When the phoenix flowers bloom in the heart of memory

Royal poinciana flowers bloom in May. Photo: Contributor

My childhood grew up in a coastal countryside, where there were hot summer afternoons, the sound of cicadas chirping in the foliage, and royal poinciana trees glowing red every May. The school yard was a large area, with a few royal poinciana trees interspersed with purple-flowered lagerstroemias. Every time the flowers bloomed, the students chattered and called each other to break branches and press them into white notebooks, creating simple but memorable yearbooks. Some even picked flowers, took off the petals, arranged them into butterfly shapes, or hearts, and hid them in the desk drawer of the person they secretly loved. Naive, clumsy - but it was a very real way of loving.

Royal poinciana flowers bloom, signaling the approaching exam season. Every time I see them bloom, my heart is filled with indescribable emotions. I am nervous for the end-of-year exams, anxiously waiting for the farewell bell, and quietly taking in every moment my friends are together for the last time. But at the same time, that is also the time I realize that I am growing up, that I am leaving something familiar. The feeling of missing, loving, regretting for the first time... is when I see royal poinciana flowers falling.

Many years later, that land has changed. The roads are wider, the neighborhoods are gradually modernized, but the old royal poinciana trees still stand quietly in the corner of the school yard, on the roadside, or nestled next to the old mossy wall. I have been to many cities, witnessed many seasons of royal poinciana flowers, but nowhere has my heart been as heavy as when I encounter the red color of my hometown. Perhaps because deep down, I carry with me the memories of a sunny and windy land, where love is simple and sincere, where royal poinciana flowers are a part of my childhood.

I returned after many years away. The coastal city welcomed me with its salty scent and rows of bright red royal poinciana trees along the road. I stood for a long time in front of the old school gate. That place is now a new, spacious school, but the old royal poinciana tree is still there. The canopy spreads out like a big arm protecting memories, like a gentle reminder: childhood is still here, it's just that we've moved too fast.

Royal poinciana is not just a flower. Royal poinciana is time. It is youth. It is words left unsaid. It is summers that cannot be named.

People say: “Summer is the season of farewells, and royal poinciana is the witness of wordless farewells”. But to me, royal poinciana is not only associated with tears, but also a symbol of friendship, teacher-student relationship, of days lived fully without calculation. Royal poinciana is not as fragrant as milk flower, not as elegant as velvet rose, but it makes people remember forever with its heartbreakingly brilliant beauty - the brilliance of a time that cannot be returned.

Royal poinciana is also a reminder of time - something that can never be held back. The clusters of royal poinciana flowers bloom and then fade like an unchanging cycle. Just like school years, they blossom and then pass. We grow up, go far away, and then suddenly one day in the middle of a crowded city, we see a cluster of red flowers and our hearts sink - as if we see ourselves in our carefree years.

Someone said: “Royal poinciana is the flower of first love”. Maybe it is true. Many student loves have blossomed under the canopy of the royal poinciana tree and then quietly faded away over the years. But the royal poinciana tree still blooms every season, like a gentle repetition, like a whisper: live every moment to the fullest, because the most beautiful things will not repeat.

The schoolyards now have new classes of students. The innocent eyes and clear dreams begin again under the red phoenix trees. Each white dress flutters, each cicada's sound echoes, each cluster of phoenix trees falls silently - like a gentle and profound summer symphony. Although time can change people and landscapes, that beauty remains, pure and enduring like the way the phoenix trees burn red every summer.

I know that one day, the old royal poinciana tree in the old schoolyard may no longer exist. That street corner may be replaced by a new row of houses. But in my heart - and in the hearts of many people - that red color will always burn like a flame of memory. Royal poinciana is not just a flower. Royal poinciana is time. It is youth. It is words that have not been spoken. It is summers that cannot be named.

Source: https://baophuyen.vn/xa-hoi/202505/khi-phuong-no-trong-long-ky-uc-d8a2094/