"April is back", a little gentleness leaves a mark

(Reading the poem "April is back" by author Vu Tram, published in Binh Thuan Weekend Newspaper, issue dated March 29, 2024).

Poet and teacher Vu Tram has just sent readers a poem written at school in the early days of summer. The poet encapsulates in “April Comes” new emotions, along with unique expressions through words.

What emotions did our poet express in the poem? Could it be: “Spring has to say goodbye after a long delay/ The season leans in the strange sunlight, April comes”. Even if we try to prolong the time to delay, spring will have to say goodbye. Then, the earth and sky must move to another phase, different weather, so that “The season leans in the strange sunlight”. Changing seasons, early summer, the sunlight is different from the poet’s perspective.

Not only that, the poet realized “April breaks the golden sunshine buds on the dike”. We all know that: “Bud” is a part of a tree branch, round and curved, about to bloom into a flower. In this second stanza, the poet used “break the golden sunshine buds on the dike”. A unique expression of the poet, describing the image of the round sunlight on the dike. That image is like an addition to “strange sunshine” when the weather changes seasons.

The lyrical character in the poem is once again reminded. That nostalgia comes from the young branches in the schoolyard. “April sways the buds of nostalgia in the hand”. The young stems and branches of the trees in the schoolyard are just ordinary branches, but from the poet’s perception, they have become “reminiscence buds”, “swaying” in the hands of the lyrical characters in the poem about summer. Those young branches sway in the hands of people, so that a little bit of emotion will be deeper, more passionate: “What heartbeat is stranded under the tree canopy”. Is there any creature that has never lived in water that is stranded on the shore? With Vu Tram, he has led the readers through his unique emotions when expressing “The heartbeat is stranded”. A fluttering, passionate feeling in the heart of a boy when looking at a girl with her hair down in the lecture hall. That attachment and passion is not far away, but right under the tree canopy of the beloved school.

And then, how many seasons have passed on this planet, can humans calculate the age of the season? All the happy and sad stories of human life will also drift away like the indefinite clouds in the sky: “Seasons come and go, seasons have no age/ Memories also grow old, rolling gently with the clouds”.

In the fifth stanza, the concluding stanza, the author cleverly inserted a line of poetry, which was left hanging, for the reader to ponder in their hearts: “You are like that and I am like that”. Perhaps, that is the mutual affection under the school roof between you and I, the lyrical characters in the poem. The shyness, a little secret but also very deep feelings that have not been fully expressed in words. The line of poetry is left open between the lyrical characters in the poem with each other, and it seems that the author also wants to leave it open for poetry-loving readers. And here, the melancholy emotions of the days of parting in the summer: “After we parted, the summer also poured drops of pain”.

Poet and teacher Vu Tram has really put a lot of effort into refining and expanding the words in a unique way, weaving poetic lines rich in imagery and emotion in "April Comes".

Using the 8-word verse form, the author has a very flexible rhythm in the poem. Reading each line carefully, readers will see many rhythms: 3/5 rhythm (the poet uses 6 times), 5/3 rhythm (5 times), 4/4 rhythm (4 times), 2/6 (2 times), 2/4/2 (2 times) and 3/3/2 (1 time). The flexible rhythm combined with the constantly changing tones of the syllables in the poem has enriched the musicality of the poem "April Comes".

Many summers have passed in the lives of many people, of many generations. Many poems and songs have left many impressions in the hearts of audiences, listeners, and readers about the summers. Teacher - poet Vu Tram contributed poems with his very own feelings in the month of early summer. Reading "April Returns", readers once again remember their schools, the memories that flow with the youthful years of their lives. In that nostalgic stream, the beautiful poems of "April Returns" are so gentle and easy to leave a mark in the memories of poetry-loving readers!

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