From the moment of crossing the river, the light of love opens the way back to the origin.

Vo Van Luyen, pen name Hong An Thy, is a versatile teacher and poet, always fully attached to his homeland Quang Tri. He was born and raised in Thi Ong village, Hai Vinh commune, Hai Lang district - a good land rich in cultural identity.

Vo Van Luyen's poetry is distinguished by its refined language, unique imagery and deep emotions. Works such as Agarwood of the Wind (2003), The Virginity of the Candle (2007), The Fishing Man's Shadow (2011) and From Crossing the River (2024) bring poetic beauty, opening up multi-dimensional profound thoughts about life, love and the connection between humans and the universe.

With his dedication and intense love for literature, Vo Van Luyen has won many prestigious awards, notably the 2022 Vietnam Literature and Arts A Prize and the Quang Tri province's literary and artistic creation awards.

In particular, the work From Crossing the River, published by the Writers' Association Publishing House in September 2024, was awarded the B- Prize for Creative Literature and Arts of Quang Tri Province in 2024. These achievements affirm Vo Van Luyen's position in contemporary literature, demonstrating his mission in spreading inspiration and preserving national cultural identity through each page of his book.

Readers received the poetry collection From Crossing the River and realized that the theme “The light of love opens the way back to the origin” is a profound philosophical highlight, opening up the depth of exploring the role of love in the journey to find the essence of life. Love, in Vo Van Luyen’s poetry, has a broad meaning, is a source of extraordinary power, the light that leads people to discover the origin of the universe and reach true existence.

Love here goes beyond personal feelings to become a vast, all-encompassing connection, perhaps a relationship with the world, nature and the sacred value of life. The light of love in From the Crossing the River is the light of awakening, the illumination of the mysteries of life, helping people overcome challenges and opening the way to harmony, peace and a deep understanding of the nature of life.

Vo Van Luyen's poetry thereby inspires people to return to themselves, with a pure and clear soul, to feel the invisible connection with all things around them and find the origin of life in the light of love.

In From the Crossing the River, love appears with youthful emotions, pure and sweet but also carries within it the first collisions of life, conflicts and confusion. That love is not yet entangled with worries but also faces uncontrolled emotions. Verses like “sweet childhood” or “that new love” (Love Self-Talk) are reminders of the purity and simplicity of love when people do not know the complexities of life. However, this love contains inevitable conflicts, which are the first steps for this emotion to mature over time.

When love begins to mature, it also has to face challenges and suffering. The poems Phuong, Phan Beo and Niem Thuong Dau depict the dark side of love, where there is separation, loss and suffering. Phuong is the image of separation, regret when youth passes but also carries the message that love continues to bloom. Phan Beo brings the image of impermanent, floating love, always having to endure the uncertainty of life.

However, in that situation, people still find freedom and love becomes a journey to find the meaning of life: "You are far away/ love does not have enough sunlight/ so we are separated (...) a thousand years of wild grass/ shaking off all the pain/ in exchange for a laugh/ that day we were still together" (Remembering Pain) reflects the loss and anguish of love when separated and is an awakening about the nature of life and true love.

When love becomes part of the journey of self-realization, it requires people to face deeper truths, choices and challenges. In poems like Farewell, Thoi, Nocturne, Night Sun... love is a journey of self-discovery. Farewell is separation but also the awareness of the impermanence of life. Thoi is letting go, where people have to struggle between reason and emotion.

The light of love is a pure source of energy, helping people awaken to their true nature and the profound meaning of life. In that light, love is a journey through “several seasons of sorrow”, helping people realize impermanence – that everything changes, nothing lasts forever. That realization does not bring despair but awakens the light of love, going through bitterness becomes the strength to live more sincerely and tolerantly.

The love in From the Crossing the River is a personal relationship that expands into love for humanity and love for life. The love for life in the poetry collection From the Crossing the River by Vo Van Luyen is a continuous flow, connecting people with the community, homeland and the world around them. That love is portrayed by the author through intimate, meaningful images, associated with responsibility and the harmony between the individual and the collective. Each verse is like a sincere beat, aiming at empathy, sharing and the desire to overcome all challenges of life.

From the time of crossing the river, it stands out through compassion and deep sympathy for human suffering. The poem “Love flows to the flood area” depicts people joining hands to share in times of trouble. The verse: “Each convoy of relief vehicles follows each other to the flood area/hearts connect hearts connect love to share” recreates material assistance and evokes the great meaning of love spreading through concrete actions. Thousands of hearts beating together, thousands of hands reaching out in the midst of the raging flood are symbols of great love for humanity, where each person finds strength from empathy and sharing. Love here goes beyond emotions to spread into community responsibility, a message about the bond between people in harsh circumstances.

