Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
The translation by Khanh Phuong
His biography: Born in 1958
Hometown: Hung Yen
Member of Vietnamese Writers’ Association
Deputy Director of Vietnamese Literary Copyright Center
Member of Hung Yen Literature and Arts Association
Published works: 3 poetry collections
A cluster of poems about Ho Chi Minh (Uncle Ho)
BELOVED MOTHERLAND
Uncle Ho returned to Hung Yen
He returned to the motherland, to the land of folk songs…
How proud the homeland is
Uncle’s return shined a lot of gratitude
Piling up since dawn
Countless enemies stalked around us…
There were hunger and ignorance at home
There were ghostly outposts
Disasters, droughts, and floods abound
Uncle’s return was likely getting the rhythm of unity…
Countless hardships and dangers were overcome
Enemies were bravely driven away bravely and persistently
Every household was busy in the irrigation and cultivation
New life-style was formed with the flow prosperity and happiness…
The long road to independence and freedom
Uncle instructed to take care of people’s rights
Those fifty years* remained intact
Good examples were followed and passed down for next generations…
For the people, for the country were prioritized
Unity – unity, echoed the people
His whole life was simple and gracious
He was like the bright star, shining in the sky…
Humanity was filled with his shining example
Generations of the logan area forever followed.
(*Fifty years of Uncle Ho’s testament
**From the legend of Au Co’s mother)
IN THE NIGHT THAT UNCLE HO’S NAME ENGRAVED
Half a century Uncle Ho was away
In my heart was your whole figure
The old father was shined in Vietnamese land
Each leneage was glorious names…
Nguyen Sinh Cung was the lineage of Nghe area
From the Sen village of Hong Linh, the Lam river
The pink flamboyant, the will was bright
Created Tat Thanh Ai Quoc for the people
The sea surged and roared with the country
The story of getting on a train to work as the kitchen-assistant far away
Because of the great cause, he did not care about the hardship
To find out the true path under the name of Van Ba
Nine years he was in European and American flows
Tour Congress and the petition
Nguyen Ai Quoc became the founder
The first milestone*1
The politician changed the way to write
The French secret police were terrified
How can they prevent the high resilience
“Sufferers” spread the struggle
“The Path of Revolution” became immutably
The whole hardship world suddenly awaken
The cradle of the October Revolution*2 shined
We firmly believed in gathering heroes
In the establishment date *3, He presented the declaration
Feudal colonialism eliminated
And from then the history entrusted
The mission of independence and freedom
The role was for caring forces
In misery and poverty thoughts
To set up fronts to wait the right time
Traditional folk strategies and plans
From “democracy”*4 to “anti-imperialism”*4
To take advantage opportunities
The front changed to the trapped “Viet Minh” *4
Ho Chi Minh was the shining name
Lots of discrimination piled up
To blame the narrow-minded revolution?
The same direction yet not the same step?
Fire tests gold on the eve of glory
In the fighting nights, there were lots of obstacles and hardships
To overcome the difficult bends and spread nets
The story of arrest and imprisonment
The soul of poetry was immortal
The old Ke overcome difficulties in war zones
The Liberation Army quickly armed
From Tan Trao was urged to surge
The independent declaration enlightened dreams
The new era soared forever
Ho Chi Minh shined the golden name
Ho Chi Minh – the Vietnam era
Ho Chi Minh – the future era
*1: a milestone Nguyen Ai Quoc participated in founding the French communist party.
*2: Nguyen Ai Quoc was sent to Russia to study politics, attended the 5th International Communist Congress, and gained access to Leninism.
*3: the day of establishment of the Vietnamese communist party, February 3, 1930.
*4: Name of front organization.
THE OLD KE
The old Ke was next to a mountain cave
The cigarette smoke was thoughtful
Waves of Karl Marx
To seek the morning dew in the afternoon
The wind rang in the Viet Bac area
Swinging white hair and beard
Traditional dress with the villagers
The spirit of immense hard laborers…
The Lenin stream rolled up
The Old Ke was thin
Exciting “the Path of Revolution”
Sowing “Saint” since then…
From the day of infancy
From the hardship aring
Becoming freedom and prosperity
The Old Ke – Ho Chi Minh
