Top 10 Passages Expressing the Deep Longing of a Child for Their Mother in 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves' from Vietnamese Literature 7 - SGK Kết nối tri thức

In the poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves' by Thanh Thảo, readers are deeply moved by the emotions of the child. The poet places the child in a unique situation - many years away from home. By chance, the child encounters the image of sticky rice leaves, which immediately brings to mind the bowl of sticky rice from harvest season that their mother made. As a result, memories of the mother flood the child's mind. The image of a loving, hard-working, and diligent mother appears vividly. The line 'The old mother and the homeland / Share the same sorrow and longing' evokes the deep affection and respect the child feels for both their mother and their country. The poem, written in a concise five-syllable form, contains a wealth of emotion.

The poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves' by Thanh Thảo is a profound message about the love between a mother and child. The poet places the child in the situation of being away from home for many years, only to unexpectedly encounter sticky rice leaves. This image brings back memories of a bowl of sticky rice from harvest time – a taste of home that no matter where one goes, will always return in their thoughts. The poem also evokes the simple, hardworking image of the mother, who 'gathers leaves to heat the stove' and 'cooks sticky rice.' The child’s longing for the mother grows even stronger, expressed in the line 'The old mother and the homeland / Share the same sorrow and longing.' The love for both mother and homeland remains ever-present in the child’s heart, representing a sacred and cherished bond.

The child in the poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves' does not appear directly but is portrayed indirectly through the emotions expressed within the verses. We can imagine the subject of the poem as a soldier who has been away from home for many years, with deep feelings of affection for both his mother and his homeland. He is a son full of love and gratitude, recalling the simple things his mother did, especially the rustic dishes she prepared with all her love. This soldier, also a patriot, carries a constant affection for his homeland, as expressed in the lines, 'Oh, the scent of home / How can I ever forget it?'

Thanh Thảo has beautifully captured the feeling of longing through the poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves.' When away from home, the sight of sticky rice leaves brings a rush of memories of the mother and the homeland. The child remembers the mother’s sticky rice – 'a bowl of harvest-time sticky rice / the scent of it is so familiar.' The smell of the rice represents the beloved, ever-present taste of home, always lingering in the child’s heart, as expressed in the words, 'Oh, the taste of my homeland / How can I ever forget it / The old mother and the homeland / Share the same sorrow and longing.'

The child's longing for their mother in the poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves' reflects a universal feeling shared by all children when they are far from home. In this poem, the child has likely been away from home for a long time. Therefore, when the scent of sticky rice wafts through the air, a rush of familiarity floods their senses. The child recalls their mother in the afternoons when she would gather leaves for the stove, and the aroma of sticky rice would fill the entire house. By the third stanza, it is clear that the child is a soldier. In both their mother and their homeland, the child’s heart is divided into two parts, each devoted to one of these great loves. The image of the mother is ever-present in the child's mind. No matter where they go, they are always thinking of her and the warm, familiar memories of their childhood.

The image of the child in Thanh Thảo’s poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaves' does not appear directly but is instead conveyed through the emotions expressed in the verses. The child is depicted as a soldier who has been away from home for many years, carrying deep feelings for both their mother and their homeland. These emotions are clearly expressed through every line of the poem. The child, despite being far away and fighting to protect the country, still holds a deep connection to home, recalling the simplest things and thinking of their mother. In particular, the familiar scent of sticky rice leaves triggers memories of their homeland and the beloved mother. This soldier is also a patriot, with a heart full of affection for the village and the nation. These details help to create a vivid picture of the character of the child in the poem.

The protagonist in the poem 'Meeting Sticky Rice Leaves' by Thanh Thao is a soldier from the Truong Son region, marching on his journey day by day. This soldier has an elderly mother, a homeland, and carries the weight of the entire nation's responsibility. After 'years of separation from home', it is clear that he must long for familiar sights, the cherished memories of home. These include the image of a bowl of rice during the harvest season, his mother gathering leaves to cook in the evening, and an entire landscape of his homeland. This soldier, too, experiences emotions and longing as a human, as a poet. Through these reflections, the soldier is depicted with the most genuine and heartfelt emotions.

After reading Thanh Thao's poem 'Meeting Sticky Rice Leaves', the reader can clearly perceive the love the son feels for his mother. The emotions are captured in words like 'longing', 'how can I forget?', and the exclamation 'Oh, the taste of home!', or even the desire for a bowl of rice during harvest time. The mother appears through simple, hardworking images: 'gathering leaves to cook', 'steaming sticky rice'. These may seem like simple images, but they are deeply connected to the son, evoking memories of a time before he was 'away from home for many years'. Thus, the son misses his mother even more. 'Mother and the homeland/ Share the same longing'. Here, the image of the mother, just like the homeland, becomes one with the most sacred emotions.

Parents are the ones who gave birth to us and nurtured us into who we are. Therefore, no matter where we go, we always carry the memory of our parents. Thanh Thao beautifully expresses this feeling of longing in his poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaf.' When away from home, suddenly encountering the sticky rice leaf brings an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for the mother and the homeland. The memory of the mother is linked to the taste of her sticky rice: 'a bowl of rice during the harvest/ the smell of rice so mysteriously familiar.' The smell of the rice, or more specifically, the scent of home, always stays with the child, 'fragrant along the way.' The love for the mother and the homeland is not only expressed through the dish, through the flavor of the homeland, but also in the direct expression of longing: 'Oh, the taste of home/ how can I ever forget/ my old mother and the homeland/ share the weight of the longing.' The mother is placed on equal footing with the country, and the child divides the feeling of longing equally between the two, reflecting the deep and affectionate love of the child for their beloved mother.

Throughout our entire lives, we may never fully comprehend the depth of our parents' sacrifices. That is why countless works have been created to celebrate their immense contributions. The poet Thanh Thao also addresses this topic with brevity and emotion in his poem 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaf.' The poem captures the feelings of a child who, by chance, recalls the aroma of sticky rice and longs for their mother. Having been away from home for many years, the poet yearns for a bowl of harvest-season sticky rice and reminisces about their mother and the beloved flavors of the countryside. For the poet, the mother is the most profound and beautiful representation of their homeland. For the soldier, the mother is the wellspring of love, the guiding light that follows them throughout their life. The verse 'My old mother and the homeland/ share equally in the weight of longing' expresses the overwhelming emotion of the character as they think of their hardworking mother and the simple land they came from. The mother has endured a lifetime of labor and sacrifice to provide the best for her child. The simple yet poignant lines of the poem evoke a deep sense of longing. 'Meeting the Sticky Rice Leaf' is a poem born of nostalgia and love for the mother. It has left a lasting emotional impact on readers.