A realm of love

One day, standing watching the river flow endlessly, Confucius was moved and exclaimed:

The oath is like a talisman, never leaving the mind.

(It flows like that, day and night without stopping!)

Once answering a student about the changes of heaven and earth, Confucius said:

- The galaxy of words! The four seasons are peaceful!

(The sky doesn't say anything! The four seasons still rotate in turn!)

I suddenly remembered the above words when holding in my hand Minh Hong's new poetry collection - "Silent Time". Deeply silent, time just keeps passing by, weaving through the history full of social events, through the fate burdened with joys and sorrows of each person. Perhaps it is not by chance that Anh wrote for the poetic world in that thoughtful title. For a long time, this year Anh has passed the age of eighty, Anh has reached the age where he has the opportunity, enough experience to look back on the past years to reflect, contemplate, to appreciate the many moments that have left a deep impression in lyrical memories. For a long time, Anh has reached the age like the Western poet E.Poe: "The sands of time suddenly turn into grains of gold”.

Cover of the poetry collection "Silent Time"

From page to page, leisurely walking in the "poetic realm" of "Silent Time", we have the feeling that looking near or far, looking to the East or turning to the West, we always encounter those sparkling gold grains associated with memories of the places he has been to, of the people he has met and loved.

As a historian, always burning with the desire to deeply understand history, the country, and the people, Minh Hong left his footprints in many regions of the country. From the border of Lai Chau through Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, he entered Cua Viet, Quang Tri, down to Chau Doc and then crossed the sea to Phu Quoc, Con Dao... He also visited Hoang Hac Lau to wonder:

"Your Majesty, I've been here for a long time.

Tall buildings piled up like white clouds

Truong Giang bridge soars across the smoky river

Crane or I am lost here…”

He was excited with:

"Phnom Penh happy liberation day

Black transformation

Flowers of life bloom

The monks put on their meditation robes again.

Bay-on statue

Smile intact

Reviving the country…”

Associate Professor, People's Artist Nguyen Van Hong, author of the poetry collection "Silent Time"

Reading “Silent Time”, we have the opportunity to enjoy a series of travel poems by a historian with a sensitive and especially delicate soul, no matter where he writes about in the country.

His poems are always full of affection. How deep is the affection when standing in the middle of:

“Hang Duong cemetery in the midst of flying sand and dust

Thousands of graves are still here, shining with integrity...

…

History has depth

Lying in the soil…”

(Will you come back to Con Son with me?)

“We come here to the blue sky and sea

Red flag fluttering sweet fruit

Thanks to the people who planted trees before

For a happy and peaceful spring…

(The story of Pham Hung, a prisoner in Con Dao)

Affection permeates the verses of "Memories of the Border Region":

The green forest up there

The wind rustles before the cold winter

Still colorful among strange mountains

Resilience like a border soldier.

Oh Lai Chau, a whole legendary region

Every legend is soaked in the blood of our ancestors...

There were times when I was so emotional when "Visiting Le Loi's stele":

“The sacred homeland is a border strip...

…

Oh my heart is trembling, I can't write

The soul of mountains and rivers in heroic poems”.

The deep love for the country of poet-historian Minh Hong, in my opinion, is deeply rooted in the love for his Father, Mother, Teacher, and many close loved ones:

“Deep green forests

How many mountains did Father pass through?

There are many things to advise

Sending back to my hometown…

"I walk in the rain and the sun

Wading through life's hardships

Missing you mom, I try harder

"Is Mother happy in the golden spring?"

Recalling the "Eagerness for a Green Time" of student days, Minh Hong recalls with much warm affection:

“Humans have a time like that

Don't lose your youth

I have been going enthusiastically until now

To stand by the Master

On the university lecture hall…”

Even writing about a face "tilted like a lake" that made him "ecstatic", his poetic tone was imbued with deep affection:

“…her face tilted

I don't know anymore.

Just your smile

so beautiful

(Pretty on its side)

Minh Hong especially loves the color blue, the color blue becomes a lyrical obsession: "“Green memories of a green time”, “Singing flowers and leaves-Sunshine! Wind! Blue sky”, “Your eyes are green in the Suzhou sunset”, “Green eyes full of memories”…

“The Realm of Poetry” in “Silent Time”, as I feel, is a realm of love. Please allow me to add:

A World of Deep Blue Love