Written in the lower part of the Con River

Late in the afternoon, standing on Go Boi bridge watching the water of the Con River billowing, feeling strangely buoyant, seeing historical lines flowing layer by layer across the bridge. Years have buried the historic saltwater harbor in this place
One afternoon, we stopped at Go Boi (Phuoc Hoa commune, Tuy Phuoc district, Binh Dinh province) to play. Playing is just an excuse to watch the clouds and the sky, remembering vaguely…

Sink over time Go Boi, a famous harbor, a bustling fishing village more than 400 years ago. This is the place where in the novel series “Con River in the flood season”, writer Nguyen Mong Giac describes it as an important saltwater harbor, an important focal point of communication with Dang Trong – Dang Ngoai, a place to receive migrations. From the North to the South, it was the place (along with the Thi Nai estuary) of the Tay Son Dynasty that sent naval troops to conquer the South to defeat the North. A tributary of the Con River flows at the foot of Banh It tower The side of Duong Long tower. Photo: TRUNG PHUONG Late in the afternoon, standing on Go Boi bridge watching the water of the Con River billowing, feeling strangely buoyant, seeing historical lines flowing layer by layer across the bridge. Remember the folk song that your mother used to lull you: “One day, no one will leave anyone / Only embroidery should be sharpened to make needles”, the lullaby voice sounds like a sad, sad Nam song. How much water has passed from the Con River over Go Boi Bridge, over the years has buried this historic saltwater harbour. And maybe it’s not economical so people don’t need to dredge it, just let it sink over time. But the image of the gourd sailing across the country, from the Central to the North, to the South, even through Nam Vang (Cambodia)… will never fade in the memories of the people in my hometown. Going to Go Boi, one must remember poets Xuan Dieu and Han Mac Tu. Xuan Dieu was born here, used to write love poems about Go Boi and Tuy Phuoc: “Sleeping in Tuy Phuoc is to not sleep at night The crickets stay awake with me all year round Wake up the stars, wake up the branches At night, the homeland loves the scent of the land.” Xuan Dieu could not sleep because simply: “Can’t sleep because the strong wind blowing from the sea keeps reminding / When my mother was born / I breathed the fish sauce of thousands of Go Boi…”. According to Hoai Thanh – Hoai Chan in “Vietnamese poets”, poets living in Binh Dinh are often haunted by the moonlight. The moon in Binh Dinh was strangely beautiful, mysterious or strange, inspired by Che Lan Vien, Quach Tan, Han Mac Tu, Yen Lan… Even later, Van Cao went to Quy Nhon to play and discovered Quy Nhon beach. like a half moon: “Half moon/Night/Lying on the sea sand…”. Most of the talented Vietnamese poets and artists who have met in Quy Nhon, all love the mysterious moon, meditate in Binh Dinh, hanging loosely on the lonely Cham towers. Even Trinh Cong Son is still haunted by the ancient towers, “hearing the autumn leaves and the rain rustling the little heels…” (Old Diem). Watching the magical moon Han Mac Tu also lived in Go Boi, because here is still the grave of the poet Han’s mother. It is said that at that time, the mother and son of the Han poets went to Go Boi to cure leprosy for Korea but in the end failed, the mother was lying eternally in Go Boi, the child was lying down watching the fanciful Binh Dinh moon in Ghenh Rang… read documents that know Han poet has known Xuan Dieu since then, when Han Mac Tu wrote to Xuan Dieu: “I sent you my collection of poems, because reading your poems, I find my pain is greatly relieved”. The land of Go Boi also once harbored the famous poet Han Mac Tu. And his best and most painful poems were written in this land. Go to Go Boi, look back up the Banh It tower, up to Do Ban citadel, remember the poets Yen Lan, Che Lan Vien – the names that make up the famous “Ban Thanh four friends”. Yen Lan is not only famous for “Ben My Lang”, he also has many other important contributions in the process of modern Vietnamese poetry. In the memoir “Yen Lan – remember you forever” (Van Hoc Publishing House – 2001) by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan – the wife of the poet Yen Lan – has quoted Che Lan Vien’s opinion: “Yen Lan is talented, talented. special and very soon”. It is not because of friendship that Che Lan Vien appreciates Yen Lan so highly. Before 1935, when New Poetry was still a toddler, Yen Lan had unique creations: “Mourning triangle sails about her resting quietly The rhythm of delaying harmonizes to pat the island far away”. Or describe the afternoon sun of Sam Son: “Empty far away The roof is dumbfounded, poetic and touching Afternoon pigeon wings incubated all over the manor.” “Sorrow triangle”, “tempo of delaying harmony”, “poetry of stone carving”, “afternoon of pigeons” – language structures, shimmering images interwoven magically, as if Yen Lan just wrote yesterday or today. Che Lan Vien is from Quang Tri but studied and grew up in Do Ban, Quy Nhon. In 1937, Che Lan Vien published a collection of poems “Dieu Ruan” that shocked the piano. In an article, Yen Lan once mentioned this collection of poems: “In the afternoon, Che Lan Vien and I often go upstairs to the East Thanh gate of Binh Dinh to admire the scenery and discuss poetry. Cham and Cham towers should discuss and write something together. Then Che Lan Vien published the volume “Diem Ruan” and me with the collection “The Well of Chaos” consisting of 28 poems written about the Chiem nuns…”. Han Mac Tu once read this book of poetry and asked Yen Lan why it was not a “well” (abandoned well), but “chaos”? Yen Lan asserts that it is a “well of chaos” (understood in the sense of chaos…). After reading the draft of this poem, Han Mac Tu was inspired to write the song “Moon commits suicide”: “Cold wells! Cold wells Why is no one good I heard that autumn hides here… Chaos, chaos, oh well chaos I’m panicking, I’m panicking Jump into the well to pick up the moon.” The song “Moon commits suicide”, Yen Lan planned to print in his book “The Chaos Well” as a preface, but unfortunately the poetry book was lost and Yen Lan’s poetic face seemed to be defective. In the last years of her life, Yen Lan also squeezed herself to make the quartet genre more attractive and more modern. With more than 400 quartet songs, Yen Lan is evaluated: Among the few great masters of modern Vietnamese quartet poetry, Yen Lan belongs to the “godfather” category (Truc Thong). Looking back at me Also, poet Nguyen Xuan Sanh was born in Da Lat but from a young age he studied at Quy Nhon National School (old), then moved to Hanoi. At the age of 15 (younger than Che Lan Vien when he was 16 years old when he published “Dieu Ruan”), Xuan Sanh released his epic “Lost Species”, with innovative poems of the type now commonly known as “postmodernism”. modern day”, breaking the standards of traditional poetry, with strange and “fragrant” sentences: “The white wind will smell the willow-shaped season / Far away from the pale green sad blue path…”. Now go to Go Boi to enjoy the coolness of the East Sea breeze, to look back into the past. Suddenly looking upstream, remember the castles and citadels of the Cham people, of the heroic Tay Son dynasty; looking down to the sea, remembering the rowboats that were horizontal and vertical for a while; remember the ships of the Portuguese and Spanish docked at Nuoc Man sea, now there is Xuan Phuong church, Lonely Song Village… And looking back at me, my age is already “sixteen years old”… Down there, how much water of the Con River is still flowing through Go Boi Bridge… Tuy Phuoc, February 2021