Nguyen Tinh Dong and sympathy for the wandering poet who has passed away

The sympathy for wandering poets - like Nguyen Tinh Dong - has always haunted me: If only the cold inn could ease the sorrow of the land/ Let's sit here until dawn ( That Tho ).

Poet Nguyen Tinh Dong (white shirt, right cover) with Uyen Ha (middle) and Nguyen Nha Tien

During his teenage years and young adulthood, he attended primary and secondary school in his hometown of Quang Nam , then continued to Hue to study at the University of Literature (Chinese Department). Also from those years, the war became more and more fierce.

Poet Nguyen Tinh Dong's footsteps also left his hometown Ha Tan - Hoi An to experience the world, his poems are full of traces of places: Ninh Chu Rain, Ba River Shortcut, Kon Tum Cold, Passing Cu Mong Pass, An Khe Dead End, Phan Rang, Blao to Nghi Sai Gon ... The roads that grow longer every day along with Nguyen Tinh Dong's poetry seem endless.

Burning forever the night is long the night is still blue

With tears in my eyes, I long for the imperial city.

The rain poured down on the roof

The wind and dust loosen the traveler's clothes ( Hang Song )

It seems that in the tragedy of war and natural disasters, such as in the years 1963, 1964... (the year of the great flood of Giap Thin), the suffering contained as many broken cries of pain silently in the poet's heart. Love, homeland, fate... are constant emotions in all worries, from which works are born.

Like many poets of Quang Nam at the same time, such as Hoang Loc, Uyen Ha, Ha Dinh Thao, Dinh Tram Ca, Thanh Ton, Luan Hoan..., Nguyen Tinh Dong appeared in the literary world of Quang Nam, or more precisely the whole South, at a time when each individual poet was an individual, a personnalité (personality) who built for himself a poetic mountain, establishing his position as a poet in the middle of life.

Cover photos of Nguyen Tinh Dong's poetry works

Perhaps now, upon hearing the news that poet Nguyen Tinh Dong has just passed away, his poets, writers, friends, and readers who love his poetry, all sadly recite a poem of remembrance - a poem called That Tho - a poet's endless worries that have built up the peak of all Nguyen Tinh Dong's poems, echoing in people's hearts.

Dear friend from a noble land

Our land still suffers for hundreds of years

Not like this lonely place

Cold autumn wind where we lie

Ten years of playing the role of a wanderer

Be a reckless man in the middle of the river and lake

Eating at the market is enough to make me sad.

A little bit of naivety, salt and ashes

But do not listen to the wind and dust

Where the brave warrior burned the study

Also do not shake off the shirt to forget the love

Suddenly became a homeless person!

Where is the hair of a girl?

Who is in the dark stormy sky?

If only the cold shop could ease the sadness of the land

Let's sit here until dawn.

Take you to the car on the dimly lit road

It seems like I'm crying for my homeland

Another one gone astray

Small river then sad fate of the ocean

Homeland despite drifting people

Where does the story of return die in me?

Even though I kill you little by little, my heart is still a wanderer.

Still longing to the point of madness

Tonight the moon is cold and shining on the mountain

I'm still sitting here waiting for the end of the sky

Do you bring my heart there?

Have a drink to see you off this late night.

Even though his life spanned more than 80 years, Nguyen Tinh Dong's poetic career left behind only two collections of poems: From the Footsteps ( Da Nang Publishing House 1993) and On the Road to the Rainy Hometown (Da Nang Publishing House 2018).

But with poetry, numbers are not the end, but the resonance it sows in the hearts of the public and time speaks to the meaning and value of existence.

Poet Nguyen Tinh Dong during his lifetime

The color scheme that is both magical and tinged with ancient style, along with the generosity in Nguyen Tinh Dong's poetic language, is now to me a mysterious sound. That poem, together with the flowing river and the undulating clouds and mountains, creates a nostalgic echo in my heart, in my heart, an eternal homeland: " Seeing off forever, there is no old friend/ The road is far, the small tavern is alone/ My soul is restless, the sea is restless, the mountains and rivers are windy/ But is there anyone returning in the blue smoke".

Poet Nguyen Tinh Dong, real name Nguyen Kim, was born in 1941 in Tinh Dong Tay village, Dai Lanh commune, Quang Nam province. He was a former student of the Faculty of Literature (Chinese Literature) of Hue University. Nguyen Tinh Dong's poems were published in Literature and Arts magazines in the South. After 1975, he almost retired to Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City. Due to old age and many years of illness, he passed away at 0:40 on April 25, 2023 in Ba Ria - Vung Tau.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nguyen-tinh-dong-va-niem-thuong-cam-cho-nguoi-thi-si-lang-bat-da-di-xa-185230428084639809.htm