Reflecting on the poem 'Oh Moon...', what echoes in my soul?

Prompt: Reflect on your thoughts about the poem 'Oh Moon...', where do they stem from?

I. Outline: Exploring My Thoughts on the Poem 'Oh Moon...', Where Do They Originate?

1. Introduction:

- Introduction to the poet Tran Dang Khoa: Known for composing poetry since childhood, with many works dedicated to children. 

- Introduction to the poem 'Oh Moon... Where Do You Come From?':

+ Featured in the poetry collection 'Backyard Corner and Sky Space'.

+ Crafted during the poet's early years.

2. Main Body:

* Content of the poem

- The moonlight appears in every space: “distant forests”, “in front of houses”, “blue seas”, “playgrounds”, “on the marching road”, “across all regions”.

- With each place the moon appears, children recall objects like “ripe fruit”, “fish eyes”, “balls”,... making the moon in the sky feel closer.

- The moonlight illuminates the path for the marching soldiers protecting the country.

- The moon is intimate and familiar, like a friend to the children => Children feel the moon is very bright. 

* Art of Poetry:

- Structure: The phrase “Oh Moon... where do you come from?” is repeated at the beginning of each verse.

- Comparison: Moon - ripe fruit, fish eyes, balls.

- Innocent and playful poetic tone. 

3. Conclusion:

- Express your thoughts on the poem. 

3 sample essays: My Reflections on the poem 'Oh Moon... Where Do You Come From?'

II. Sample Essays: My Reflections on the poem 'Oh Moon... Where Do You Come From?'

Sample Essay 1: My Reflections on the poem 'Oh Moon... Where Do You Come From?'

In his youth, Tran Dang Khoa penned several moon poems, among which the pentameter poem 'Oh Moon... Where Do You Come From?' shines most brightly.

The poem consists of 6 verses, with the line 'Oh Moon... Where Do You Come From?' repeated 4 times, evoking a myriad of emotions and contemplations.

The space where the moon appears is vast and profound: 'From distant fields', 'From the marvelous blue sea', 'From a playground', 'From mother's lullabies', 'From marching roads', or 'The moon travels across every region'. Here, the young poet's rich imagination has illuminated the verses with magical flights of fancy.

The moon is no longer just a rice leaf, a golden scales, or a silver plate... but Tran Dang Khoa has delicately sensed it with the love of a child's soul, very innocent and pure.

The pink moon floats gently in front of the deliciously fragrant, refreshing garden:

'The pink moon like a ripe fruit
Floats gently in front of the house'.

The phrase 'floats gently' describes the moon lightly, slowly rising 'in front of the house' with a sense of closeness and affection.

The moon comes from the marvelous blue sea, where there are many fish and shrimp. The shimmering full moon, compared to the fish's eyes that 'never blink', is a playful and poetic image:

'The moon is round like a fish's eye
Never blinking'.

The moon is likened to a ball from a playground of children who have 'Someone kicking it to the sky'. How amusing!

The moon from mother's lullabies: 'Uncle Cuoi sits at the bark gate - Letting the buffalo eat rice, calling for father all day long....' has entered the childhood soul while still lying in the cradle. Admiring the moon, little Khoa asks Cuoi and loves Cuoi so much:

'Cuoi misses school
Whistling, calling the buffalo till now!'.

The last two verses, the moon opens up the childhood soul. Tran Dang Khoa wrote this poem in 1967, during our nation's resistance against the Americans. The moon not only illuminates our home but also lights the way for the Liberation Army marching to battle:

'From the marching road
The moon shines on the soldiers
And shines on the corner of the yard'.

Our Vietnam has become beautiful, our homeland has become beautiful: 'Our country, infinitely beautiful!' (To Huu). Under the bright moonlight, our country becomes even more beautiful:

'Oh Moon, is there anywhere
Brighter than my homeland'.

That is pride and love for the country homeland.

'Oh Moon... where do you come from?' is a beautiful and wonderful poem. The poetic tone is gentle and refined; the love for the moon harmonizes with the love for the country, homeland. The verses are pure, the imagery beautiful and novel. The moon has become a piece of childhood soul.

