"Springtime longs for sunshine" - flowers or human fate?

Ha Minh Duc's poetry leans towards ideas, a way for the poet to push emotions to greater depth, creating lasting impressions and haunting effects. Reading his poems, we often have to disregard the rhythm of the linguistic form to listen to the inner melodies of the soul and feelings. In other words, Ha Minh Duc's poetry is a distillation of direct emotions and underlying contemplation. Thanks to this, the intellectual beauty and generalizing power of the poem are displayed and enhanced. Possessing a rich poetic intellect, combined with profound life experiences, the author is able to both discover the unique and distinctive characteristics of a flower that takes "precariousness" as its anchor, and portray a person who has found meaning in their existence amidst the vastness of the world.

There is a vine of flowers halfway up.

Following the wall, they moved forward.

The green leaves looked bewildered.

Where are we going?

The sky is high above.

Despite the swaying wind

Being adrift is a point of support.

Each day, I carefully nurture the little flower.

Bringing joy to people

(climbing flowers)

It is no coincidence that the author initially intended to title the work "Flowers in the Rainy Afternoon," or "Flowers in the Rainy Afternoon," but later changed it to...Springtime longs for the sunshine.– a more evocative and "radiant" name… But no matter what name it has, it seemsFlowerHe remains the main character, given the "right to speak" by the author...

In Ha Minh Duc's poetry, flowers are perceived with subtlety, encompassing both color and fragrance. Depending on the author's inner feelings, he chooses the setting for the flower—sun or rain—and the time—morning or afternoon, day or night. The technique of contrast and opposition is exploited to create an aesthetic effect.

No more sunshine

For vibrant flower colors

There is no more wind.

Let the fragrance of the flowers spread.

The petals glisten with morning dew.

And whose hand?

Cosset

But then the rain suddenly came.

The sun was setting and the sky was overcast with a light drizzle.

Why are you still standing here?

Mourning each falling petal

The flowers withered in an instant.

(Flowers in the Rainy Afternoon)

A day from dawn to dusk is the time for flowers to display their beauty and fragrance. When night falls, it marks the end of a flower's life. But it's possible that the day hasn't ended yet, but the flower has already withered. From these direct descriptions, the author concludes the poem with a personification:

Tomorrow the sun will shine again.

The rains are coming again.

I secretly worry about my fate.

A day like the life of a flower.

(Flowers in the Rainy Afternoon)

Recurring in Ha Minh Duc's poetry is the image of flowers that have passed their vibrant springtime, like the fate of women entering their twilight years – "the end of their beauty." A sense of melancholy and regret for a "glorious era" that cannot be reclaimed, as if it were inevitable, has become a stream of poignant recollections.

Do you still remember?

At dawn, the flowers begin to bloom.

As evening approached, the sun began to fade.

My life is like a flower.

There are glorious days.

Beauty reigns supreme.

The girl has a lot of power…

(Withered flowers)

From the perspective of the lyrical subject, through the "underlying dialogue," the poet—the author—also shares similar feelings. Indeed, throughout history, in every era and every place, beauty has its own power. Sadly, it is often the other half of the world who perceives and understands more deeply not only the value and power but also the fragility of that fleeting power:

Why not be like a flower in its bloom?

In the midst of decline

The fragrance of the flowers rises to the sky.

Countless petals carried by the wind…

Just leave it behind in this world.

Unending longing

(Withered flowers)

The theme of "pitying and lamenting the loss of flowers" has long been familiar in the artistic metaphors of poetry in general, and especially in the traditional poetics of the East and national poetry in particular: from folk songs to classical and modern poetry. Through the combined imagery of the fate of a flower and the fate of a human being, the poet conveys and entrusts their philosophy of life and human existence. Some examples include...Climbing flowers, Flowers in the afternoon rain, Fading flowers…It was written in that "aesthetic" spirit. However,Springtime longs for the sunshine.The poem is also impressive because of the presence of a world of female lyrical characters, including "unusual flowers": Lady of the Treasury, Thi Nho... And flowers, in this context, no longer carry a general symbolic meaning but represent the individual face of each person's fate. In Ha Minh Duc's poetry, there is a "queen of Nôm poetry" who is exceptionally talented and beautiful, yet whose name remains a mystery to this day - the female poet Ho Xuan Huong:

The talented girl

A pure and unwavering heart

I could teach you all my life and still not run out of things to say.

