There are waves of farewell

This place, always remember you and me
(For old Hai Duong Newspaper )
Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
Footprints go this way without returning
Flowers still bloom by the roadside, I miss them so much
The afternoon wind blew relentlessly.

Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
The rows of Lagerstroemia still dye the sky purple
The old banyan tree with its roots hanging down, waiting
The red phoenix flower petals fall in the wind.

Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
The beautiful room is no longer warm with human breath
The sound of laughter becomes a thing of the past
The stairs are sad, without you and me.

Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
My whole youth!
Please wrap it up as a "dowry" of the past
To the tomorrow waiting on the horizon.

Goodbye, not really distance
Why is my heart full of endless waves?
Each leaf and branch earnestly calls
Forever here
Missing you…
Friends!

HA CU
Hai Duong City, May 2025

The poem “This place, I will always remember you and me” by journalist and poet Ha Cu, member of the Vietnam Journalists Association , member of the Vietnam Writers Association, former Editor-in-Chief of Hai Duong Newspaper was born in a special context. From the beginning of May 2025, Hai Duong Newspaper and Hai Duong Radio and Television Station merged into Hai Duong Newspaper and Radio and Television Station.

Having been devoted to journalism for more than three decades, passionate about it through all its jobs, he cannot help but feel wistful, regretful, nostalgic and put it into poetry as a farewell in his mind.

The poem consists of 5 stanzas, each stanza has 4 lines, each line has 8 words, with various rhythmic breaks. Throughout the poem, there is a line repeated many times "Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart" which moves people's hearts with its characteristic rhetorical style, adding to the poem's rhythm, creating a special liveliness and appeal behind the text.

Reading carefully, we see that the poem is full of mood. The main tone of the poem is like waves that come to the heart. The opening is a message of wistfulness, anxiety, and longing:

Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
Footprints go this way without returning
Flowers still bloom by the roadside, I miss them so much
The afternoon wind blew relentlessly.

The verse is repeated 4 times at the beginning of each stanza. That wave-like circulation creates a harmonious melody for the poem and increases the aesthetic value of the poem. Each time it is repeated, the stanza opens up new spaces, new images, new thoughts, but all are memories and regrets of beautiful memories that have passed, never to return.

What makes up the lyrical quality of the poem is first of all a system of words including exclamations, words indicating moods with different nuances and levels: "Goodbye, I miss you so much, my friends...". Then the words: "Longing, waiting, sad, longing..." express the writer's feelings of longing and nostalgia. But, the most impressive is the artistic space of the poem - a space full of nostalgia with fresh, green nature, with flowers and leaves, with the afternoon breeze, with the brilliant colors of the streets when summer comes.

Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
The rows of Lagerstroemia still dye the sky purple
The old banyan tree with its roots hanging down, waiting
The red phoenix flower petals fall in the wind.

It is a warm space with pretty working rooms, chirping voices and laughter, the stairs going up and down seem to still bear footprints... But that space is also full of nostalgia. The scenery is as sad as the human heart, so the flowers blooming on the roadside are full of "longing", the afternoon wind "flying with longing and never stopping", the rows of purple jacaranda trees still bloom but "dye the whole sky purple" like the loyal heart of the longing, and "the red phoenix flowers exposed to the wind fall down" like tears of separation. The most loving thing is the banyan tree in front of the gate that the poet himself planted long ago, "with its roots hanging down in anticipation". Many years have passed, the tree still stands there as a witness, despite the rain and sun, despite the years and the changes of history. The space here is so pure, warm and loving, it stirs up many loving threads in the reader's heart.

All become memories.

But the poem is not only about nostalgia and regret. By the fourth stanza, after the initial intense moments, the poet's emotions seem to calm down and go into depth.

Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart
My whole youth!
Please wrap it up as a "dowry" of the past
To the tomorrow waiting on the horizon.

The poem is rich in sentiment, gradually brightening and warming. For those who are nostalgic for things past. The poet had a “youthful time” with noble ideals, with a desire for devotion and dedication. Those youthful years have become a “dowry” from the past sent to “tomorrow”.

In the last stanza, the poem "changes" once more.

Goodbye, not really distance
Why is my heart full of endless waves?
Each leaf and branch earnestly calls
Forever here
Missing you…
Friends!

Although people’s hearts are still there with “endless waves” with so much longing for each “tree canopy and branch” here, with the tearful and passionate call: “Friends!”. But, if above: “Goodbye, tomorrow we will be apart”, now “Goodbye, not really apart”. The verse is full of hope. The poem is “tragic” but not “sorrowful”.

A truly moving poem with beautiful sadness. The “revolution” of streamlining the apparatus of the political system is an inevitable trend to adapt to the new situation. The poem not only encapsulates the love of a place, a lifetime of work of the author, but also the common voice of many other people involved. The poet has spoken for the hearts of many generations in the face of changes and innovation.

NGUYEN THI LAN

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/co-nhung-dot-song-long-gia-biet-414413.html