Expressing gratitude to the land that nurtured me.

The poet Huong Trieu (pen name of author Tran Bach Dang) has a truly striking line of poetry: Saigon becomes more beautiful the longer you look at it. Was it because people "discovered" something new and unusual at that time? It's quite possible.

But once you've been living in this city for decades, and you could say every nook and cranny, even the personalities of its people, has become familiar, what could possibly seem strange anymore?

Therefore, when author Ho Huy Son titled his poetry collection "The City Full of Strange Things" (Tran Le Books and Vietnam Women's Publishing House), it sparked much curiosity and eagerness in us to read it immediately and see what the author considered strange.

Despite our impatience, we cannot help but listen to the author's heartfelt words: "By now, I have been living and working in Ho Chi Minh City for 17 years. Many of my friends have come and gone. Even I myself once considered leaving this place, but I am still here!"

For me, this city remains a place I am grateful to for its tolerance and for giving me so many opportunities in life and in literature. In my case, I think everyone would want to write something about Ho Chi Minh City, to express their feelings for the land they owe a debt to.”

It's safe to say this is one of the few recent poetry collections I've been able to read in one sitting without feeling bored. This is because, in each poem, Ho Huy Son strives to extract new poetic ideas, and even with familiar themes, the author knows how to express them in a fresh way. For example, one of the impressions of human kindness in this city: "Free tea / Please drink / Drink with sincerity / To truly refresh ."

We were stunned by the three words "Drinking from the heart," which were extremely apt and generalizing. This heart is also the heart of a person who has left their hometown to live and work in the city: "Tonight the weather forecast says a storm is coming to Central Vietnam / Grandparents and parents / Suddenly sigh together ... For so many years it has become a tradition / On the day Central Vietnam is devastated / Saigon also has a storm / Rising from within ." A storm in the heart, a striking way of speaking.

It can be said that only by loving and being close to this land could Ho Huy Son write so many whimsical verses: "There's a bridge to love letters / This is the letter U / And there is the letter Y / Learning while walking ." Then the author discovers a "green treasure": "Like a forest / In the heart of the city, there, Hundred-year-old trees / Still lush and green," sounding extremely affectionate and intimate when mentioning the Botanical Garden.

The reason for this new way of speaking is simply because the author truly loves it so much. Look, even the familiar tamarind trees are viewed with a fresh perspective: "Arriving unexpectedly / The rain falls suddenly / The tamarind leaves are confused / Turning into green rain."

When naming the poem "The City of Many Strange Things ," I think the author was absolutely right. It's strange because I love this land so much, to quote Chế Lan Viên: "I am who I am, yet I am captivated by myself. " In this case, Hồ Huy Sơn expresses a friendly, affectionate view through his poetry, "to show gratitude to the land that has nurtured me." What a precious sentiment!

LE MINH QUOC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tri-an-manh-dat-da-cuu-mang-minh-post853014.html