Stirring the soul of spring on the way back to the mother's hometown

Doan Van Cu is a poet who appeared in the New Poetry movement (1932 - 1945). "The Road to Mother's Homeland" is a famous poem by poet Doan Van Cu, published in the collection of Village Songs (1942). The poem describes a poetic, gentle picture of spring with the peaceful, quiet life of people in the beloved motherland. Everything appears with a natural, simple and honest writing style like everyday speech.

In the first two stanzas, poet Doan Van Cu uses descriptive writing combined with narrative to create a spring space on the way back to his mother's hometown that is beautiful and lively. The scenery has a classical feel, beautiful and poetic from color to line. Above is the image of white clouds drifting over miles of willows; below are rows of banyan trees growing along the winding river along the dike; green dunes and purple sandbanks follow each other to create prosperity and abundance. The happiest scene is the bustling scene of people working. It turns out that the author describes the spring scenery as seemingly quiet and then finally turns to the "bustling all around" of people digging corn: "I remember passing rows of banyan trees/White rivers winding along the dike/Green dunes and purple sandbanks next to each other/People digging corn bustling all around".

Every spring, following his mother back to his maternal home to receive relatives, the author's childhood soul was filled with joy and happiness. Looking at the scenery and people, the poet felt his heart flutter, yearning for every village road and alley. The whole scene of his maternal home appeared as familiar, affectionate and sincere as potatoes and rice grains in the fields. The most beautiful and vivid memory was the image of the poet's mother - a rustic, elegant beauty typical of Vietnamese women in the past: "Bag on her hip, the sun on her head/Golden earrings, red bodice, brown silk shirt/She looked no different from when she was a girl/Bright eyes, rosy lips, red cheeks".

In the early spring morning, the mother appeared graceful and youthful in her “golden earrings, red bodice, brown silk shirt” outfit. Mother walked through the village, bright enough to show off her charming and graceful features. The old scenes and people kept appearing in her passionate and earnest memories as if they were just yesterday. The scenery added to the beauty of the people, and the people made the spring scenery on the way back to her mother’s hometown even more vibrant.

Still with the emotional flow of memories of his motherland, through the descriptive method of expression, Doan Van Cu continues to recall the bustling and joyful scene of spring through the group of people "returning to the hamlet to carry sweet potatoes". In the space of the road in the pale yellow sunlight, white storks in the blue sky flying back in layers, the fallen banyan leaves in the market village signaling the end of winter and the coming of spring, the space of the countryside is truly filled with spring scenery, the excited spring love: "The cool afternoon, the distant road in the pale yellow sunlight/The group of people returning to the hamlet to carry sweet potatoes/The blue sky, white storks flying in layers/The market village, the shacks drying the banyan leaves".

In the last two stanzas of the poem, the image of the mother is once again brought back into close-up by the poet, depicting more clearly from her appearance to her personality through a nostalgic and touching feeling. Perhaps the mother has gone far away, now only remaining in the poet's memory, but through the silhouette of the village girl in the field, the mother appears graceful and youthful as she used to lead her child on the way back to her hometown to receive her family name: "The brown dress is printed in the middle of the field/The afternoon wind blows the dust behind her/Is it the shadow of a woman or a village girl/Bending her hat, carrying away her rosy cheeks".

Finally, filial piety is still the most profound beauty that the poet thinks of his mother. Objectively, from acquaintances in her hometown, her mother is the model of a daughter who follows her husband but still does not forget her homeland. Her mother has transformed into the spring of her homeland, into the eternal soul of the mountains and rivers and the best things that her heart remembers and misses: "Going to the village road, meeting acquaintances/Everyone praises her filial piety/Even though she has to follow her husband as a girl/On the way back to her hometown, her mother still does not forget".

"The Road to Mother's Hometown" is a realistic poem but imbued with the author's nostalgic feelings about his homeland and his kind mother. From the spring scenery of the countryside and the daily life of people before 1945, Doan Van Cu has brought readers to a purely Vietnamese space, imbued with the Vietnamese soul. The poetic words are simple and plain to the core but still have a strong emotional impact.

LE THANH VAN