Besides My Reflections on the poem 'Oh Moon... where do you come from?', students should explore other contents such as My Perception of the moon imagery in the poem 'Oh Moon... where do you come from?' or the Composition of 'Oh Moon... where do you come from?' to reinforce their knowledge.

Sample Essay 2: My Reflections on the poem 'Oh Moon... where do you come from?'

The mid-autumn moonlight sways in the Mid-Autumn night, stirring the souls of countless generations of children. Especially in rural areas, that moon is so familiar and intimate. The child prodigy Tran Dang Khoa wrote this poem at the age of ten, with very innocent yet rich associations. The poem uses the refrain from beginning to end: Oh Moon... where do you come from?

The poetic rhythm of five words is as regular as the drumbeat... dinh... dinh... as children carry lanterns and break open the feast on the eagerly anticipated Mid-Autumn night. The pace of each verse and stanza unfolds according to the moon's chronological sequence. It starts not from space but from distant forests, with the association that 'the moon is the child of trees' creating a 'ripe fruit' hanging in front of the house. That's the gift from trees to children on Mid-Autumn night. The pink color of the moon is like a ripe fruit, meaning when the moon first appears, its distance is as close as a ripe fruit on a tree ready to be picked.

Oh Moon... where do you come from?
Or the marvelous blue sea
The moon is round like a fish's eye
Never blinking

A very clever comparison through the image of the moon, round like a fish's eye but that fish's eye never blinks because its light is both gentle and profound, engulfing. It's as if the world within the moon is a fairy-tale world, glittering, evenly distributed by the moon.

From the distant realms of forests and seas, the moon moves closer to the family courtyard, sharing joy with children. The moon is like a 'ball' for them to enjoy and play with. But then, the poetic flow doesn't stop there, the quatrain is elevated, transcending the perspective of children:

Oh Moon... where do you come from?
Or from mother's lullabies
Cuoi misses school
Whistling, calling the buffalo till now.

In this stanza, the moon is no longer just observed, compared, or imagined, it has 'immersed into' revealing inner emotions. The moon shines for children to play on this full moon night, it is also nurtured from within folklore and fairy tales. The image of the banyan tree where Cuoi sits in the distant moonlight also comes to mind with them.

Is it necessary to mention this to love more than the legendary stories praising the moon of the ancients? On the other hand, the structure of the poem is arranged very logically to highlight the fierce vitality of the nation. The full moon on the Mid-Autumn night appears in the context of the entire country marching to the front lines. The images of 'the moon shining on the soldiers' and 'illuminating the corners of the yard' make readers understand even deeper that: For a moon of peace, for the happiness of Mid-Autumn nights for children, soldiers must go to battle.

Oh Moon, is there any place?
Brighter than my country.

The question reserved for the moon to answer, but that is the answer that children give to humanity, letting them know that: Vietnam, although still facing many difficulties and hardships, still shines under the moonlight of its rustic and vibrant villages, full of life and humanity.

Model sample 3: My thoughts on the poem Oh Moon... where do you come from?

Everyone loves the moon. But each person loves it in a different way. The ten-year-old poet TDKhoa also loves the moon too much. An entire poem of 5 words consists of six verses with six earnest refrains 'Oh Moon... where do you come from?' echoing, yet this is only the third stanza of the melody:

...Oh Moon... Where do you come from?
Maybe from a playground
Moon flies like a ball
Which kid kicked it to the sky.

Because the moon is so beautiful, the poet called the moon 'Oh Moon' and asked the moon 'where do you come from'? The moon has been turned by the poet into a close friend, and the moon seems to listen to the poet's call, asking. But before the moon could answer, the magical imagination of the tiny artist gave rise to an interesting hypothesis:

Maybe from a playground
Moon flies like a ball
Which kid kicked it to the sky.

NT's unique comparison 'moon like a ball' was reasonable, was good already, but the interesting part lies in the moon flying from a 'playground' and even more interestingly due to 'which kid kicked it to the sky'. If the line were 'which friend kicked it to the sky' the poetic meaning would be somewhat less playful. Although it's 'which kid', it's still not rough but very playful and natural. Such a comparison, with natural language, and interesting like that, must come from a 'poetic prodigy' combined with a ten-year-old 'young footballer' from a real playground.