If there was no April 30th - The voice of Dinh Thi Thu Van

Poet Dinh Thi Thu Van (former Vice President of the Provincial Association of Literature and Arts, former Editor-in-Chief of Long An Literature and Arts Magazine, Long An Province) said that she composed the poem If there were no April 30th on the occasion of the 6th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1981). She sent the poem to the Literature and Arts Newspaper (Vietnam Writers Association) and it was published in May 1981. The poem later won the C prize in the Literature and Arts Weekly Poetry Contest - Vietnam Writers Association in 1980-1981.

Báo Long An•02/05/2025

According to many people in the literary and artistic circles of the time, the poem If there were no April 30th after appearing in the Literature and Arts Newspaper attracted special attention in the literary and artistic circles of the whole country at that time, although the author Dinh Thi Thu Van was still a young poet in the province at that time, not yet known to many people. The success of the poem "gave wings" for Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Van to fly high into the sky of literature and art , helping her to stick with it for a long time and contribute much to the literature and art of her home province.

Before Dinh Thi Thu Van, many poets wrote about the topic "April 30th" with heroic verses, victorious spirit along with images and events of the past heroic war.

The poem If there were no April 30th appears more strange than all, gentle, feminine and very natural. The author does not write about great, grand things but only talks to herself. She only humbly asks the question: If there were no April 30th, then answers herself: Not daring to live a life of sacrifice, I will come to love with half a weak heart - And the other half must be kept... to doubt and Maybe then forget the color of the rice - Forget the geography of the homeland, which regions have black soil, red soil...

The girl in the poem was sincere and innocent when she confided: And among the hustle and bustle of life - I don't know how to trust anyone, anything absolutely. That's why the girl Days and months ago she was a small snail - A suspicious snail curled up in a shell - Living carelessly but thinking she was living intelligently. The refrain repeated over and over again If there was no April 30th would have contributed to highlighting the theme and contributing to the success of the poem.

If there were no April 30th, the girl in the poem would still be weak, doubtful in love, and vague in perception. April 30th is like a crossroads, the girl chose a bright path when the light of the revolution shone into her soul. The great joy of the nation, April 30th, changed the lives, thoughts, and feelings of many people. For Dinh Thi Thu Van, the change was so lovely: From that time April was liberated - And then the shell burst easily like a bubble.

“Jealousy” is almost an attribute of women, in the poem, the girl is also jealous, but it is a very strange, very cute kind of “jealousy”, and it is that “jealousy” that contributes to the success of the poem: Do you find it strange when I say I am jealous - Of your past, the days of fighting the Americans. Or I am jealous of your confident eyes and comfortable smile - Jealous of the passions I have never had - I am jealous of your friends, jealous of your souls. The “jealousy” in the poem is so beautiful and full of aspiration!

As a logical result, that girl has changed a lot, a lot positively since April 30: I exchanged the little things of my soul for so much sweetness - My heart still thinks of April as a witness - Oh tolerant witness, extremely adult witness - How can I repay her! Yes, April is so great but also so tolerant, changing so many souls, how can I repay all of it!

The writer of this article is a little younger than Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Van, and also had the same feelings as her at the historic moment of April 30, 1975, but did not know how to express them as honestly and accurately as her. Therefore, when I first read the poem If There Was No April 30, I liked and loved it right away. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the historic Victory Day of April 30, 1975, I repeat the poem as a tribute to April 30 and a thank you to poet Dinh Thi Thu Van./.

If there was no April thirtieth

Don't blame me, just listen to me.

The shallow thoughts of a time

The emptiness that cannot be dispelled

If there was no April thirtieth

I'm still the same as ever, afraid of getting my hands dirty.

Will not know how to advise himself stern advice

Never dared to live sacrificially

And among the hustle and bustle of life

I don't know how to trust anyone or anything absolutely.

I will come to love with half a weak heart

As for the other half, I had to keep it for... suspicion.