Let me dye the mist once

“

Let me dye your hair

I'm sick...
no need anymore
white hair on the head protruding.
Mom doesn't dye anymore... so...
mist on the honest side appears.
Day by day
one more
sorrow brushed down…
stuck on choking…
Let me dye your hair
Even if it's a lie, wrap it around mom...
want to cover the storms of life
The Stork and the Heron in the Old Lullaby
want to cover the sun and rain
green the old roof to keep it youthful...
Don't hesitate, don't hesitate...
let me dye the mist once...
Green hair flowing in front of the mirror
Mom smiled…
all four walls
shivering…
TRAN KE HOAN

Poet Tran Ke Hoan is a member of the Nam Dinh Literature and Arts Association. To date, he has published 6 poetry collections and 1 collection of critical essays. His poems have appeared in many central and local newspapers and anthologies. He has also won many poetry awards. His poem "Let me dye my hair" won the 2020 Bong Tram Literature and Arts (Mekong Delta) Good Work Award.

Reading this poem, my heart suddenly filled with emotion. The title immediately caught my attention: “Let me dye your hair” is a natural statement, sounds familiar, has a nuance of command, half like “caressing”, half like begging. The act of dyeing mother’s hair seems normal, but in the situation where mother is sick and “doesn’t care about anything”, the son begs to dye his mother’s hair, it is not normal, it encapsulates the son’s deep concern and love for his mother.

Opening verse:“I'm sick…/ I don't care anymore/ let the white hair on my head grow out”, the author directs the reader to the real situation: Mom is sick so she doesn't care about her hair, that is, just let the white roots grow out, no need to dye. That is a reality, but the sentence: "mist on the honest side appears”,is no longer reality, but turns into illusion through metaphor. "Smoke and mist" refers to the hardships of the mother, which the author calls "the honest side". The verse“Day by day/ gets longer”still a realistic poem but: "sorrow brushed down.../ stuck on the choking…” is a virtual world, the antonyms “up/down” show a truth: mother is getting older, her hair is getting grayer, the more she combs it down, the more white roots are revealed. The child washes her mother’s hair, thinking about her mother’s hard life and feeling bitter. Therefore, the child begs“Let me dye your hair/ Even if it's fake, wrap it around me, mom…”.Knowing that dyeing hair to hide the smog is "fake", but why does the poet want to?""wrap" in? "Wrap in" means to wrap up, temporarily cover up the hardships and sufferings that once existed on mother's hair... The argument that the lyrical character gives is very reasonable:“want to cover the storms of life/ the storks and herons in the old lullabies/ want to cover the sun and rain/ to keep the old roof green to keep the youth…”.The repetition of “wanting to cover” clearly explains the action that the poet considers “fake” above. The words “windy, sunny and rainy” and the images of “the stork and the heron” are metaphors for the hardships in the mother’s life. Therefore, dyeing her mother’s hair is a meaningful act of the child, wanting to bring her back to her youth. Or more precisely, it is a spiritual encouragement, so that the mother can forget about her illness, disease, and old age.

The word "smoke" in the poem"Let me dye the mist once", once again repeated as the endless misery in mother's life. With love, gratitude and the desire to return her youth, the son convinced his mother to dye her hair, bringing her joy and smile:“Green hair flows coolly in front of the mirror/ Mother smiles…/ all four walls/ tremble…”. The last verse has a haunting power, creating echoes in the reader's heart. The reduplicated word "run run" is a word used to express feelings and emotions, but here it has been figuratively used. Because literally, when dyeing his mother's hair, witnessing the wind and rain of his mother's life, the poet secretly sobbed, therefore:"all four walls/ tremble".The art of personification further illuminates the act of dyeing mother's hair. That act not only touches people's hearts but also moves inanimate objects:"all four walls/ tremble".

With the six-eight verse form, simple, natural, and novel use of words, and the successful use of some artistic techniques (metaphor, personification, repetition, etc.), the poem "Let me dye my hair" by poet Tran Ke Hoan is a beautiful poem, rich in meaning, expressing the filial piety of a child, touching the hearts of many readers. The image of the mother indirectly appears in the poem, both hard-working and gentle and tolerant, leaving a deep impression in the hearts of readers. The uniqueness of the poem lies in the fact that we have seen husband and wife dyeing each other's hair, and the child - especially the son who has experienced the wind and rain, dyeing his mother's hair, is probably very rare, containing so much affection in it. Only a child who loves and respects his mother very much can do that!