Poet Dinh Thi Hang and her works for children

Poet Dinh Thi Hang is probably one of the few poets in Ha Nam who regularly composes for children. She has a whole book of poems with the very childish title “The Sun Rises Against” which collects her compositions for children. In addition, in her other published poetry collections, there are also scattered compositions for children. Her whole life is devoted to schools, to students, to interesting and passionate literature lectures, she loves children, reading her poems for children, she sees the clear eyes of children, the curiosity about the world around them, the love and humanity in life…

In her works for children, her works about children are almost clearly divided into two parts: In one part, she stands from the children's perspective to see the world with a clear, friendly look, interesting discoveries, very surprising; In the other part, she stands in her true adult role to write poems for children.

It must be said that she understands children very well to be able to put herself in a child's perspective. When children begin to perceive, they are very curious about the world around them, explaining all things according to their own perspective and understanding. In Dinh Thi Hang's works for children, there are many poems written about the sun with very lovely, innocent but equally interesting perspectives, containing profound meanings. For example, in the poem "Growing Upside Down" she wrote: "Growing up from the sea/ At dawn/ Sprouting thousands of bright buds/ What kind of tree, do you know?/ The sun grows upside down/ Roots on the head/ Leaves and branches return to the ground/ Brilliant in a thousand colors". Or in the poem “Question”: “Wake up early every day/ Race across the sky/ Shine everywhere/ The earth and sky light up/ At the end of the day, dusk/ The strange sun returns to winter/ There is still a little red fire/ Sent to mother earth/ At night, it is quiet/ Giving way to the moon and stars/…/ All day long, eagerly/ Burning brightly/ The night is reborn/ Bright dawn/…/”. Talking about the sun and its rotation is true to the perspective of a child, but the poem still conveys and contains within it a philosophy of life about dedication, living fully, “burning” oneself out for the “Bright dawn”.

Poet Dinh Thi Hang (Provincial Literature and Arts Association) interacts with students.
Photo: Chu Binh

Also about the natural world, not only the sun, the moon, reading her poems for children about plants, flowers and leaves is also very enjoyable: “What do trees eat to grow/ Ask MOTHER EARTH, FATHER HEAVEN”/ What kind of milk, oh tree/ What is the most nutritious medicine/…/ Trees have a thousand generations of leaves/ Leaves continue to trees/ Innocent leaf eyes/ Waving the blue sky. Mysterious”. Or like her song “Wonderful”, like a song with passionate melodies sparkling with the beauty of melody and language: “A red ripe dream/ Among thousands of green mulberry trees/ Rustling and eating/ Growing fast, really fast/ Golden cocoons shimmering/ Floating like life buoys/ Shining threads flowing/ Flowing from the boiler/ From baby to female/ From pupa to moth/ Flashing thin wings/ There will be silkworms tomorrow/ One silkworm, five cocoons/ One stick of nine silk/ So many wonderful things/ Like in a dream/ Like in a dream…”.

Or like in the poem “Happiness”, readers are amazed and admire her subtle observations, flexible and musical use of words when writing about the peaceful scene of a family in daily life: “The cat woke up/ Round eyes and tickles/ Ears perked up, listening/ The wind singing in the yard/ Chirping, quacking/ Cotton balls/ Learning to speak. Babbling/ Hello teacher. Hello friends/ The drums strutted/ Performing the “Sco” tune/ Around the dreamy roof/ Head cocked to show off the sun/…/”. Anyone who reads the poem can easily feel a happy scene, happy children.

Perhaps she understands children better because she has grandchildren around her, and like all grandmothers, she loves them very much. In the poem “Chap Canh” which she dedicated “For Khanh Ha on her birthday, May 8 (International Red Cross Day)”, there are also verses that any mother or grandmother with grandchildren reading it will see themselves in: “Last night, I dreamed of a bright star/ Early this morning, I picked up an angel/ Year of the Tiger, month of the Tiger, flowers bloom/ Summer comes, the sunshine is sweet with spring scent/…/ Coming from a benevolent sky/ You bring a message of love/…/”.

Every birth of an angel is an indescribable joy for every family. Therefore, you were born in the summer, but the sun was not harsh but “sweet with the scent of spring”, you are the spring of the family. She also linked the coincidence of your birth date coinciding with the International Red Cross Day to talk about the love and kindness you bring to this world, which is also what helps the world survive.

A collection of poems written for children by poet Dinh Thi Hang.
Photo: Dan Vu

As a teacher, Ms. Dinh Thi Hang's poems also have great educational value. And her talent is to hide that educational knowledge very cleverly. For example, in the poem "Fairy Tale of the Fox, the Cat, and the Mouse", she explained to children about good, evil, and greed in life with very clear, easy-to-understand verses, but with extremely profound meanings. The poem is long, but the content is that long ago, the Fox, the Cat, and the Mouse were all born from an egg. All three brothers went to study with the famous Rooster teacher in the area. The teacher had two treasures, one was a magical jade that lit the way in the dark night and the other was a magical bell that called the sun up. The teacher taught all of his knowledge of books, morality, and martial arts to the three brothers, to the point that his strength gradually weakened. To save the teacher, the three brothers discussed, the Cat and the Fox went to get the magic rice to save the teacher, the Mouse stayed home to look after the teacher. But when they got the magic rice, on the way back, the Fox became greedy and wanted to take it for himself. The Cat refused, took it back to save the teacher, causing the pearl to fall and break all over the area, into the Cat's and Fox's eyes, which is why the Cat's and Fox's eyes lit up green. The Mouse stayed at home to look after the teacher but was greedy, secretly ate the teacher's gifts, making the teacher even sicker. He even planned to steal the teacher's magic bell, but unexpectedly, as soon as he touched the bell, the Mouse was so scared that he ran into a dark corner. The Cat was indignant and vowed to eat the Mouse. From then on, the Cat, the Fox, and the Mouse were separated, and the Rooster lived a long time to ring the bell to dispel the darkness. The explanations are very easy to understand, logical, and attractive to children. The poem not only helps children have their first images of human life, but also educates them about the ugly and the beautiful, the deceitful, the greedy, and the benevolent in life. The beautiful, the benevolent are forever shining, the ugly, the greedy, the deceitful are forever condemned, chased away, destroyed, and always in the dark, never able to step into the light.

Not only that, many poems by Ms. Dinh Thi Hang, although written about children, written for children, adults can also "absorb" and "understand" many things when reading them.

A warm heart, a loving soul, understanding children, a good and dedicated educator have helped Ms. Dinh Thi Hang write impressive poems for children. Wish her good health to continue to have new compositions with this very meaningful poetry for children.

Do Hong

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/nha-tho-dinh-thi-hang-va-nhung-sang-tac-cho-thieu-nhi-126495.html