“By the Bridge of Life and Death” continues to expand the concept of human love through the expression of people helping each other cross the line between life and death: “humanity helps each other cross the bridge of life and death/will humanity ever be at peace?” “The Bridge of Life and Death” is a metaphor that evokes the fragility of life and the desire to live in peace. Love here is expressed through reliance, connection and compassion, when people seek each other in the most difficult moments. This is sympathy accompanied by great responsibility, where love becomes the driving force to overcome the greatest challenges of life.

The poetic voice in From the Crossing the River is gentle, thoughtful, full of lyricism but imbued with philosophy. The author uses a natural, soft poetic voice like a gentle river, flowing through memories and deep thoughts. This is clearly shown in "Farewell (Mourning Thuy Huong)". The poetic voice is quiet, echoing the lingering pain and anguish of loss: "It's time for you to go/All the tears have dried up/Where is left/Every part of the body hurts/Every part of the soul is sad and sorrowful".

The simple yet emotional verses, like whispers from the heart, leave a lingering echo in the reader’s soul. Each word, each line records the pain of loss, transformed into a metaphor of separation, evoking a feeling of withering and sadness in both body and soul. The repetition of “It’s time for me to go” and the word “go” in this context transcend their usual meaning, becoming an eternal symbol and emphasizing the emptiness that cannot be filled.

The rhythm of the poem in From the Crossing the River is flexible, suitable to the emotions and each verse in the article. For example, in the poem “Peace in my heart”, the slow and gentle rhythm evokes a feeling of relaxation and tranquility in the soul searching for peace in the midst of a chaotic world: “the dream of peace is ripe/ a drunken sleep is peaceful/ thought the bombs and bullets plowed/ was just yesterday”. The phrase “the dream of peace is ripe” has a unique nuance, creating a feeling of peace like a sweet fruit that is ripe, ready to be picked.

This idea represents the desire for peace that has been perfected through time and hardship. The rhythm of the poem increases the spread of the author's message: peace is no longer a distant thing but the result of hope and aspiration in every soul.

The images in Tu Do Qua Song are deeply metaphorical, have strong evocative power, and open up multi-dimensional thoughts about existence. Nature in Vo Van Luyen's poetry is both a setting, a character, and a sacred symbol carrying the human spirit and soul. In the poem "The green burden fills the eyes of the river, oh!", the image of the river is a vivid symbol of life and childhood memories: "rivers leave life/childhood is filled with mud". The river evokes pain, reminding people of ecological awareness, protecting nature, and preserving eternal memories in each person's existential journey.

Homeland is also a sacred symbol that appears frequently in Vo Van Luyen's poems. In the poem "You Hundred Years, I Am a Thousand Lives", homeland is compared to a mother, a lover, a place where people find comfort and strength in difficult times: "I love the country as hard as my mother's life/soaked in sweat and tears, never losing heart" .

The love of life in Vo Van Luyen’s poetry is also expanded and transcends the limits of time. For example, in the poem “Visiting the Grave”, the author writes: “A hundred years of our ancestors returning to the land/A thousand years of memories of their descendants”. This is a message about the continuity between generations, about love and gratitude not limited to the present, but preserved through the years and in the memories of future generations.

From the moment of crossing the river, like a light guiding the way back to the origin, opening a poetic journey full of mystery and romance, deeply exploring love and life. Vo Van Luyen's poetry through simple words evokes the journey to find the origin in the light of love - the magical thread connecting people with themselves, with the world and the universe.

The poet is like a wandering hero drifting through the land of poetry, gently gliding through the river of memories and life with beautiful verses but full of deep feelings. With delicate language, sharp symbolic images, depicting a delicate portrait of love, life, endless desire, opening the way to the origin in each person's soul.

From the moment of crossing the river, carrying the light of love, illuminating the path back to the origin, finding peace in the eternal value of life. Vo Van Luyen uses emotions to lead readers to discover themselves through each verse. Vo Van Luyen's poetry is a calm, thoughtful love song, evoking the journey of self-awareness and the search for truth in every heart that always believes in life.

Le Nam Linh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/tu-do-qua-song-anh-sang-tinh-yeu-mo-loi-ve-ban-nguyen-192204.htm