Night listening to the cold wind on the river bank

Writers and poets who are attached to Hanoi are often people who love nature and rivers. Through their tireless work, they have brought many beautiful impressions of Hanoi, carved with ancient and modern carvings, bringing haunting memories to those who are far from the capital. Each profound beauty of the soul of the streets, the soul of the people of Hanoi, past and present, has captivated many artists in their creativity. Fascinating stories about the soul of the ancient people of Trang An, about the old town, about Hoan Kiem Lake, about the legend of Thang Long, about West Lake... have created many shades of the elegant beauty of the capital. I have thought a lot about the cultural sediments of the people of Hanoi, the values that always need to be remembered and preserved by future generations.

There is a beautiful and deep cultural sediment. It is a culture originating from the Mother River. That sediment is always built up by time, like the alluvium of the delta. It is a culture from the civilization of the Red River Delta and the sense of life created from the Mother River - the Red River flowing through Hanoi and spreading to the countryside. That inspiration always fills me every time I stand before the red water. My dear attachment to the river is a dreamy flow that seems to never run dry.

I want to look at the Mother River and quietly think about Hanoi. Think about the ups and downs of hard-working people from this place, from the cold winds when winter is coming. Right from this river, from outside the dike surrounding Hanoi. Winter nights, lying listening to the cold wind on the riverbank... I see myself standing here, suddenly flying up on the wings of poetry. Watching Hanoi change seasons and listening to the breath of the night from afar...

I fly along the banks of the Red River. Listening to the breath of Hanoi rising from the alluvial sediment of the Mother River. The wind still blows fiercely. Under the bridges, listening to time slowly passing by, watching the river water still flowing. The river water is warming from the Mother Earth, the flow is so calm and gentle. Here, the waves of the Red River have been angry, roaring, and red. The river water is salty, the river sand is salty, the alluvium is pink and saltier, is it the sediment of sweat, tears and blood of many generations?

Dawn has come! I am still here, just touching the bridge railing. Standing and looking at the river and the endless green banks from the middle of Long Bien bridge. I look across the river banks. On the other side is Gia Lam and the ancient pagodas reflected on the riverbank. On this side is Thang Long, the center of Hanoi. Listening to the rustling winds telling so many old stories. So many old people. Where are they now?

Everyone has their own river of memories! People grow up with history and the river of alluvial sediment. An ancient Hanoi with many legends and myths, vivid and beautiful by the river. A Hanoi today is striving to develop and integrate with the country and the world. The more modern the socio -economic development, the more potential challenges.

The riverbank is filled with wind and the scent of alluvium from the Red River Delta rises up. Watching the Red River in early winter is so beautiful. Winter has come, the river surface turns a light blue and cold. Along the river, looking from the fields, you can see the yellow color of the mustard flowers. The flowers carry childhood memories, always blooming brightly when winter comes. The river seems quieter. The flow of many generations is still shy? The river bends, gentle and clearer even though the flood season has passed, the river has built up, the river has emptied. The river has been happy, has been in pain, and when tired, it lies down and breathes peacefully. This year's flood season has just passed in the lateness of Mother Nature's changing weather.

This season, the reeds on the beach are blooming white like clouds. From afar, the reeds look like a herd of ancient wild horses waving their white manes. Under the early winter sunlight, each reed rustles, singing or lamenting. Only the reeds know their own lives! The white reeds shine with streaks of gray. Suddenly, under the golden sunlight, this afternoon, the gray reeds suddenly turn purple, a mysterious and seductive light color. Nature inherently carries countless mysterious colors that people cannot decipher!

I walked on the windy riverbank. The Red River Delta has deposited layers of alluvium for many generations. The Delta has formed rich lowland villages. Right in the capital city of Hanoi, to the west of West Lake, a beautiful craft village was once formed, although it had a rather wild-sounding name, that was the Trich Sai area. Because Trich Sai also means an ancient firewood-picking craft village.

The Red River - a majestic flow associated with the history and heroic tradition of fighting foreign invaders of the Vietnamese people. The ancient land of Thang Long is more beautiful with the Red River, the historic Long Bien Bridge and a fertile delta. That land has created the position of "coiling dragon, sitting tiger". Many literary works have been created by poets and artists from the vibration of this historical flow. The Red River is the symbolic flow of the Vietnamese soul, encapsulating within it the historical and cultural knowledge of our country. The Red River Delta is the most beautiful delta, full of prosperity.

The Red River has created a unique and distinctive rice-growing delta culture. The river carries with it the philosophy of life and the story of the Vietnamese race's transmission. Many poems were sung in praise of the Mother Goddess worship from the river's source. There, the singing melodies were born from a wild mountainous area, a mountainous area as beautiful as heaven with famous melodies such as "Co Doi Thuong Ngan".

Because the Red River is the Cai River, the Mother River as the folk name has long been known. The Red River is always the most beautiful image, like a great mother. The Mother River is sometimes gentle and tolerant, sometimes surging strongly to protect her children. The river deposits alluvium in the delta, building up humanistic values. The culture of the Red River Delta has always promoted Mother Goddess Religion since ancient times.

I have written a series of essays about the Red River but now I still want to continue writing. The river has been flowing tirelessly since ancient times until now! The vast sky and the earth will be warmer when people always have love. The rivers on this earth still flow, the flows of love, of affection will continue throughout the years of each person's life. Those are the flows of life that are always tireless, reincarnated, continuous, intense, surging, settling, to finally merge into the ocean. The rivers will continue to flow forever, flowing throughout the life of each person.

The cold winter is coming. At night, I listen to the cold wind blowing along the riverbank…

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