Perhaps that wasn't enough to ease the longing for his birthplace, the poet Nguyen Vinh Bao chose the six-eight verse form to write specifically about the Chanh River in his hometown. Using this traditional poetic form to write about the past and about old friends is truly fitting and fitting. The book "Chanh River in Six-Eight Verse," recently published by the Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House, comprises 101 six-eight verse poems that bring the Chanh River flowing from Vinh Bao village of his memories into Nguyen Vinh Bao's poetry today.
Each six-line poem is like a short piece praising the Chanh River. Beside that river of nostalgia, the poet Nguyen Vinh Bao turns his own memories, expressing his longing: "Bitter heart, the changing seasons of the harvest / The hospitable betel quid intoxicates the lips with its fragrance"; or sometimes absentmindedly: "Straw and hay in the fields of my homeland / A love affair urges the twilight to reign"; and sometimes regretfully: "The intoxication never gets drunk / The rainy night ends, and the morning sun shines brightly again."
Of course, once the poet Nguyen Vinh Bao returns to immerse himself in the dreamy river, there must be the compelling urge of an enchanting figure: "Last night, who bathed in the Chanh River? / Leaving the waves tossed about, causing me suffering / The fragrant scent of the distant past / Suddenly returns, causing turmoil in the night." That person must surely be lost in the hazy past: "You've been gone for so long / A needle lost at the bottom of the sea, how can I find it?", so the past becomes even more restless: "The words you sent tonight / I add them all up to fill the distant horizon," and the feeling of melancholy grows even more disheartened: "The moon's shadow draped in golden autumn leaves / Faint footprints, seemingly lost from the flock."
The Chanh River flows tirelessly through the years. Poet Nguyen Vinh Bao, burdened by the anxieties of exile, struggles to find a way to hold onto the image of the Chanh River, a river that resonates with his own emotions: "The boat carries heavy longing / The river silently embraces it, but does it still remain?" He questions the countless waves rippling the shore, seeking to understand more about the precariousness of separation in that corner of the sky: "Tobacco intoxicates the inaction / Cannot stop the footsteps from entering life."
Poet Nguyen Vinh Bao has a deep affection for his homeland. Therefore, perhaps the Chanh River is just one reason for his nostalgic feelings. Each poem glides past the Chanh River to touch upon each moment of longing, each moment of reunion, sometimes: "I return to sew up winter again / Putting on a flowing green coat," at other times: "Grass grows wildly on the embankment / The river reflects the moon's shadow," and then again with longing: "I wish I could return to childhood / So I could embrace your innocent naivety."
The poem "Sông Chanh" (Chanh River) in lục bát (six-eight) verse is therefore both intimate and familiar, helping the public to better understand the sensitive soul of poet Nguyễn Vĩnh Bảo for his hometown of Hải Phòng : "We return with shadows and clouds / The river of our homeland, a time of grass and trees."
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/de-cho-con-song-chong-chanh-mien-tho-post854127.html
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