Poems that soothe the soul

“Cach xa hai phuong troi” is a collection of poems by author Nguyen Xuan Tuynh, published by the Writers Association Publishing House, won the C prize of the Provincial Literature and Arts Award in 2023. The collection of poems consists of 2 parts. Part I - Van vong cau luc bat is sincere verses, a bit sad, wistful, true to the meaning of luc bat - easy to read, easy to absorb. “ My grandmother has been gone for a long time/In me still lingers the words of my grandmother from the past/Summer afternoons, the hammock sways/Grandmother's words, sparse drops of sunlight in the garden”. Grandmother is no longer there, remembering her is only the summer afternoons when her words whisper in one ear and go in the other, fragile, easily disappearing like sparse shadows of sunlight. And then: “I wish I could go back to the old days/Being lulled to sleep by my grandmother/Being able to go to the gate to wait/Welcoming my grandmother home from the market with the fragrant scent of hometown gifts” (My Grandmother). The poem "Returning to the Village" is the feeling of a person who has been away from home for a long time, returning to his old hometown, the banyan tree and the ferry at the village entrance are still there but the old people are no longer there: "Ask the wind, the wind is still/Ask the tree, the tree stands tall in the sky/Missing my close friends/Where are you now, my friend?".

Part II of the collection is Free Verses. Without embellishment, the gentle verses are like a slow flow of time from the day he left with green hair until he returned with two shades of hair, emotions welling up remembering his grandmother, mother, aunt, old school friends, and literary friends who have now passed away. Through the collection of poems, one can see the author's youthful soul, his love for life, his thoughts about life with a truly tolerant and gentle heart.

Writer Nguyen Xuan Tuynh is in his seventies this year, but age is no barrier to a writer. He has been sick for 6 years, unable to walk, and has to rely on his wife for all his daily activities, but his soul is always young, he loves this life and uses his pen to express that love to overcome the disadvantages. During his illness, he published 3 books out of a "fortune" of 12 published works (poetry, short story collections, novels). Reading his works, one does not see boredom, despair, or self-pity... but only words that inspire through old stories, places he has been to, friendships, and nostalgia for his homeland now thousands of miles away: " When will I return to Thong village/Where I was born in the flood season/Water flooded Thong fields, Mu fields.../The village was like an island in the middle of the ocean". I like inspirational poems like this: “Enjoy it, my friend/While the flowers are still fresh/The fragrance is still fragrant/The life cycle of flowers is very short/Don't waste the days/The most beautiful of life/Enjoy the sweet berries/Nature gives you/Don't miss it, my friend/While you are still young/The green eyes invite/The sun shines on your lips” (While the fragrance of flowers is still fragrant)...

KIM DUY

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