"April is back", a little gentleness leaves a mark

(Reading the poem "April is back" by author Vu Tram, published in Binh Thuan Weekend Newspaper, issue dated March 29, 2024).

Poet and teacher Vu Tram has just sent to readers a poem written at school in the early days of summer. The poet encapsulates in “April Comes” new emotions, along with unique expressions through words.

What emotions did our poet express in the poem? Could it be: “Spring has to say goodbye after a long delay/ The season leans in the strange sunlight, April comes”. Even if we try to prolong the time to delay, spring will have to say goodbye. Then, the earth and sky must move to another phase, different weather, so that “The season leans in the strange sunlight”. Changing seasons, early summer, the sunlight is different from the poet’s perspective.

Not only that, the poet realized “April breaks the golden buds of sunlight on the dike”. We all know that: “Bud” is a part of a tree branch, round and about to bloom into a flower. In this second stanza, the poet used “break the golden buds of sunlight on the dike”. A unique description of the poet, describing the image of the round sunlight on the dike. That image is like an addition to “monstrous sunlight” when the weather changes seasons.

The lyrical character in the poem is once again reminded. That nostalgia comes from the young branches in the schoolyard. “April sways the buds of nostalgia in the hand”. The young tree trunks and branches of the trees in the schoolyard are just ordinary branches, but from the poet’s perception, they have become “buds of nostalgia”, “swaying” in the hands of the lyrical characters in the poem about summer. Those young branches sway in the hands of people, so that a little bit of affection will be deeper, more passionate: “What heartbeat is stranded under the canopy of trees”. Is there any creature that has never lived in water that is stranded on the shore? With Vu Tram, he has led the readers to follow his unique emotions when expressing “The heartbeat is stranded”. A fluttering, passionate feeling in the heart of a boy when looking at a girl with her hair down in the lecture hall. That attachment and passion is not far away, but right under the canopy of trees of the beloved school.

And then, how many seasons have passed on this planet, can humans calculate the age of the seasons? All the happy and sad stories of human life will also drift away like the aimless clouds in the sky: “Seasons come and go, seasons have no age/ Memories also grow old, rolling gently with the clouds”.

In the fifth stanza, the concluding stanza, the author cleverly inserted a line of poetry, which was left unfinished, for the reader to ponder in their hearts: “You seem like and I seem like”. Perhaps, that is the mutual affection under the school roof between you and I, the lyrical characters in the poem. The shyness, a little secret but also very deep feelings that have not been fully expressed in words. The line of poetry is left open between the lyrical characters in the poem with each other, and it seems that the author also wants to leave it open for poetry-loving readers. And here, the melancholy feelings of the days of parting in the summer: “After we parted, the summer also poured drops of pain”.

Poet - teacher Vu Tram has really taken great pains to refine and expand the words in his own way, weaving poetic lines rich in imagery and emotion in "April Comes".

Using the 8-word verse form, the author has a very flexible way of breaking the rhythm in the poem. Reading each line carefully, readers will see that there are many rhythms: 3/5 rhythm (the poet uses 6 times), 5/3 rhythm (5 times), 4/4 rhythm (4 times), 2/6 (2 times), 2/4/2 (2 times) and 3/3/2 (1 time). The flexible rhythm breaks combined with the constantly changing tones of the syllables in the poem have enriched the musicality of the poem "April Comes".

Many summers have passed in the lives of many people, of many generations. Many poems and songs have left many impressions in the hearts of audiences, listeners, and readers about the summers. Teacher - poet Vu Tram contributed poems carrying his very own feelings in the month of early summer. Reading "April returns", readers once again remember the schools, the memories that flow with the youthful years of life. In that nostalgic stream, the beautiful poems of "April returns" are so gentle and easy to leave a mark in the memories of poetry-loving readers!

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