The flowers still bloom in season

Unexpectedly, at the end of the party, when the guests had all left, Mr. Tao reminded: I heard that Mr. Tien had just published several collections of Yen Thanh poetry and literature, I would like to ask him for a copy of each collection to continue working for Dien Chau.

I clearly stated my intention to drop the book off today, but I was afraid he was busy so I made an appointment with him another day.

Two days later, poet Lang Hong Quang and I brought books down to give to him. Seeing him happily cherishing the books, we invited him to a coffee shop above Phu Dien intersection to talk about books enthusiastically all afternoon.

A few days later, I was surprised to see his article posted online and in the newspaper. I did not expect that he had taken the time to read it carefully and write glowing comments about the four books "of local significance at the central level" (Nguyen Trong Tao's words). I called to thank him, and he told me more about things he had not written in his previous article.

I came to Nguyen Trong Tao's poetry, literature, music, and painting before meeting him. When he was the head of a division's art troupe, he was a famous author of anti-American poets to save the country... As a cadre with nearly 30 years of work in the propaganda sector in the province and then in the district, and also participating in writing articles, writing literature, and poetry, I was fortunate to meet many writers, poets, journalists, musicians, and artists, sometimes as an honor, sometimes as a victim. Those who understood him were close and respectful, but there were also those who only saw me as a cadre leading the way. But because of my love for Nguyen Trong Tao's poetry, literature, and music, I still hoped to meet him one day. It was not until 2001, at the first Congress of the Dien Chau District Literature and Arts Association, that I had the chance to meet him. When poet Le Thai Son took me to meet him, both he and I were surprised because we had read and memorized each other's poems before and now we met. With him, it was a lot, with me, it was less, but meeting Nguyen Trong Tao, I found that he was not as distant and distant as a Central poet or a local poet like some people I had met, but Nguyen Trong Tao was close, open, and intimate like a relative who had not seen each other for a long time.

Later, I had many opportunities to meet Nguyen Trong Tao every time the Dien Chau Literature and Arts Association held a poetry festival, organized a congress, or every time he went to the house of the poet-hero Nguyen Dang Che's in-law or the house of his poet friend Lang Hong Quang... I got to sit and chat with him and serve him drinks. A "talented, gallant and even flirtatious" man (words used by poet Cao Xuan Thuong), at any meeting, whether it was crowded with hundreds of people or just a few poets and singers, Nguyen Trong Tao was still the center of attraction, inspiring and inspiring those around him, whether that person was a politician, a party committee member, or the poets and singers around him.

There were two times he went to Yen Thanh that I will always remember. One time he and a journalist from a central newspaper went to learn about the event "35 girls from Loi village". I was assigned by the district to take the two guests to Loi village, but on the way passing the stone church, Nguyen Trong Tao told me to turn into Bao Nham rock cliff, when I entered and sat down to rest in the cave with the statue of the baby Jesus born in a manger, Nguyen Trong Tao told me: Brother Tien, I have read Ho Hong Tuyen's article in Tien Phong newspaper, read many poems, essays, and even a film about Loi village, recently I saw newspapers reporting on relief groups coming to give to the sisters and children in Loi village... I was suspicious, not sure why they gathered 35 unmarried sisters in one village...

Having brought dozens of delegations from the press and literary villages to Loi village, having heard many opinions of the district leaders about Loi village in private meetings about Loi village, I could not hide from Nguyen Trong Tao's sharp eyes. In the cool air of the cave, I told Nguyen Trong Tao the truth about the "media incident" in Loi village, about the suffering of the district leaders every time they had to receive delegations of guests coming to Loi village. After hearing me tell the truth about Loi village, Mr. Tao decided to just stop by Loi village, stand at the river dike to take a panoramic photo of Loi village and then leave without going to the village to meet the women and children. When the delegation returned to the district, the district leaders had finished their work and were waiting happily toasting the poet.

