A Vietnamese Poem by Huu Thinh explicated

A Vietnamese Poem

By Huu Thinh

Translated into English

By  Nguyen Phan Que Mai and J Fossenbell

Explicated by Dr Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhyaya

Text

Into Autumn

Suddenly the scent of guava

Wafting on the cool dry wind

The wind blows haltingly through  the alley

Perhaps autumn has arrived

Rivers take their time

Birds begin to hurry

There a summer cloud

Drapes half its body into fall

Still there is much sunlight

The rain has already lessened

The thunder less sudden

Above the rows of aging trees

The title of the poem Into the Autumn is in itself significant.  Into the Autumn means inside the Autumn. It suggests that each season is a world in itself and the earth as it were visits the seasons one after another.  What happens to the earth and the poet when they step into the world of Autumn?

Whether the earth reaches Autumn or whether Autumn reaches the earth and the poet is a moot point. But how does  the poet realize that Autumn is approaching? A sudden wind wafts the scent of guava and the poet feels that the earth is in the threshold of Autumn. In other word the scent of guava wafted by the wind suggests that there is Autumn.This is reading nature like reading poetry where an imagery could suggest a gamut of thoughts and feelings. The imagery of the scent of guava suggests that Autumn is at hand. Thus the sights and sounds and the smell of the earth constitute the text  of the poetry of existence with the poet Hu Thinh. It is interesting to note that any poem or work of art is deeply rooted in the nature or culture where the poem shows up. The present reader belongs to West Bengal India. In West Bengal guava shows up during the rains. Thus the scent of guava is ambi guous. While it announces in Bengal that rains are at hand in Vietnam it posits that Autumn is come.How is the wind? The poet says that  the wind blows haltingly in the alleys.The alleys suggests that the poet is perhaps walking along a lane in a city or town. And a sudden wind wafts the fragrance of guava. Since in cities the wind cannot blow unimpeded the wind comes haltingly and hence the fragrance of guava comes to the poet in quantas and faint or barely perceptible. Hence the poet is not that sure whether Autumn is there. But he guesses that Autumn is there.The first stanza of the poem thus excites our sense of smell.

The poet now looks at the rivers and   at the birds in the skies. There is a contrast. While the rivers take their time the birds in the skies are in a hurry. In other words while the rivers are in no hurry the birds are in a hurry.Two motions have been compared. Thereby the restlessness of the birds  is underlined.What makes the birds hurry and restless? The poet observes that there is a summer cloud that drapes half its body into fall. This is a vivid word painting.We see the cloud before our eyes The cloud as it were hangs  with loose folds. And it may rain any time. The poet speaks of the body of  the cloud.Do clouds have extra physical existence?  May be the birds are in a hurry to take shelter sensing an impending rain. But ironically enough while the birds are scared of an approaching rain the river remains tranquil.

True that there is the cloud.Still there  is much sunlight. May be the sun remains in hiding behind the cloud. But the light is there. This is an impressionist word painting. In the skies there is the dark cloud ready to descend. The darkness of the cloud is juxtaposed with the sunlight and there is the chiaroscuro. While the birds are hurrying in the skies the river glides in its unperturbed pace in this light and shade.the poet has skillfully depicted the tension between the possibility of rain and the possibility of not raining. But no. It rains.The poet however observes that the rain has already lessened the thunder less sudden. The poet Huh Thinh does not use positive words such as mild. We look upon things as mild in comparison to experiences that were turbulent. The poet says that earlier the rains were profuse loud with frequent loud thunders after brief spells of silence. In other words the lessened rains and less suddenness of thunder indicate that the rainy season is over and Autumn is near. May be  the poet writes this poem walking along the lane of a city in North Vietnam. Because in North Vietnam the Autumn takes place in the month of September.Before that the rains are there from May to September.Thus the poet dwells on a time where two seasons meet. There is jouissance. But we had better read the last two lines together.The thunder less sudden above the rows of aging trees.Poetry and dreams are kins.While poetry has a medium dreams have none. According to Freud in any dream whatever the dreamer must be there in some disguise. Do we not descry the poet as one among the aging trees? That tells us a story.Those of us who know the history of modern Vietnam know what rains and thunders Vietnam suffered during its war with America. The poet himself participated in the war. But right now the sudden thunders are less frequent and the rains are less profuse. O n another level the poet seems to have reached the autumn of his life when sudden impulses have been less frequent and less intense.Thus the poem by way of depicting a particular moment of time not only excels giving a vivid pen picture of nature but also revels in symbolism.