in Aulacese)

You went so far away, no fragrance remained;
Wind-filled sails disappeared beyond the horizon.
The moon returned, dim and lonely,
Over the entire planet,
In which corners will it be shining?

You left, taking with you all the music and poetry,
Leaving here only a few hollow tunes.
This intense longing makes me feel like death;
Wind howls in my soul, rain pours in my heart!

What’s left behind – just desolate towns
Hills and mountains stand in the freezing fog.
My footsteps echo the sound of melancholy,
Wistful pebbles long for the vast sea.

Do you remember the moment our hands parted?
Your eyes, deep as the bluest sky!
Is my heart shedding tears or blood?
Heaven and Earth both abandoned me... Why?

“A Touch of Fragrance” was set to music by Phuong Vu and performed
by renowned singer Thai Hien. The song appears in track 1 of CD A Touch of Fragrance.



Commentaries from Poets


“The more one reads Her poems, the more one feels a revival of hope, an almighty power, and a purified heart.”

~ Aulacese poet Phung Minh Tien (quoted from his article “Reflections on Supreme Master Ching Hai’s Poetry” from the poetry collection Traces of Previous Lives)

“Supreme Master Ching Hai’s love poems read like a classic love story with all the necessary qualities: resentful loneliness, nights of hopeless waiting and days of passion, et cetera. The only difference is that Supreme Master Ching Hai accepts all Her love stories under what She calls“the guiding light of enlightenment.”

~ Aulacese poet Thu Phong
(originally in Aulacese, excerpted from Supreme Master Ching Hai News Magazine #78)


The Prince
The Peace Seeker
A Touch of Fragrance
An Unexpected Day
Forever Still
Faded Love
A Farewell to My Child
Silent Love
Dream in the Night
There Were Disappointing Times
Since We Knew Each Other