The second time I was assigned by the District Chairman to meet with musician Nguyen Trong Tao and musician Phan Thanh Chuong. On the way to the newly leveled land to prepare for the construction of Thuong Pagoda near the Silver Stone in the middle of Ru Gam, Chairman Nguyen Tien Loi proposed the idea of ​​building a spiritual tourism center for the Gam Pagoda Temple. He asked poet Nguyen Trong Tao to look at the terrain, the shape of the ravine and the mountain here. I saw Nguyen Trong Tao whisper something to the District Chairman with sympathy, sharing, and understanding of feng shui... Once I heard poet Le Huy Mau tell a story about the year Le Huy Mau suffered from migraines, gout, and weak heart all year long. Nguyen Trong Tao traveled from Hanoi to visit and saw Mau's yard with a dry tree stump that had lost its sense of touch. Tao said: You left the dry tree stump in front of the porch, no wonder you are sick. Mau heard Tao throw away the tree stump, then he gradually got better and continued to write poetry and prose, as if he had a holy medicine. Close friends know Tao as a poet, musician, and painter and consider him a "heavenly man".

Also on that trip to Yen Thanh, after going to Gam Pagoda, we returned to the hotel to party, sing, and recite poetry until the afternoon. Nguyen Trong Tao sang his new work “Cong Lang Lang”, the children sang “Lang Quan Ho Que Toi”, “Khuc Hat Song Que”, “Doi Mat Do Ngang”… during the happy moments, Nguyen Trong Tao drank more and sang more, the more sober he became, the more sublime he became… everyone felt as if they were inspired to be more creative, inspired to love beauty, to people, and even more so, to their homeland.

Also during that meeting, Nguyen Trong Tao confided to me that he was criticized in 1981 when he published the famous poem RANDOM THOUGHTS OF MY LIFE (the poem RANDOM THOUGHTS OF MY LIFE is famous for its predictive and liberating nature on the eve of the renovation period of Vietnamese society). Also that time, after the party ended and I had a private coffee with Nguyen Trong Tao, I asked him about the origin of his family. In the Ngo family genealogy of Vietnam, on their information page, it is recorded that Nguyen Trong Tao is a direct descendant of the Ngo Tri Ly Trai Dien Chau family, a distant descendant of the Meritorious Mandarin and Doctor Ngo Tri Tri, Royal Secretary Ngo Tri Hoa, Doctor and Prime Minister Ngo Sy Vinh, Doctor Ngo Cong Trac, Doctor Ngo Hung Giao, ... the ancestor of Nguyen Trong Tao's family branch, Ngo Tri Binh, went to work as a servant and became an adopted son for his aunt's family, and changed his surname to Nguyen, from which the Nguyen family branch was born.

In my heart, I think that talented people with a patriotic heart like Nguyen Trong Tao, when they sublimate and create great, excellent, outstanding works with a liberal, universal character, touching the meridians of the nation and the era, leaving a spiritual legacy for hundreds and thousands of years to come "after Van Cao, Nguyen Dinh Thi is Nguyen Trong Tao" (words used by Nguyen Thuy Kha), saying this to him might be considered: seeing someone rich and trying to claim to be related to them. But Nguyen Trong Tao wittily said: I am originally from the Ngo Tri family, my grandmother is Ngo, my uncle raised me, my ancestor is Ngo Tri Binh, I am a Nghe person with a bamboo family, uncle. Then I confided in him and discussed about the Bung River, which flows windingly like a silk strip surrounding the villages of Yen Thanh - Dien Chau, which has produced many outstanding children of the homeland. Cao Xuan Duc, Ngo Tri Tri, Ngo Tri Hoa, Tran Huu Thung... I did not expect that was the last time I saw Nguyen Trong Tao in Yen Thanh.

Now, Nguyen Trong Tao has passed away for 5 years. The further time goes by, the more readers have the opportunity to enjoy the works he left behind, the more clearly they can see Nguyen Trong Tao's stature in Nghe An culture, Vietnamese culture. I always love the refrain in his poem "Ramblings of my time": The flowers still bloom in season. Life still develops, the cultural heritages left by predecessors continue to nurture and nourish the intellectual souls of future generations./.