When we long to return...

We Live to Return (Youth Publishing House) is the latest collection of essays by poet and writer Nguyen Phong Viet, released during the Lunar New Year of 2026. The anthology comprises 50 short pieces interspersed with gentle yet poignant poetic sentiments, carefully crafted with many emotions and reflections.

"Among us, some will return in May, some will return on the first day of autumn, and some will return when the last cold winds of the year begin to blow... Not every promise is fulfilled, and therefore not every return is as joyful as expected..." With this collection of essays, Phong Viet maintains his narrative writing style with a gentle tone, evoking empathy for different lifestyles and worldviews.

The longing footsteps return

At times, we all harbor the dream of traveling to the ends of the earth, exploring every corner of the world. Journeys continue to unfold: some seek a new life in distant lands, others seek sustenance, and still others seek self-discovery and understanding their desires. Throughout the world , the beginning of each year not only ushers in a new era but also marks millions of migrations laden with emotion. But after all, what everyone longs for after such a long and arduous journey ultimately boils down to one thing: home – the place to return to. Those whose footsteps have traversed the four corners of the earth, crossed vast oceans, ventured into remote mountains, or left their mark on bustling cities, all yearn for the day they return, right on the very paths they have traveled.

The collection of essays "We Live to Return " by author Nguyen Phong Viet.

PHOTO: YOUTH PUBLISHING HOUSE

The feeling of "returning home" is clearly evident in all of Viet's writings, like a soft thread woven with longing and nostalgia. This feeling has accompanied Viet since he left his hometown for Saigon to attend university at the age of 18. Even now, "returning home" remains the most heartfelt desire of those who have left their homeland – like him. Home or hometown, the personal or the collective, remains a starting point that people still yearn to return to. In the final days of the year, when all worries have subsided, we only want to return, sit with our parents at a simple New Year's Eve dinner, be like a child before the ancestral altar, smell the incense smoke of the first days of the new year, or see the simple tray of candied fruits that our mother in the countryside meticulously arranged with her own hands. It's no coincidence that the cover of this collection of essays depicts the simplest meal in a rural kitchen, as a ritual of "returning home."

Returning home: "Let me bow down one last time/to express my gratitude to my parents for bringing this body here..."; returning home: "Dear homeland/Now I return... I return to bow down and listen"... ( Dear homeland ). Returning home to know: "Homeland is the distant rainy mornings/mother holding my hand on the road in front of the house to the market...". No matter when, "returning home" is always the author's concern, and that feeling is shared by countless others who have left their homeland.

Return to yourself

Where will we go if there's nowhere left to go? Well, then, we return to ourselves! We return to a cherished pastime, listening to the gentle sound of the waves, watching the moon rise, sipping a delicious cup of coffee in the early morning mist. Or we bury ourselves in a deep sleep somewhere, in a tent pitched on a hillside filled with pine trees and wildflowers...

"We return to ourselves, in a way," as Phong Viet wrote.

After all the struggles and calculations, seeing life as a patch of water hyacinth drifting aimlessly across countless shores... suddenly, our hearts feel as light as a falling leaf, like a cloud in the sky.

When, in a certain moment, one sits and converses with oneself, looking deep into one's soul, as in its pristine state. Without returning to oneself, how could Viet have gazed at the sunrise on the last day of the year, at 5:45 a.m., when the hustle and bustle of life swept him away? Without returning to oneself, how could he have caught a glimpse of a ray of sunshine, seen a drop of rain, or observed the silent people in a cafe... and then felt the warmth of a ringing bell, and pondered his favorite spot in the world? Returning to oneself is also when one can simply "sharpen one's sword under the moon and stars," without showing off in broad daylight. Returning, simply to be oneself, without needing to prove anything.

Nguyen Phong Viet was born in 1980 in Phu Yen (now Dak Lak ) and is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association.

He is known as the "million-selling poet" with his successive poetry collections making a splash in the publishing industry, eagerly awaited and welcomed by readers every Christmas since his first collection.

Passing Through Memories (2012). Concluding a 10-year journey of continuously publishing poetry, in 2020 he shifted to the essay genre with a deeply personal narrative, the series We Live. We Live to Return is the final book in this series. This is also a book he wrote partly for himself, reflecting on his past journey, to feel, to correct, and to quiet his heart.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khi-chung-ta-tha-thiet-tro-ve-185260320214916016.htm