Could it be that spring is fading away?

The flowers were crushed in the lush green grass.

(Ho Xuan Huong)

It was Thuy Kieu, "whose beauty was unparalleled, and whose talent was second to none," who endured a life of hardship and wandering in exile for fifteen years, only to find herself yearning for home and missing her parents intensely every evening—the most sensitive time for someone far from home.

A life of wandering

Wilderness in a foreign land

My longing is sent back with the fading sunlight.

Every sunset

(The Sunset of Thuy Kieu)

These are also familiar names that "rose to prominence" thanks to being born in the land of "romantic and sentimental landscapes" of Vietnamese culture; associated with personalities that are almost "default" in the consciousness and acceptance of the Vietnamese people. A flirtatious Thi Mau, brimming with vitality and sexual instinct:

The market craved sour things and was captivated by the young novice monk.

A woman as beautiful as a painting spends her entire life as a nun.

Upon encountering the fragrant, ripe fruit, Mau did not remain indifferent.

Despite the temple's prohibitions.

Recite incantations and cast love spells…

(Thi Mau goes to the temple.)

And a "flirtatious Thi Hen" (a character from Vietnamese folklore known for her seductive nature) can truly penetrate the hearts of lustful men, trapping a group of women and making them a laughingstock for generations to come:

She decided to cast her net of love.

Everyone, going back and forth, ends up in a cage.

The old stories remain.

Later generations recorded a story from a play.

(Swinging the clam)

Unlike characters portrayed with a style that is both serious and humorous, but leaning towards humor, Ha Minh Duc's poetry collection also features some characters built on a foundation of praise and veneration. Although not lengthy poems, the majesty and grandeur emanating from the death of General Bui Thi Xuan inspires a sense of transcendence, forming the basis for the author's verses imbued with the tragic heroism and sublime grandeur of epic poetry.

The nation is grateful to her.

The enemy burned her in a raging fire.

War elephants kneel at its feet

The spirit of General Bui Thi Xuan will live on forever.

(Female General Bui Thi Xuan)

Within this theme of gratitude lies a figure perhaps difficult to include in poetry due to the overwhelming influence of its "prose nature": the Goddess of the Treasury. However, the presence of this enigmatic character partially explains the worldly tone of the poem in particular and Ha Minh Duc's works in general:

Lady of the Treasury

He became an imperial censor without any official title.

Not leading troops into battle.

And contribute to the peace and tranquility of the nation.

The treasure of the nation and its people.

Even a virgin must be transparent.

(Lady of the Treasury)

Even with Thi Nho – a character with the most "unpoetic" appearance – the author has chosen a reasonable and "poetic" perspective: the angle of love and personal life. Certainly, anyone who has read Nam Cao's famous short story "Chi Pheo," named after Thi Nho's lover, will share similar perceptions of the love story of this most unusual couple in modern Vietnamese prose and Nam Cao's humanist ideology. However, Ha Minh Duc, with a shared and empathetic perspective, has brought forth a new discovery rich in humanistic values ​​through a poetic tone mixed with satire and humor, but with a main theme of compassion.

Without ambition

Nở embraced the vow of chastity for life.

(Thi Nở's love story)

As a writer with a rich and multifaceted literary and artistic career, Ha Minh Duc's poetry captivates readers with its profound experiences and deep philosophical insights.

The limit of the earth is the sky.

The river's boundary is the sea.

The limits of winter

It is the day spring blossoms.

The summer sun is once again igniting a fire.

Autumn will return.

Life is still full of complexities.

Yellow leaves are falling all over the alley...

(Limit)

While prolific in many genres, poetry remains the realm where the author is most authentically himself, living within multiple dimensions of space and time, and expressing a wide range of emotions.

What wind brought you here?

This afternoon, the flowers and leaves gather together again.

Happiness speaks in silence.

Drop by drop…

The intoxicating scent of wine

(Suddenly arrived)

It is the sincere voice of a soul always yearning for life and knowing how to wait for love. Amidst the lingering memories and nostalgia of youth, the most precious thing is that in the "present moment," he still finds the sweet, intoxicating flavor of love. It is the "muse" who revived and rejuvenated his soul and brought new things to Ha Minh Duc's poetry.