The Perfume River - an endless source of inspiration for artists and writers in the ancient capital city.

From March 2023 to November 2023, the competition received nearly two thousand poems from over 400 participating authors from all over the country. Most of the submitted poems were about love for the Perfume River and Ngu Mountain region, a hallmark of Hue's heritage, culture, nature, and people. Beloved landmarks, lands, and lagoons come alive and shimmer in the poems, sometimes even resonating with musicality.

From the mural village in Duc Son's poetry, along with the meditative rain of "Distant Tuy Van" and the vastness of "Moon over the fishing port," to the relics cloaked in the cloak of time, the fading traces. From the white sandy beaches of Phong Hai, along the Tam Giang lagoon up to the mountains and forests of A Luoi, a multifaceted, rustic, and elegant Hue is revealed, with deep, quiet notes like the melodies of Hue echoing through time. The longing for Hue has given rise to countless stories and expressions imbued with the essence of the countryside, flowing naturally into the pages of poetry like a call to return amidst a Hue shrouded in mist and haze.

Poet Nguyen Huu Quy "longs for Ham Nghi / shining brightly over the mountains and rivers..."; the emotions under the moonlight reveal a heart that refuses to bow before the enemy: "The Royal Edict of Can Vuong shines in all four directions." The king is not only concerned with the throne, silk, and fame; the poet sees the king's figure as the embodiment of beauty, seeking to reclaim the image of the mountains and rivers, aching with the longing for the homeland as he personally leads thousands of miles. It is a tragic and poignant poem about an invaluable spiritual legacy left for generations to come. Author Nguyen Quan, with his verses richly depicting the beautiful old land, overflows with memories as he stands in those places, grappling with loss and gain, with moss and new sunlight. In his poetry, there is a warm harmony between nature, relics, and signs connected to people, which is also a success in his use of language.

The author Lu Mai presents a unique poetic verse that echoes ancient times, clear and soaring amidst the vast expanse of meaning: "Who whispers to the moon into the realm? / Who prophesies that wounds will heal quickly? / Who plucks the branch of the cool night? / Mist and smoke follow the footsteps of the beautiful woman"; the feeling of words transforming into palace maidens, into men, reluctantly galloping through the vast world when deeply feeling the "melancholy of the forbidden palace," when hearing moss covering the steps of waiting, unable to leave, unable to reach. It is like the "Calling" of "Distant Guest" before "Knocking together," with the shadow of "Tea Maiden" and the "Whispering" beside the "Blinding Phoenix" of the "Hue Dome" echoing endlessly.

Hue emerges with a fresh vitality. Nguyen Thi Kim Nhung's depictions of Hue are delicate and vibrant, with images like "oars sketching the Tam Giang River" or "fishing boats burning fires to keep warm late into the night," anchoring a trace of aesthetic sensibility that stirs the depths of the soul like waves, prompting continued creativity. Huynh Thi Quynh Nga's poems, "igniting a green consciousness," about a girl like a lily of the valley blooming white on the Perfume River, foreshadow a shift in consciousness amidst love tinged with "a dreamy night," "the river leaning like a dream"...

Almost all the most beautiful landmarks, temples, and tombs, from the city to the outskirts; the majestic trees and flowers of Hue, as well as the sunsets, colors, and mosses, have been captured in poetry by poets from all over the country with great care, placing them in the most sacred spaces of poetic space. Bui Thi Dieu's poetry is intertwined with memories of fragrant pine needles, "sacred leaves around the Nam Giao altar." In the poem "When Will the Rain Stop?", the author sees "the gentle streets like the wild jasmine flowers" and "on the mossy lagoon, the songs ripen and creak"; all are streams of endless nostalgia that flow and then condense in the sunshine and rain of Hue.

The essence of Hue permeates the poems, creating a multifaceted meaning, new from the familiar and simple. The beauty of Hue has led the poet's eye to discover subtleties like the thin mist in the warm sunshine, as if we've encountered it somewhere before, yet it remains uniquely Hue in Ngo Cong Tan's poetry: "Who boils fragrant herbs and pours them into the verdant lake and the river?" In the poem "One Night on the Back of Hue," the author suddenly sees "a father bending over to scoop up the moon from the rice field"; "suddenly hearing the scent of dawn, permeated with the sound of falling scriptures…". Hue at night in Bach Diep's work, with its graceful beauty in a garden house with a quiet moss-covered terrace.

The space of Hue in her poetry is both old and new, blending together like a gentle fairy tale under the morning sun, where everything is peaceful, seemingly the ethereal grace of modernity just beginning to fade, leaving a touch of wistfulness and regret for what exists, like the fleeting beauty of youth. Bach Diep's poetry, with its rain and the fluctuating seasons, is full of vitality; even sad love is full of storms, a struggle to conquer space, connecting a thread of destiny like an invisible, sweet, sharp raindrop. The titles of her poems sound like soft whispers: "Opening the green silk wings under the sun," "The land for a gentle breath"; these are the very soft "calls" of Hue, yet their echoes are vast and boundless.

Every competition has its own criteria, especially poetry competitions focusing on a specific region. Hue is already poetic, and Hue poetry is an opportunity to reveal more of Hue's profound characteristics; it also inspires those who love Hue to write even better about their homeland.

Text: Nguyen Huong - Photos: Tuan Kiet