Poet Nguyen Hoang Son likens January to the gateway of the new year, a step through which leads to enlightenment: "January erects a welcoming gate / I suddenly enter youth from childhood…"
Coincidentally, I remembered the poems of three poets from the North, Central, and South of Vietnam. They all wrote poetry and stepped through the gates of January. These were Nguyen Viet Chien with his poem "January Rain," Lam Thi My Da with her poem "January," and Muong Man with his poem "January Sings." Each poem had its own style, its own graceful beauty, its own lyrical self connecting humanity to the milestone marking the beginning of a new year and a new season.
Feel January through the weather: January rains in the streets / Rain is like mist / Shadows of trees like smoke / Like sleepwalking in the sky (January Rain - Nguyen Viet Chien); January is delicate: January is gentle as grass / And hair as soft as clouds / Hair flying over strange shores / The river misses someone, the river is full (January Song - Muong Man); January is fresh and vibrant to soothe the poet's heart: Fading then flourishing / Time is like a field / When we were little / Do you still remember January? (January - Lam Thi My Da).
The cycle of time begins in January, when nature and plants bathe to initiate a miraculous cycle of growth. Only humans grow old with time. They grow old, but memories remain fresh, "the fragrance of time is pure / The color of time is a deep purple" (Doan Phu Tu). January releases a sky full of memories into the heart of the poet. No one bathes twice in the same river, as humanity has always said. But emotions are different; they can be recreated, nurtured, and resonate with the same frequency, only with fresher melodies.
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| Illustration: Tran Thanh Long |
The middle-aged poet Bui Giang once wrote: "Let's greet each other on the road / Spring lies ahead, eternity behind." This means that everything will pass, it's just a dream, like a long sleep. Ahead lies January, there is still spring. And further ahead, there will be endless springs. Therefore, January is quiet, lingering, wistful, melancholic, nostalgic, vaguely nostalgic… and will eventually fade away in the misty rain, in the gentle spring breeze rustling through the leaves.
Muong Man stands alone under the spring sky, but a careful reading reveals that the poet is not sad. Lam Thi My Da playfully embraces her youth: "Age flies by with the wind / We are about to pass October / Looking back into the distance / A January smile." Nguyen Viet Chien realizes: "January rains like grass / Green mountains reach to the sky / Before the endless years / My poetry - just mist and smoke." The entire length of human life is the same; lingering emotions are merely notes in the symphony of the multifaceted instrument called Nature.
Furthermore, there are many poems about January. I've noticed that the best poems about January are poignant, especially those written by those far from home. The rustic poet Nguyen Binh, in his exile, exclaimed: "The new year, January, the first day of Tet / Still retains the whole spring season" (Spring Music).
And it's no exaggeration to say that Nguyen Binh is one of the best poets to write about spring, about January. It's hard to find anyone who can paint such a colorful and vivid picture in words: "January, the first day of spring / Lush green rice seedlings, pristine white orange blossoms / Spring rain sprinkles dust around the village / Old women prepare their belongings to go to the temple / Old men go into the mountains to compose poetry / Young men gather, young women celebrate" (The Tale of the Lute). A poet like that, with such a heart overflowing with nostalgia for his homeland, no wonder that even from afar he could only look towards his native land and send a little bit of his soul: "This Tet, I'm not sure I can come home / I send back a heartfelt feeling" (Spring in a Foreign Land)...
So, sitting with January, everyone seems to feel a sense of wistfulness, as the poet Huu Thinh once wrote: "The wheels of December / Roll through each thin day / January arrives, embroidering the grass / Threads of drizzle gently sway." And even knowing it beforehand, even knowing it clearly, the heart still yearns with a spring overflowing with hope and love: "January has existed since time immemorial / Why do I still wait and hope for January… / Beautiful flowers bring millions of smiles / I carry hope to invite January" (January - Nguyen Hoang Son).
Pham Xuan Hung
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/van-hoa/202602/thang-gieng-dung-mot-cong-chao-c55309d/
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